The Senate voted on Thursday to reject a proposal to give railway workers seven days of sick leave, a benefit that was left out of a labor deal brokered by the Biden administration.
The proposal to give workers seven days of sick leave, which was championed by Sen.
Six Republicans voted for the sick leave measure.
Manchin was one of the Democrats who voted against the bill.
The House passed it with a bipartisan majority of 221 to 207, but only three Republicans voted for it.
The sick leave measure was voted down by the Senate. The labor agreement between freight rail carriers and unionized workers brokered by the Biden administration was the subject of a Senate vote.
Democrats now have the ability to blame Republicans for imposing a labor deal on rail workers that does not allow them to take time off due to illness or doctor visits.
This is not a big deal. The idea is very conservative. You will get paid sick days if you work in the rail industry. In order to pass the amendment, we need 60 votes from the rail unions.
It was up to Republicans to decide if the additional sick leave would be included in the labor deal, according to Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
We will get all the Democrats. She said the question was whether any Republicans would join them.
People don't have to come to work to operate trains after they have had a heart attack or broken legs. We have to decide between shutting down the economy and getting enough Republicans to join us in making sure enough Republicans have access to sick leave.
At the Senate Democratic lunch, there wasfrustration with the industry that has made money hand over fist and continues to treat workers like they are expendable.
Railroads argued that congressional changes to a contract would set a dangerous precedent.
Unless Congress wants to become the defacto 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.
Railroads have made record profits despite not offering paid sick days because of soaring demand for shipped products.
The Senate rejected Sullivan's proposal to give railroads and unions more time to negotiate a deal.
The proposal gained the support of many Republicans.
She said sending the negotiators back to the table would send a signal to both sides that we want them to solve this problem and not have Congress involved in imposing a settlement that four of the unions have rejected.
Labor unions quickly rejected the proposal. They argued that it would delay raises for workers and that railroads didn't want to negotiate further.
The legislation was defeated by a vote of 25 yes votes to 70 noes. The Senate needed at least 60 yes votes.
The failure of the measure to give railroad workers seven days of sick leave sets up a vote on another House-passed bill to implement the tentative agreement between the railroad companies and unions.
Over a period of five years, that agreement would increase wages by 24 percent.
Four of the 12 rail unions did not approve of it because it did not provide for paid sick days.
At 5 p.m., there was an update.
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