US President Joe Biden has signed a deal ending a labour dispute between the country’s railroad companies and its unions, resulting in higher wages for workers but no sick leave.
The Biden administration intervened under the 1926 Railway Labor Act to halt a strike anticipated to start on Dec. 9, which would cost the economy $2bn a day and 765,000 jobs within two weeks.
On Wednesday, the House voted 290-137 to impost the rail deal on unions and companies, which later passed 80-15 in the Senate.
An amendment to add sick leave to the deal passed 221-207 in the House as well, but failed to clear the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
The deal offers workers a 24% raise and $5,000 bonus retroactive from 2020, and one additional day of paid leave, but failed to guarantee paid sick leave.
“We still have more work to do, in my view, in terms of getting paid sick leave, not just for rail workers but for every worker in America. That is a goal I had in the beginning, and I’m coming back at it.”
– Joe Biden, President of the United States
The deal will affect around 115,000 rail workers in the US.
