SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on December 1, 2022. (Photo: Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden Urged to Sign Executive Order Guaranteeing Rail Workers Paid Sick Leave
After the president brokered a compulsory contract without a single paid day off for illness, one labor advocate implored him to "put up or shut up about how you really want them to have sick leave!"
Dec 01, 2022
As the U.S. Senate on Thursday passed legislation brokered by President Joe Biden denying freight rail employees any compensated sick leave, labor advocates implored the president--who called himself the "most pro-labor" president ever--to sign an executive order guaranteeing at least seven days of paid days off for illness to railroad and other workers.
The upper chamber voted 52-43 Thursday--eight votes short of the 60 needed for passage--for a House-approved proposal by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) to give rail workers seven paid sick days as part of a tentative contract being forced upon rail workers by Congress and the Biden administration under the terms of the Railway Labor Act of 1926 in order to avoid a crippling strike.
The senators voted 80-15 in favor of a Biden-brokered tentative agreement without a single sick day that forces rail workers to remain on the job or be fired.
Biden said in a statement following the votes that he would sign the bill "as soon as it comes to my desk."
"I know that many in Congress shared my reluctance to override the union ratification procedures," he said. "But in this case, the consequences of a shutdown were just too great for working families all across the country. And, the agreement will raise workers' wages by 24%, increase health care benefits, and preserve two-person crews."
Anticipating Thursday's defeat, The Intercept's Ryan Grim wrote ahead of the votes that an unnamed "railway union source said that the next phase of the fight would be a demand that Biden include rail workers in a coming executive order that would mandate 56 hours of paid sick leave for federal contractors."
"The bipartisan support in the House and Senate for the sick days, even though it fell short of 60, could boost the argument for including such workers in the order," Grim added.
Some observers pointed to then-President Barack Obama's 2015 executive order mandating at least seven paid sick days for employees of federal contractors--but with an exclusion clause for rail workers.
Progressive activist Jacqueline Anne Thompson urged Biden on Twitter to "sign an executive order guaranteeing seven days paid sick leave for ALL employees nationwide for any company with 50 employees or more."
Another Twitter user quipped: "If you want to take an 11-dimensional chess view, getting Congress to pin the contract to a 24% raise and an average $16k bonus before Biden takes the paddle to the railroads via executive order would be a pretty sweet move indeed."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As the U.S. Senate on Thursday passed legislation brokered by President Joe Biden denying freight rail employees any compensated sick leave, labor advocates implored the president--who called himself the "most pro-labor" president ever--to sign an executive order guaranteeing at least seven days of paid days off for illness to railroad and other workers.
The upper chamber voted 52-43 Thursday--eight votes short of the 60 needed for passage--for a House-approved proposal by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) to give rail workers seven paid sick days as part of a tentative contract being forced upon rail workers by Congress and the Biden administration under the terms of the Railway Labor Act of 1926 in order to avoid a crippling strike.
The senators voted 80-15 in favor of a Biden-brokered tentative agreement without a single sick day that forces rail workers to remain on the job or be fired.
Biden said in a statement following the votes that he would sign the bill "as soon as it comes to my desk."
"I know that many in Congress shared my reluctance to override the union ratification procedures," he said. "But in this case, the consequences of a shutdown were just too great for working families all across the country. And, the agreement will raise workers' wages by 24%, increase health care benefits, and preserve two-person crews."
Anticipating Thursday's defeat, The Intercept's Ryan Grim wrote ahead of the votes that an unnamed "railway union source said that the next phase of the fight would be a demand that Biden include rail workers in a coming executive order that would mandate 56 hours of paid sick leave for federal contractors."
"The bipartisan support in the House and Senate for the sick days, even though it fell short of 60, could boost the argument for including such workers in the order," Grim added.
Some observers pointed to then-President Barack Obama's 2015 executive order mandating at least seven paid sick days for employees of federal contractors--but with an exclusion clause for rail workers.
Progressive activist Jacqueline Anne Thompson urged Biden on Twitter to "sign an executive order guaranteeing seven days paid sick leave for ALL employees nationwide for any company with 50 employees or more."
Another Twitter user quipped: "If you want to take an 11-dimensional chess view, getting Congress to pin the contract to a 24% raise and an average $16k bonus before Biden takes the paddle to the railroads via executive order would be a pretty sweet move indeed."
From Your Site Articles
As the U.S. Senate on Thursday passed legislation brokered by President Joe Biden denying freight rail employees any compensated sick leave, labor advocates implored the president--who called himself the "most pro-labor" president ever--to sign an executive order guaranteeing at least seven days of paid days off for illness to railroad and other workers.
The upper chamber voted 52-43 Thursday--eight votes short of the 60 needed for passage--for a House-approved proposal by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) to give rail workers seven paid sick days as part of a tentative contract being forced upon rail workers by Congress and the Biden administration under the terms of the Railway Labor Act of 1926 in order to avoid a crippling strike.
The senators voted 80-15 in favor of a Biden-brokered tentative agreement without a single sick day that forces rail workers to remain on the job or be fired.
Biden said in a statement following the votes that he would sign the bill "as soon as it comes to my desk."
"I know that many in Congress shared my reluctance to override the union ratification procedures," he said. "But in this case, the consequences of a shutdown were just too great for working families all across the country. And, the agreement will raise workers' wages by 24%, increase health care benefits, and preserve two-person crews."
Anticipating Thursday's defeat, The Intercept's Ryan Grim wrote ahead of the votes that an unnamed "railway union source said that the next phase of the fight would be a demand that Biden include rail workers in a coming executive order that would mandate 56 hours of paid sick leave for federal contractors."
"The bipartisan support in the House and Senate for the sick days, even though it fell short of 60, could boost the argument for including such workers in the order," Grim added.
Some observers pointed to then-President Barack Obama's 2015 executive order mandating at least seven paid sick days for employees of federal contractors--but with an exclusion clause for rail workers.
Progressive activist Jacqueline Anne Thompson urged Biden on Twitter to "sign an executive order guaranteeing seven days paid sick leave for ALL employees nationwide for any company with 50 employees or more."
Another Twitter user quipped: "If you want to take an 11-dimensional chess view, getting Congress to pin the contract to a 24% raise and an average $16k bonus before Biden takes the paddle to the railroads via executive order would be a pretty sweet move indeed."
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy