President Biden urged the Senate to vote by the end of the week to avert a nationwide rail freight shutdown that would wound the U.S. economy. On a bipartisan roll call, the House passed legislation on Wednesday to impose a contract on railroad labor unions. The so-called tentative agreement was reached in negotiations aided by the administration.
House Democrats immediately followed with a separate vote to add seven days of paid sick leave to the contract. The proposal was sent to the Senate, although House Republicans voted against it almost unanimously.
Without action, a rail strike could begin as soon as Dec. 9.
“The Senate must now act urgently,” said the president. “Without the certainty of a final vote this week, railroads will begin to halt the movement of critical materials like chemicals to clean our drinking water as soon as this weekend. … Without action this week, disruptions to our auto supply chains, our ability to move food to tables, and our ability to remove hazardous waste from gasoline refineries will begin.”
A rail shutdown would cost the economy up to $2 billion a day and put as many as 765,000 Americans out of work in two weeks, according to estimates. “Some foodstuffs would be in short supply, and farmers would struggle to get products to processor or export markets,” said the White House in a statement of support for imposing the contract. The administration was silent on the question of additional days of paid sick leave.
Rep. Sam Graves, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee, said the proposal for paid sick leave “is nothing more than a reckless political stunt” pursued at the last minute by Democrats. The vote on imposing a contract was 290-137, with 79 Republicans joining most Democrats in support. The proposal for seven days of paid sick leave passed 221-207, with three Republicans voting with the Democratic majority.
“What we need is paid sick leave for railroad workers and for every American,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She said the proposal for seven days of paid sick leave was a counterbalance to the unusual step of imposing a contract on workers in the name of protecting the economy. “That’s our responsibility as we fight for a fairer future for our workers.”
The outlook in the Senate for the paid sick leave proposal was unclear. Opponents could threaten a filibuster, so 60 votes would be needed for the proposal to pass. After the House vote, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration did not believe there was sufficient Senate support at the moment for the paid sick leave provision.
Paid leave was a sticking point in the negotiations between the railroads and the unions. “We’re calling for paid sick time off,” said Tony Cardwell, president of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees union, during an NPR interview. “And it’s still a sticking point that’s not being addressed” in the tentative agreement.
Farm groups applauded the House vote. “A disruption in rail access could have devastating impacts on agricultural supply chains across the country,” said Rob Larew, president of the National Farmers Union. And Tom Haag, president of the National Corn Growers Association, said, “We are pleased to see that Congress is taking the necessary action to ensure that rail service continues to operate.”
Low water on the Mississippi River has slowed grain and fertilizer shipments.
The Association of American Railroads called on the Senate to approve the tentative agreement and let die the proposal for seven paid sick days. “The Senate must now act quickly to implement the historic deals reached at the bargaining table and already ratified by eight of twelve unions,” said the rail group.
Railroad workers would get pay raises of 24 percent and a $5,000 bonus along with one additional paid leave day under the package, although they would have to pay a larger share of health insurance costs.