When Joe Biden and Congress enacted legislation in December that blocked a threatened freight rail strike, many workers angrily faulted Biden for not ensuring that the legislation also guaranteed paid sick days. But since then, union officials says, members of the Biden administration, including the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, and labor secretary, Marty Walsh, who stepped down on 11 March, lobbied the railroads, telling them it was wrong not to grant paid sick days.
Probably treating this one differently because a railroad shutdown would have had much larger impact on people working in other industries.
Thanks for sharing that. I was unaware of this. I thought Biden really shit the bed with the handling of the railroad union. Seems like the prez gave the union what they were after.
But the unions representing workers who operate the trains day to day, such as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, have had far less success reaching agreement on paid sick days. “The railroads went to the non-operating crafts first and cut a deal with them,” said Mark Wallace, first vice-president of the Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. “If a carman [who inspects and repairs railcars] has to call in sick and doesn’t come to work, the train will still run. If the engineer or conductor has to call in sick, the train is probably not going to go that day.”
The IBEW union that a lot of people like to quote on this because they said Biden helped them get what they wanted were willing to sign the contract negotiators arrives at before the strike started to happen, the workers who wanted something more and wanted to strike before Congress and Biden forbid them from doing so still haven't gotten the sick days they need