For the first time in roughly 30 years, Congress is on the verge of intervening ahead of a potential rail strike following calls from President Joe Biden to do so.
While lawmakers can’t usually get involved in private labor disputes, they have the power to weigh in on those involving the railroads because of the impact such infrastructure has on national transportation and commerce. Earlier this week, Biden urged Congress to neutralize the risk of a strike by passing a resolution that would require labor unions to accept a deal the White House helped broker earlier this year. If an agreement isn’t put in place by December 9, rail workers could go on strike, a move that would have devastating consequences for the US economy.
The deal that the White House helped negotiate in September included an increase in pay and an additional personal day, but failed to fully address demands workers had over paid sick leave. Currently, rail workers don’t have paid sick days and have to use vacation time instead. Effectively, this means that workers need to get any time off approved in advance, meaning they often have to work if they come down with an unplanned illness or have a medical emergency. The addition of a single personal day in the September agreement was intended to address this concern, though it fell short of doing so.
Congress has already indicated that it will respond to Biden’s request, with the House set to vote on two resolutions on Wednesday. These measures factor in both Biden’s call for action and unions’ request for more sick days. The first resolution would require workers to accept the tentative agreement that’s been reached, and the second would provide seven paid sick days.
Both resolutions are set to pass the House, with the second facing more uncertainty in the Senate. While Republicans have been open to imposing the White House’s deal, it’s not yet clear how many would support the addition of paid sick time.
Democrats’ decision to add a vote on paid sick days comes after major blowback from lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and rail unions, who were disappointed by Biden’s push to approve a deal that did not adequately tackle this issue. “A call to Congress to act immediately to pass legislation that adopts tentative agreements that exclude paid sick leave ignores the Railroad Workers’ concerns,” the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, one of the four unions that has voted down the deal, previously wrote in a statement.
Congress’s role in curtailing rail strikes, briefly explained
Congress’s approach to this rail dispute is indicative of how much power they have in resolving such conflicts.
The Railway Labor Act, which was passed in 1926, gives lawmakers significant leeway over how they could approach the current situation. In addition to approving the tentative agreement, Congress is able to add provisions to it, like paid sick time. Lawmakers can also extend the amount of time that railroads and workers have to negotiate or set up an independent body to help determine a resolution.
Previously, Congress ended a strike that took place in 1992 by establishing an arbitration system for both parties to reach an agreement. “Given that they have the power to force a settlement, I don’t think there are any limits on that,” says Cliff Winston, an economic policy expert at Brookings.
As is the case with many bills, the main limitation that lawmakers are running up against is the amount of political support any measure is able to receive. Both resolutions under consideration will need the support of 60 members in the Senate, including 10 Republicans, some of whom have expressed openness to incorporating worker demands.
“The way to avoid a strike is a new deal that rank and file members will support,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently wrote in a tweet.
House vote on paid sick days follows blowback from labor
In his statement urging congressional action, Biden referred to himself as a “proud pro-labor president,” a title his recent actions seemed to contradict. Although he’s certainly been supportive of unions in the past, his call for congressional action to approve the agreement without sick days raised the ire of multiple unions.
“Passing legislation that excludes paid sick leave won’t address rail service issues. Rather, it will worsen supply chain issues and further sicken, infuriate, and disenfranchise Railroad Workers as they continue shouldering the burdens of the railroads’ mismanagement,” wrote the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees.
The AFL-CIO, one of the largest labor federations in the country, echoed this statement, calling for Congress to approve paid sick time as part of its efforts.
“While the tentative agreement unions negotiated this year included many critical gains — significant wage increases, caps on health care premiums, and prevention of crew reduction — it also fell short by not including provisions on paid sick leave or fair scheduling,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement.
Previously, Biden had emphasized that he was worried any modifications to the existing agreement could cause delays and raise the risk of a strike. In his statement, Biden focused heavily on how significant the economic fallout would be if there is no resolution to this standoff. More than 750,000 people could be out of work during the strike, and transportation of food, fuel, and other commodities could come to a standstill, he noted.
Democrats in Congress appear to be trying to balance the demands of labor with the economic effects that could result if they don’t move quickly enough to address the issue. The joint votes on both the September agreement and paid sick days are aimed at addressing a situation that’s been difficult for the party politically, as it’s sought to juggle competing interests.
Update, November 30, 10:30 am: This story was originally published on November 29 and has been updated to include the two congressional proposals.
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