Rail Strike Update 12/1/2022

TLI is closely watching the potentially catastrophic rail strike and wanted to advise that the Senate reached an agreement Thursday to hold votes, right after the House approved a similar measure a day prior.

The chamber decided to hold three votes in succession which all required 60 votes for approval. The Senate typically takes days of procedural sessions to pass a bill however lawmakers reached unanimous agreement saving precious time.

Initially Sen. Dan Sullivan attempted to pass an amendment that would extend the “cooling off period” giving the relevant parties an extra 60 days beyond Dec 8ths deadline to keep negotiating a compromise between unions & rail operators. This amendment failed 26-69.

Sen Bernie Sanders pushed for an alternative amendment that would include seven days of paid sick leave for rail workers as part of the agreement. The Senate will vote to impose the tentative agreement from September to avert a strike — this is legislation that has already been passed by the House and would head to the president's desk if approved by the Senate. It was brokered by the White House but not all the unions support it. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urged the chamber to pass the sick leave amendment because if they do not it “would be extremely damaging to the country.”

The extra PTO was from the earlier agreement passed by the House on Wednesday. The House passed the tentative agreement, along with a separate measure adding seven days of paid sick leave.

If the House deal is expected to pass, and if that occurs it can go straight to President Joe Biden’s desk for his approval.

Biden commented on the rail strike: “I think we’re gonna get it done, but not within this agreement,” he said. “We’re going to avoid the rail strike, keep the rails running, keep things moving, and we’re gonna go back and we’re gonna get paid leave not just for rail workers, but for all workers.”