By Justin Franz
WASHINGTON — Legislation was quickly rolling through Congress this week to prevent a nationwide shutdown of the freight rail system. But a request that railroads provide additional sick leave to employees could prove to be a sticking point in the U.S. Senate.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to force four rail unions to accept the terms of a Tentative Agreement that their leadership had negotiated but members rejected. Eight other unions have accepted the agreement. The bill got support from both Democrats and Republicans. It came after President Joe Biden announced he wanted Congress to resolve the impasse between the unions and the Class Is.
The House also voted on a bill that would require the railroads to provide at least seven paid sick days annually. That vote mostly fell on party lines, with only three Republicans supporting it. Both measures now go to the U.S. Senate for a vote in the coming days.
While additional paid sick leave has long been desired by the unions and its members, the freight railroads were quick to blast it, alleging that its passage would negatively impact future contract negotiations.
”Unless Congress wants to become the de facto endgame for future negotiations, any effort to put its thumb on the bargaining scale to artificially advantage either party, or otherwise obstruct a swift resolution, would be wholly irresponsible, and risk a timely outcome to avoid significant economic harm,” said Association of American Railroads President and CEO Ian Jefferies.
While it appeared both parties wanted to avoid a strike next month — one that could bring freight and passenger trains to a halt and cost the U.S. economy $2 billion a day — some elected officials wanted to get more for labor. Led by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a number of senators suggested they would hold support from enforcing the Tentative Agreement if it didn’t include paid sick leave.
“Congress can and must make this agreement better,” Sanders and others wrote in a joint statement.
