JUST IN: The House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved.
The House has passed a bill to avert an economically punishing rail strike threatened for Dec. 9, and the measure now awaits a Senate vote.The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved.
The bill would impose a compromise labor agreement brokered by the Biden administration that was ultimately voted down by four of the 12 unions representing more than 100,000 employees at large freight rail carriers. The unions have threatened to strike if an agreement can't be reached before a Dec. 9 deadline.
The call for more paid sick leave was a major sticking point in the talks. The railroads say the unions have agreed in negotiations over the decades to forgo paid sick time in favor of higher wages and strong short-term disability benefits. "Quite frankly, the fact that paid leave is not part of the final agreement between railroads and labor is, in my opinion, obscene," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. "It should be there and I hope it will be there at the end of this process."
Republicans also criticized Pelosi's decision to add the sick leave second bill to the mix. They said the Biden administration's own special board of arbitrators recommended higher wages to compensate the unions for not including sick time in its recommendations. "Families wouldn't be able to buy groceries or life-saving medications because it would be even more expensive and perishable goods would spoil before reaching shelves," Pelosi said.
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