Senate Rejects Proposal to Give Rail Workers Seven Days of Paid Sick Leave

The Senate voted to reject a proposal to give railway workers seven days of sick leave. 

This benefit was left out of a labor deal between freight rail companies and unionized workers. Moreover, the proposal was brokered by the Biden administration.

Senate Rejects Proposal to Give Rail Workers Seven Days of Paid Sick Leave

Sen. Bernie Sanders and several other liberal lawmakers championed the proposal. It failed to pick up enough Republican support to overcome a 60-vote threshold for adopting the measure. Hence, it fell in a 52-43 vote.

“This is not a radical idea. It’s a very conservative idea. And it says if you work in the rail industry, you will get seven paid sick days. And I would hope that we would have strong support and the 60 votes that we need to pass this very, very important amendment… that is wanted by every one of the rail unions,” Sanders said before the vote.  

Dem senator Elizabeth Warren is another leading voice from the left. She predicted that nearly every Democrat would vote for the additional sick leave. It was up to Republicans whether it would be added to the labor deal.  

“I think we’ll get all the Democrats. The question is whether any Republicans will join us,” Warren said.  

“People don’t have to come to work to try to operate trains after they’ve had heart attacks and broken legs. We are caught between shutting down the economy… and getting enough Republicans to join us,” she added.  

After voting down the sick leave measure… the Senate voted to avert a costly nationwide rail strike next week.

Railroads lobbied GOP senators to oppose the paid sick leave measure. They argue that congressional modifications to a contract would set a dangerous precedent.

Unions Slam Senators for Rejecting Paid Sick Leave for Rail Workers

Labor leaders criticized senators who voted against the proposal. The Senate approved a measure to force through a railroad contract that provides workers with a 24 percent raise over five years… but the proposal to add paid sick days did not reach 60 votes. 

Six Republicans voted against the measure. Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, voted against it as well. By pushing through the contract, which was negotiated with the help of the Biden administration in September… Congress will prevent a rail strike that was set to cause service disruptions. 

Business groups, which aggressively lobbied lawmakers to avert the strike this week, breathed a sigh of relief following the vote. They had warned that a walkout would stall deliveries and worsen inflation. 

“American consumers can rest assured they will have an exceptional shopping experience this holiday season with the threat of a rail strike averted,” Sarah Gilmore, director of government affairs at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, said in a statement.

Railroads lobbied senators to push through the Biden-negotiated deal without sick leave. They’re arguing that lawmakers would set a bad precedent by modifying an agreement that was negotiated over the years.