US Senator Bernie Sanders is still trying to provide rail workers in the country with at least seven days of paid sick leave. During a press conference held on 9 February, Sanders said he sent a letter to the major US rail companies urging them to implement paid sick leave. If the companies claim they cannot afford such a policy, Sanders is ready to summon them and testify in front of the US Senate, he said. 

Together with Senator Sanders, Senator Mike Braun, representatives from various unions, a railroad worker, and a representative from a shipping association spoke at the press conference. One of the hardest statements came from Douglas VanderJagt, vice president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen. During his time on stage, VanderJagt stated that “CEOs would never work under the conditions they require their workers”.

Senator Sanders’ plan to push rail companies

Senator Bernie Sanders said that he is ready to have railway companies testify in front of the US Senate on their claim that paid sick leave is not affordable. Sanders called out companies, claiming that guaranteeing seven days of paid sick leave would cost them 321 million dollars, in front of billions and billions of dollars made in profit last year.

According to the Senator, the biggest rail companies made over 22 billion dollars in profit, used mostly for stock buybacks and dividends paid off to the shareholders. These companies are Union Pacific, BNSF, Canadian Pacific, Canadian National, Norfolk Southern, and Kansas City Southern. As he added, this is five billion dollars more than what they paid in wages to their whole workforce.

The view from the industry

Eric Byer, president of the National Association of Chemical Distributors, pointed out that “according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, private entities have 7 to 8 days of paid sick leave for their employees”. Unfortunately, this does not apply to railway workers, since they are considered federal employees despite not working directly for the State.

Byer stressed how important it is for shippers to rely on qualified and skilled workers to carry out the transportation of dangerous goods and to maintain the infrastructure. Having healthy and happy workers is therefore a prerogative for Byer, considering the danger they encounter daily and the conditions under which they all work. Oftentimes, in fact, rail workers work away from their homes or are on-call, meaning they can be reached 24/7 every day of the year.

Also read:

• 5,000 US rail workers get 4 days of paid sick leave
• No penalty for calling in sick, says this US rail company
• US Congress blocked nationwide rail strike