Cory Booker: Rail Workers Keep U.S. On Track, Let’s Return The Favor

NEWARK, NJ — Guaranteeing seven paid sick days to the nation’s rail workers would only cost the industry $321 million a year – less than 2 percent of their total profits. That was the message from Cory Booker of New Jersey, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and nine other U.S. senators on Wednesday amid the threat of a potentially devastating strike, which has been in the pipeline for months.

Booker and his peers released a joint statement about the ongoing labor negotiations between several large railway companies and labor unions that threaten to end with a strike if a deal isn’t finalized by early December (read the full statement below).

“We thank President Joe Biden and Labor Secretary Martin Walsh for their hard work in negotiating a tentative agreement that is better than the disastrous proposal put forward by the rail industry,” the senators wrote. “But Congress can and must make this agreement better.”

“For nearly three years our nation’s rail workers have been fighting on the front lines of the pandemic,” Booker and the other lawmakers continued. “They have kept our trains on the track even while facing unprecedented challenges.”

Other signatories included Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Alex Padilla of California, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

Several large freight rail companies and 12 unions representing their employees have been going toe-to-toe since 2019 over scheduling, working conditions and pay. The negotiations took a turn for the worse this fall; a potential strike was narrowly averted in September after a marathon session at the U.S. Labor Department.

Negotiators and lawmakers cheered the tentative agreement at the time. But the deal has yet to be ratified, and a Dec. 9 strike date looms heavy in the background.

Both sides have agreed that the consequences of a strike would be economically devastating. A railroad industry trade group said shutting down the nation’s railroads would halt shipments of food and fuel at a cost of $2 billion a day. Read More: A Rail Strike Looms, And The Impact On U.S. Economy Could Be Broad

On Monday, President Biden called on Congress to immediately pass legislation that would adopt the tentative agreement and put an end to the threat of a strike.

Biden wrote:

“This agreement was approved by labor and management negotiators in September. On the day that it was announced, labor leaders, business leaders, and elected officials all hailed it as a fair resolution of the dispute between the hard-working men and women of the rail freight unions and the companies in that industry. The deal provides a historic 24% pay raise for rail workers. It provides improved health care benefits. And it provides the ability of operating craft workers to take unscheduled leave for medical needs. Since that time, the majority of the unions in the industry have voted to approve the deal. During the ratification votes, the Secretaries of Labor, Agriculture, and Transportation have been in regular touch with labor leaders and management. They believe that there is no path to resolve the dispute at the bargaining table and have recommended that we seek Congressional action.”

“As a proud pro-labor president, I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement,” Biden added. “But in this case – where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families – I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.”

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impose the tentative contract, sending the proposal to the Senate for another vote. The House also passed a separate bill that would add seven paid sick days to the agreement, but the fate of that bill in the Senate is uncertain, Politico reported.

• See related article: NJ Congressman Blames Rail Industry As Strike Threat Looms

SENATORS: ‘MAKE THIS AGREEMENT BETTER’

After Wednesday’s vote in the House – with an eye to an upcoming showdown in the Senate – Booker and his 11 peers released their statement on the situation, which seems to suggest they would support the separate bill on sick days.

Read it below.

“We thank President Biden and Labor Secretary Walsh for their hard work in negotiating a tentative agreement that is better than the disastrous proposal put forward by the rail industry. But Congress can and must make this agreement better.

“For nearly three years our nation’s rail workers have been fighting on the front lines of the pandemic. They have kept our trains on the track even while facing unprecedented challenges.

“Supply chain problems coupled with increased consumer spending and online shopping habits have put the freight rail industry under incredible strain. And as a result, train crews have been working around the clock, often with inflexible and unpredictable work schedules to transport everything from food and fuel to medical supplies and cleaning products.

“But even as the need for worker protections and workplace flexibility have grown, railroad companies provide zero days of paid sick leave to their workers. What this means is that if a rail worker comes down with COVID, the flu or some other illness and calls in sick, that worker will not only receive no pay, but will be penalized and, in some cases, fired. That is absolutely unacceptable. During the first three quarters of this year, the rail industry made a record-breaking $21.2 billion in profits. Guaranteeing seven paid sick days to rail workers would only cost the industry $321 million a year – less than 2 percent of their total profits. Please do not tell us that the rail industry cannot afford to guarantee paid sick days to their workers.

“We commend the House for addressing this outrageous situation and guaranteeing paid sick days to every rail worker in America. We urge the Senate to quickly take up the House-passed language for a roll call vote and urge our colleagues to support these workers. We look forward to bipartisan support.”

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