On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont vetoed a Republican plan to advance a deal for rail workers and avert a potentially crippling nationwide strike.
The measure supported by the GOP would disregard employees' requests to be able to call in sick or for personal emergencies. Amtrak has canceled cross-country routes as the strike approaches, and the Biden administration is frantically trying to assist negotiate a settlement.
In a floor speech on Wednesday, Sanders said, "The CEOs in the freight rail sector need to understand that they cannot have it all. "A fair and just deal must be accepted by the train sector. It is time for Congress to take a different stance and support workers instead of only the leaders of powerful multinational corporations."Even if workers would not voluntarily accept a settlement, Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Roger Wicker of Mississippi urged Congress to ratify a list of recommendations from a presidentially appointed bipartisan commission and prevent a strike.Earlier on Wednesday, Wicker told Insider that "there are tools that have been in the legislation for a long time to allow Congress to step in and prevent the economic calamity that would occur." "I believe the time has come to apply that temporary law."A shutdown would cost the economy, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, which represents business interests, $2 billion every day. The Chamber of Commerce's John Drake, vice president of transportation, infrastructure, and supply chain policy, said in a statement to Insider that he "welcomes" the Republican resolution.
However, should workers fail to achieve a voluntary deal with rail companies, the plan could potentially supersede their decision on their contract, over which they have been haggling since 2019. If a deal cannot be reached by Friday, workers will go on strike. Throughout Wednesday, talks between unions and rail companies were overseen by Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and the Department of Labor. A new agreement would be compelled by Congress' action, preventing a strike.Sanders emphasized that workers should get paid for time taken off due to illness and should have a say in their contract during a debate with Wicker and Burr about the demands of the workers.
Sanders questioned whether the CEOs and other high railroad officials would be dismissed if they fell ill or experienced a medical issue in their families. "I highly doubt it."
Sanders pointed out that under the present set of proposals from the presidential commission, rail workers would not be entitled to any sick days, either paid or unpaid. For the group of unions who haven't ratified the tentative agreement, that has turned out to be a contentious problem.
He claimed that the Burr-Wicker resolution would deprive workers of these essential rights.
Burr stated that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer now controls the resolution and expressed confidence that Republicans will provide the majority of the votes required to approve the resolution. To avoid a filibuster, it would need 60 votes, which is a number of supporters it is extremely unlikely to secure. For the bill to pass, ten Senate Democrats must join every Senate Republican.
Sanders stated, "I don't think anyone wants a strike or a lockout. "We anticipate that a resolution will be achieved the following day. If we can strike an agreement, in my opinion, I would expect that the railroads, who are currently earning enormous profits, would treat their employees with the respect they merit."
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