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Dems to union rail workers: GFY!
Posted on: December 1, 2022 at 11:52:08 CT
Spanky KU
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/house-approves-imposing-railroad-labor-deal/ar-AA14JGEp?cvid=3eb52ffa264640749a1b058fcde19433
The House voted Wednesday to approve a measure ending a rail workers’ labor dispute ahead of a possible strike, while also planning to take up a proposal to impose paid sick leave, a step demanded by some lawmakers.
House lawmakers voted 290 to 137 on legislation that would force the adoption of a tentative labor agreement by rail workers, using the power of a 1926 law that allows Congress to intervene in railroad disputes that threaten to disrupt the U.S. economy.
The move would end a long-running labor dispute between Union Pacific Corp., CSX Corp. and other freight railroads and more than 115,000 workers.
In a letter to Democratic House lawmakers sent late Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said she is reluctantly asking for their vote to force the agreement’s adoption, after President Biden called for Congress to intervene.
Democrats have stood with “hard-working railroaders in their fight against greedy railroad corporations for fairer wages, benefits and working conditions,” she said in the letter. “However, we must act to prevent a catastrophic strike that would touch the lives of nearly every family: erasing hundreds of thousands of jobs, including union jobs; keeping food and medicine off the shelves; and stopping small businesses from getting their goods to market.”
Republicans signaled they would back the bill to end the labor standoff, while also criticizing the White House for failing to negotiate a deal that unions and management could support.
“Why is Congress doing this? The reason is…because the president failed, the administration failed. That’s the reason this was brought to Congress,” said Rep. Sam Graves (R., Mo.), the top Republican on the House’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He said he plans to support the measure enforcing the labor deal and urged colleagues to do the same.
House lawmakers are also expected to vote on a second bill that would increase paid sick leave to seven days.
Several House and Senate Democrats have signaled that they wanted to expand sick-leave benefits as a condition of backing the labor deal.
“We have to recognize that the tentative agreements fall short—well short—of what is necessary for paid leave for rail workers,” said Rep. Rick Larsen (D., Wash.). “Benefits do not replace paid sick leave. Going to work sick to earn your wage increase—who does that? Who requires that? Only the rail industry.”
Any legislation that passes the House will have to be approved by the Senate as well. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) proposed a similar sick-leave measure.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh will speak to the Senate Democratic caucus on Thursday, according to a Senate Democratic aide.
The freight railroads and unions representing engineers, conductors, machinists and other workers have been in labor negotiations for more than two years. The White House appointed a mediation panel over the summer. Eight unions ratified a proposed contract that came out of those talks, while four didn’t. Both sides have agreed to a cooling-off period until Dec. 9.
Lawmakers from both parties said they were unhappy about the benefits offered to railroad workers, particularly related to paid sick leave, and said they were hesitant to force them to accept a deal. The five-year agreement, which replaces a contract that lapsed, offers railroad workers a 24% increase in wages from 2020 through 2024. It allows for one additional paid day off, on top of existing vacation and paid time off.
Under the Railway Labor Act, Congress can make both sides accept an agreement that their members have voted down. Lawmakers also can order negotiations to continue and delay the strike deadline for a certain period, or they can send the dispute to outside arbitrators.
Congress can also impose other conditions—like paid sick leave—using its authority under the Constitution’s commerce clause to regulate commerce between the states, according to Thomas Kohler, a law professor at Boston College Law School.
“It’s pretty minimal paid leave and it certainly doesn’t resolve the issues that the railways and the unions have,” Mr. Kohler said of the new proposal. “This will be a problem that will continue to boil until the next labor agreement.”
Rail workers have access to benefits packages that include some form of paid sick leave, according to the Association of American Railroads, but workers say conditions placed on getting additional paid sick days off are too onerous. While the tentative agreement offers workers one additional paid personal day off that could be used as sick leave, workers who maintain tracks for instance, say they only get one additional hour of paid sick time off after 30 hours of work.
Railroad operators argue that the current benefits packages are the result of years of labor talks, and that unions have prioritized other elements such as salary over more paid sick leave.
While unions worried Congress’s intervention could undercut their bargaining position, some labor groups applauded the planned sick leave vote.
“The additional legislation needs to pass so that railroad workers will have basic protections against illness, and protection from punishment from the railroads when workers are most vulnerable,” said Peter Kennedy, executive assistant to the president at the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division, one of the unions whose members rejected the contract.
Shares of freight railroads edged lower Wednesday, on the news that Congress could impose additional paid sick days for workers on top of the tentative agreement.
“If it’s passed separately, that could add potential cost,” said Jennifer Hamann, chief financial officer at Union Pacific, at an industrials conference. “We’re hopeful that they stick with what the White House and Speaker Pelosi originally came out with,” referring to the proposed contract and additional agreements.
