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House progressives forced Democratic leaders to increase paid leave for railroad workers before agreeing to avert a likely disastrous strike. They may also emerge with little more than a symbolic victory.
The deal brokered between Speaker Nancy Pelosi's management team and an emboldened left hinged on a seemingly dependent solution to avert a rail strike: domestic taxpayers voted for the minimum work contract and a separate bill adding seven days of paid sick leave to it. As the two-part agreement smoothed the path to final approval amid a chaotic negotiating battle between Congress and the White House, it appeared to satisfy the restless liberal wing of an expiring apartment Democratic majority.
But now the jubilant success of the armchair Democrats faces the challenge of the Senate.
The birthday party wants at least 10 votes from the GOP and all 50 Democrats in that chamber to get anything through on the rail strike – a project that's extremely intricate at the moment, both in terms of paid entry and perhaps even the employment contract itself.
“I was told the Democrats would keep it clean,” said Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, the righteous Republican on the Commerce Committee. “If the president wants to play some video game and have everyone come around, there’s going to be some resistance.”
When President Joe Biden urged Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to back down to avoid the impending freight railroad workers' strike on December 9, he framed the celebration as a complicated choice between financial calamity and aggressive union allies. And the deal the House delivered only came after a flurry of consultations with progressives, in response to four ordinary people with the condition.
House Liberals made it clear they wanted paid leave provisions added to the agreement, offering an amendment Tuesday sponsored by Representative Jamaal Bowman (DN.Y.). Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) mentioned that they had been “in regular verbal exchange with the administration, the Whites” apartment and the Senate” throughout these deliberations.
On Tuesday, even centrists like Representative Susan Wild (D-Pa.) left sick.
“There’s no doubt that we can’t have a rail strike,” Wild said in an interview. “That’s probably the most bipartisan sentiment we’ve had in a long time. Then again, I’m still involved with regard to sick leave, as an extremely powerful pro-labor member of Congress.”
In the Senate, however, Democrats are unsure how they will meet the challenge with a ticking clock and likely disastrous results during the holiday season. Senator Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) has not yet decided how he will vote on the idea of leaving due to health issues, while Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said he was inclined to support it.
Republican leaders have mentioned that they don't understand exactly where their taxpayer votes stand, due to persistent uncertainty about when and on what the Senate will vote. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) predicted that the paid leave clause would fall short by the 10 GOP votes needed to break a filibuster, and in the meantime, there doesn't appear to be any Republican business vote in place.
On Thursday, the administration will send Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to Capitol Hill to talk with Senate Democrats about the future. Then it would be up to Schumer to figure out how to navigate an economically disruptive strike while appeasing the participants who want to be paid, covered by the agreement.
“Chuck has a lot of crap on the table right now. But this is big. Certainly, there’s a plan to move forward in a way that makes sense,” Tester noted. “The rail shutdown would be disastrous. However, you seek to deal with people in a fair way.”.
Currently, most senators anticipate voting on the paid leave clause, and if it fails, they are apparently trying to circulate the inferior contract lamented by progressives and rejected by some unions. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) mentioned that “we will vote to include pay in whatever settlement we insist on in the events. It will be an excellent factor.”
Schumer's attempt on Wednesday afternoon to bring each condominium's accounts under a 60-vote limit has so far been unsuccessful.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.), who pushed for the inclusion of paid exit provisions, noted that Democrats could turn the vote “straight into a victory.”.
“We are fighting tooth and nail to include an amendment that would allow these workers to receive their salaries on days when they have health problems. And I think that if we get through this with paid leave, it will end up being a good choice,” she highlighted regarding the residency process flow.
Negotiations between union leaders and the railways have been essentially stalled in recent weeks – daily Zoom calls between the parties were scheduled for an hour but rarely exceeded 15 minutes, in response to union leaders. Lawmakers and union leaders said the railways were unwilling to provide more paid sick leave, and grassroots union contributors began preparing for a work stoppage on December 9th.
This leaves the Senate with little room for maneuver: railroad workers are expected to go on strike next week if an agreement isn't reached. And without unanimous consent, it could take several days to schedule the bill for a Senate vote. Therefore, if the paid leave clause falls through, senators may be left with a zero-sum game: forcing an agreement without ending the pay, or allowing a strike that lets unions continue fighting for a different deal.
Given the financial viability of a rail shutdown before the Christmas holidays, prospective congressional progressives must also swallow the temporary symbolic victory of condominium acclaim for a paid leave increase that does not reside in the Senate.
“That’s probably the most painful part of this: the theory that a worker can be fired for doing precisely the most responsible part, which is taking care of their health,” said Senator Tammy Stanley Baldwin (D-Wis.). On the other hand, she pointed out, “a rail strike could be very dangerous for the farmers I represent.”.
The episode is already straining relations between Democrats and labor leaders, with Biden pushing to avert a strike while positioning himself as the most professional union president in decades.
And some conservatives are acknowledging the likelihood of their personal flirtation with working-class heroism.
Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) did not commit to the paid leave clause on Wednesday, but both noted that they oppose forcing employees to accept the underlying contract. Strong Labor Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) stated his position by pledging now not to accept the removal of paid leave unless it is tied to the GOP's non-concession of votes.
“Marco Rubio is the populist – they’re out there, man. They want to help the workers,” Brown joked about the Republicans in his trademark way. “They’re, like, the Trotskyist birthday party.”
