President Joe Biden released a statement early Thursday morning announcing a tentative deal to avert a freight rail strike that could have seriously damaged the economy.
The final sticking point that threatened to force tens of thousands of rail workers to strike following the end of a 30-day cool-down on Friday was scheduling, and specifically time off, with the rail companies refusing to budge on giving workers even a single unpaid day off for medical appointments. Train conductors and engineers were on call for long stretches with no time off, unable to make plans lest they be called in, and frequently working 12-hour days.
“This round of bargaining is not about [wages],” Jared Cassity, a conductor and the national legislative director at one of the unions, told The Washington Post. “It’s about absentee policies and the ability of folks to receive preventive care without retribution. People are getting fired for going to the doctor, even with documentation from doctors.”
RELATED STORY: Freight rail workers may strike over bosses' outrageous scheduling demands
It's really important to understand how bad the situation has been:
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Biden, the Post reports, “became personally animated about the lack of leave, and he brought up repeatedly that he did not understand why workers could not be granted more flexible schedules.”
While the full details of the tentative agreement aren't public, the Post's Lauren Kaori Gurley tweeted that it does give workers voluntary assigned days off, a single paid sick day, and the ability to take unpaid leave for medical emergencies.
The workers will also get substantial raises, which had been on the table earlier, with the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) appointed by Biden to avert a strike having focused on economic issues. But it fell down in a big way on the scheduling issues that brought the workers to the brink of a strike. If the PEB had done a better job, the last-minute scramble by Biden and other administration officials, including Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, would not have been necessary. The members of the board should perhaps reflect on their failures here, which were grossly unfair to the workers and actively threatened the economy.
The workers will reportedly get a 13.5% raise immediately, and 24% by 2024 (bear in mind here that the workers have been without a contract for three years), annual bonuses, and changes to out-of-pocket health care contributions. That was enough to win over 10 of the 12 rail unions, but the two largest are the ones that represent conductors and engineers, the workers most affected by punitive scheduling practices that left them unable to go to the doctor or a family funeral without risking their jobs.
The rail companies, which have been making record profits, can well afford the raises.
“Moments ago, following more than 20 consecutive hours of negotiations at @USDOL, the rail companies and union negotiators came to a tentative agreement that balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy,” Walsh tweeted at 5:08 AM. “The Biden Administration applauds all parties for reaching this hard-fought, mutually beneficial deal. Our rail system is integral to our supply chain, and a disruption would have had catastrophic impacts on industries, travelers and families across the country.”
“The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people,” Biden said in his statement. “It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years. These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned. The agreement is also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come.”
The deal remains tentative until the workers see the full details and vote on ratifying it.
RELATED STORY: Rail companies have been cutting costs to the bone, and workers are fed up