Congress has intervened in railroad labor disputes at least 18 times since the 1960s, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The House voted Wednesday to approve a measure ending a rail workers’ labor dispute ahead of a possible strike, while also planning to take up a proposal to impose paid sick leave, a step demanded by some lawmakers.
House lawmakers voted 290 to 137 on legislation that would force the adoption of a tentative labor agreement by rail workers, using the power of a 1926 law that allows Congress to intervene in railroad disputes that threaten to disrupt the U.S. economy.
The move would end a long-running labor dispute between Union Pacific Corp., CSX Corp. and other freight railroads and more than 115,000 workers.
In a letter to Democratic House lawmakers sent late Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said she is reluctantly asking for their vote to force the agreement’s adoption, after President Biden called for Congress to intervene.
Democrats have stood with “hard-working railroaders in their fight against greedy railroad corporations for fairer wages, benefits and working conditions,” she said in the letter. “However, we must act to prevent a catastrophic strike that would touch the lives of nearly every family: erasing hundreds of thousands of jobs, including union jobs; keeping food and medicine off the shelves; and stopping small businesses from getting their goods to market.”
Republicans signaled they would back the bill to end the labor standoff, while also criticizing the White House for failing to negotiate a deal that unions and management could support.
“Why is Congress doing this? The reason is…because the president failed, the administration failed. That’s the reason this was brought to Congress,” said Rep. Sam Graves (R., Mo.), the top Republican on the House’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He said he plans to support the measure enforcing the labor deal and urged colleagues to do the same.
House lawmakers are also expected to vote on a second bill that would increase paid sick leave to seven days.
Several House and Senate Democrats have signaled that they wanted to expand sick-leave benefits as a condition of backing the labor deal.
“We have to recognize that the tentative agreements fall short—well short—of what is necessary for paid leave for rail workers,” said Rep. Rick Larsen (D., Wash.). “Benefits do not replace paid sick leave. Going to work sick to earn your wage increase—who does that? Who requires that? Only the rail industry.”
Any legislation that passes the House will have to be approved by the Senate as well. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) proposed a similar sick-leave measure.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh will speak to the Senate Democratic caucus on Thursday, according to a Senate Democratic aide.
The freight railroads and unions representing engineers, conductors, machinists and other workers have been in labor negotiations for more than two years. The White House appointed a mediation panel over the summer. Eight unions ratified a proposed contract that came out of those talks, while four didn’t. Both sides have agreed to a cooling-off period until Dec. 9.
Lawmakers from both parties said they were unhappy about the benefits offered to railroad workers, particularly related to paid sick leave, and said they were hesitant to force them to accept a deal. The five-year agreement, which replaces a contract that lapsed, offers railroad workers a 24% increase in wages from 2020 through 2024. It allows for one additional paid day off, on top of existing vacation and paid time off.
Under the Railway Labor Act, Congress can make both sides accept an agreement that their members have voted down. Lawmakers also can order negotiations to continue and delay the strike deadline for a certain period, or they can send the dispute to outside arbitrators.
Congress can also impose other conditions—like paid sick leave—using its authority under the Constitution’s commerce clause to regulate commerce between the states, according to Thomas Kohler, a law professor at Boston College Law School.
“It’s pretty minimal paid leave and it certainly doesn’t resolve the issues that the railways and the unions have,” Mr. Kohler said of the new proposal. “This will be a problem that will continue to boil until the next labor agreement.”
Rail workers have access to benefits packages that include some form of paid sick leave, according to the Association of American Railroads, but workers say conditions placed on getting additional paid sick days off are too onerous. While the tentative agreement offers workers one additional paid personal day off that could be used as sick leave, workers who maintain tracks for instance, say they only get one additional hour of paid sick time off after 30 hours of work.
Railroad operators argue that the current benefits packages are the result of years of labor talks, and that unions have prioritized other elements such as salary over more paid sick leave.
While unions worried Congress’s intervention could undercut their bargaining position, some labor groups applauded the planned sick leave vote.
“The additional legislation needs to pass so that railroad workers will have basic protections against illness, and protection from punishment from the railroads when workers are most vulnerable,” said Peter Kennedy, executive assistant to the president at the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division, one of the unions whose members rejected the contract.
Shares of freight railroads edged lower Wednesday, on the news that Congress could impose additional paid sick days for workers on top of the tentative agreement.
“If it’s passed separately, that could add potential cost,” said Jennifer Hamann, chief financial officer at Union Pacific, at an industrials conference. “We’re hopeful that they stick with what the White House and Speaker Pelosi originally came out with,” referring to the proposed contract and additional agreements.
Congress has intervened in railroad labor disputes at least 18 times since the 1960s, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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Dems to union rail workers: GFY! - Spanky KU - 12/1 11:52:08
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