December 1, 2022 – Washington DC – The United States Senate voted to pass legislation to impose the terms of the recent Tentative Agreement for the remaining four (4) unions who failed to ratify their agreement. However, the Senate did not pass the resolution to provide paid sick days to railroad workers.
Today’s vote by the Senate is no surprise. Historically, Congress has been extremely reluctant to meddle directly in labor contract matters, other than to impose the results of the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) – which is what happened today.
Regardless of our feelings on the outcome of the vote today, union members should not discount the lengths to which the Biden Administration went to deliver a Presidential Emergency Board with strong recommendations that provided our members with record wage increases, preserved our healthcare (which was under assault), and even provided an extra paid day off.