Rail workers were left without paid sick leave after the Senate stepped in to push through a rail deal.
Four out of twelve rail unions voted against the tentative agreement brokered by the White House, but the Senate voted to pass a resolution to implement it. The move came after President Joe Biden asked Congress to act on the tentative agreement in the rail industry labor dispute. Workers will get a gradual raise.
The measure to add seven days of sick leave failed to get 60 votes, with just 52 senators voting in favor. The legislation was passed by the House and included seven sick days.
Michael Paul Lindsey, a locomotive engineer in Idaho who is a steering-committee member for Railroad Workers United, told Insider that the vote was a blatant endorsement of corporate America.
We were so close. Lindsey said it was shameful.
A strike would have cost the US economy $2 billion a day and jeopardized access to clean drinking water. It would have strained a still-recovered supply chain and sent already high prices on goods even higher.
Ron Kaminkow, a locomotive engineer and leader of Railroad Workers United, told Insider that he thinks the votes are despicable. The average railroader doesn't like either political party.
The senator from Vermont who helped lead the push for sick days and voted against pushing through the agreement lamented the outcome of the vote. The House of Representatives passed a bill guaranteeing seven days of paid sick leave for rail workers. We received the votes of every Senate Democrat, as well as six Republicans, even though we were unable to get the 60 votes we needed in the Senate.
He said he would keep pushing for paid leave. I want to be clear." The fight is not over. Railroad workers don't have paid sick leave at a time when the rail industry is making a lot of money. I will do everything I can to make sure rail workers in America are treated with dignity and respect.
There were six Republicans who voted for the paid sick day provision. Manchin was the only Democrat who voted against it.
The Biden administration had to decide if it wanted to be the most pro-labor administration in the country or not.
"As a pro-labor President, I am reluctant to overrule the procedures and views of those who voted against the agreement," Biden said in his statement. The economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families, so Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.
Congress should bring the legislation to Biden's desk well in advance of the strike. Biden said he would sign the bill as soon as it arrived on his desk.
Biden said in a statement that he was reluctant to overrule the union procedures. The consequences of a shutdown were too great for working families everywhere.