By Ralph E. Moore Jr.,
Special to the AFRO
Railroad Workers United (RWU) members and their supporters staged a rally Dec.7 near the Inner Harbor to push for paid sick leave for the nation’s freight train workers.
Congress and President Joe Biden acted to avert a strike by rail workers before Thanksgiving, but scuttled sick leave from the contract.
The RWU advocates said sick leave for railroad workers is essential.
“What Biden did was give the working class a huge middle finger,” said Jayden Jones, an RWU advocate.
“He and his supporters called him the most progressive president ever, and now all he does is union busting.”
The rally was part of a coordinated move Dec. 7 with similar rallies mounted in New York City and other freight rail hubs, according to Fritz Edler, member.
He and other supporters said CSX and other freight rail companies have enjoyed record revenue but refuse to share with their workers.
According to Megan Kiser, another RWU supporter, it would cost $321 million annually to cover the cost of all of the railroad workers’ demand for seven paid sick days a year. That would cost the railroad industry two percent of their annual profit, she said, noting that freight rail industry revenue topped $21.2 billion in the first three quarters of 2022.
A tentative agreement to craft a new contract for the union included pay increases but no paid sick leave.
Ross Gropers, co-chair of Railroad Workers United, said, “They [the owners of the railroad industry] are making huge sums of money. They are the most profitable industry in the country.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), pushed for a bill that would provide paid sick days for railroad workers, but it failed to pass in the Senate in a 52-43 by not getting the 60 votes needed.
“I voted for Biden and the Democrats and I’m very disappointed. Andre Powell, 68, grew up in a union family. Both parents were members of the union at the manufacturer, Continental Can, in East Baltimore. “This is a disgrace,” he said. “Paid sick leave should be universal.”
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