Delaware’s U.S. Senate delegation voted in support of a Congressional intervention in the contract dispute between four of the largest rail workers’ unions and major railroad operators.
In the House, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester voted on Wednesday for a bill that would impose a contract brokered by the Biden administration when negotiations faltered earlier this year. The contract includes a 24% raise for railroad workers — the first since 2019.
Four of the twelve national rail unions – representing half the total workforce – previously rejected that contract, warning that they may strike if a compromise is not reached on key demands by December 9.
Those demands include the provision of paid sick leave, which rail workers generally do not receive; instead, railroad operators typically provide higher pay and strong short-term disability benefits in lieu of sick leave, though the benefits don't begin immediately when a worker becomes sick.
Rail worker unions have generally raised concerns about unpredictable work schedules that curtail workers' abilities to maintain their personal lives — a challenge that has escalated after major rail operators eliminated nearly one-third of employees' positions to cut labor costs.
A national rail strike would effectively freeze much of the economy, prompting the Biden administration to ask Congress to intervene. Though Delaware is home to relatively few railroad workers, a rail strike would close a depot important to the operations of the already struggling Port of Wilmington. It would also cut off the Delmarva Central Railroad — a key freight corridor for Kent and Sussex Counties — from the national rail system; while the railroad's employees are not unionized, the Delmarva Central Railroad interchanges with Norfolk Southern Railway in New Castle County to connect to the rest of the country.
On Wednesday, Blunt Rochester also voted for a separate measure to add seven days of paid sick leave to the contract — a proposal intended to address the four unions' key concerns.
Ahead of a vote in the Senate on Thursday, Senator Tom Carper said he stands by the plan to intervene and impose a contract to avoid the consequences of a strike, Carper notes he does so reluctantly.
“I do not take lightly, nor do my colleagues, and certainly this President and Secretary Walsh, the prospect of intervening in a labor dispute," he said. "We don’t normally do this kind of thing if we can avoid it.”
Congress last used its power under the Railway Labor Act to intervene in a national rail labor dispute in the 1990s.
As Chair of the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee, Carper says he also wants to avoid undermining the rail industry - a significantly more efficient alternative to freight trucking.
“A major source of carbon emissions in this country are our cars, trucks and vans, and probably disproportionately our trucks," he said. "Trains can be a big help in addressing that.”
Ahead of Thursday's vote, Delaware’s Senators had not yet directly indicated whether they supported the measure to provide seven days of sick leave to railroad workers as part of the contract.
During remarks on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Carper raised his concerns about the dispute over sick leave. "We find ourselves in this scenario because railroad companies won't budge to provide employees with paid sick days," he said. "That's wrong, and it's something we should work to address, but not at the cost of a devastating rail shutdown."
In a statement to Delaware Public Media, Senator Chris Coons also underscored that Congress should act quickly to avert a strike, expressing support for the agreement originally brokered by the Biden administration — the agreement previously rejected by four of the largest rail unions. "Earlier this fall, the Biden administration worked to broker an agreement between rail workers and the industry that was approved by the majority of rail unions and included improvements long sought by workers," he said. "As someone who takes the train to Washington each week, I’m proud to support a bill that reflects that agreement.”
Ultimately, both Carper and Coons voted in favor of providing paid sick leave, as did nearly every other Senate Democrat present for the vote on Thursday; West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin was the only exception. Six Republicans also voted in support of the measure — including Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Texas Senator Ted Cruz — but without the required 60 votes to pass, the proposal failed.
Imposing the contract on the four rail unions without meeting some of their remaining demands would not necessarily prevent a strike. Rail workers may be able to launch a wildcat strike to resist the contract, though they would lose some legal protections.
