[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 184 (Wednesday, November 30, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6872-S6874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Railway Labor Management Dispute

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to say a 
few words not only about the negotiations between railroad workers and 
the railroad management, but also to put that crisis into a broader 
economic context.
  It seems clear to me--and I think the polls indicate it--that the 
American people are becoming increasingly disgusted by the corporate 
greed they are seeing and experiencing every single day.
  They look out around them, and they see three people on top owning 
more wealth than the bottom half of American society. They see 
corporate profits soaring, while the prices they pay for the products 
they need continue to go up. They see CEOs of major corporations now 
making 400 times more than the average worker at that corporation.
  They have seen during this terrible pandemic, when tens of thousands 
of workers died because they had to go to work, the billionaire class 
make $2 trillion more in their wealth.
  Further, they look around them, and while the very wealthiest people 
in America become much richer, they walk down the street and they see 
people sleeping out on the sidewalks. We have almost 600,000 Americans 
who are homeless. People can't afford their healthcare costs. We have 
85 million Americans who are uninsured or underinsured.
  In other words, the economy is doing really, really, really well for 
CEOs and billionaires, but for the average American worker, he or she 
is falling further and further behind.
  Now, within that broad context of what is happening in the overall 
economy, let's take a look at what is going on in the rail industry 
today and why Congress is being asked to implement a union contract 
with rail workers to avoid a strike that could take place as early as 
December 9.
  And it turns out that when we talk about the extraordinary level of 
corporate greed in America, there is no better example of that than 
what is taking place in the rail industry today. They are the purest 
example of why the American people are so angry at what is taking place 
in our economy.
  So if you look at the rail industry today, what you will understand 
is that this industry has seen huge recordbreaking profits in recent 
years--huge profits. In fact, in the first three quarters--not a whole 
year, three-quarters of this year--the rail industry made a 
recordbreaking $21 billion in profit.
  Further, they have so much money, profits are so high, that the 
industry spent over $25 billion this year not to improve rail safety, 
not to address the supply chain crisis, but to buy back its own stock 
and hand out huge dividends to its wealthy stockholders.
  In fact, since 2010--and I hope every Member of Congress hears this--
the rail industry has spent over $183 billion on stock buybacks and 
dividends.
  And on top of all of that, the CEOs of many of these railroad 
companies are enjoying huge compensation packages.
  So while workers struggle, last year the CEO of CSX made over $20 
million in total compensation. The COEs of Union Pacific and Norfolk 
Southern made over $14 million each in total compensation.
  In other words, within the rail industry, corporate profits are 
soaring, and CEOs are making incredibly large compensation packages.
  But in the midst of all of that, it is fair to ask what is going on 
for workers. Profits, recordbreaking; CEOs, tens of millions of dollars 
a year in compensation. What is going on for the workers in the rail 
industry?
  And the reality is that the key issue in the rail dispute that we are 
dealing with right now--votes taking place as we speak in the House--is 
not about salaries. It is not about how much money workers there are 
earning. The key issue is the working conditions in the rail industry, 
which are absolutely unacceptable and literally beyond belief.
  Right now, if you work in the freight rail industry--and this is a 
job in the rail industry that is really hard work, dangerous work. It 
is work that takes place when it is 20 below zero. If you are a worker 
in the rail freight industry, you are entitled to a grand total of zero 
sick days. Let me repeat that. You are entitled to a grand total of 
zero sick days.
  Now, as a nation, industry after industry, government after 
government, here in Congress, our people get sick, and they have the 
right to take time off. It is humane. No one--nobody, not the most 
conservative Member of this institution--would say to a worker: Oh, you 
have got COVID? You are fired.
  It would be unthinkable. And yet what this means, what the policy in 
the rail industry means, is if you get sick, if your child gets sick, 
if your spouse gets sick and you need to take time off from work, not 
only will you not get paid, but you actually will get reprimanded and 
could get fired. And that absurd, inhumane situation is precisely what 
is taking place today in the rail industry.

  Mr. President, let me remind you and all of our colleagues that 
hundreds of Americans are still dying every day from COVID, and tens of 
thousands are being hospitalized as a result of this terrible virus.
  But what the freight rail industry is saying to its workers is this: 
It doesn't matter if you have COVID. It doesn't matter if you are lying 
in a hospital bed because of a medical emergency. It doesn't matter if 
your wife has just given birth. It just doesn't matter. If you do not 
come to work, no matter what the reason, we have the right to punish 
you; we have the right to fire you.
  Frankly, it is hard to believe that these conditions still exist in 
the United States of America in the year 2022.
  Let me give you just a few examples that I am familiar with, hearing 
from workers.
  One rail worker was penalized by the railroads for spending the day 
in the hospital with his son who was having breathing issues.
  Another worker couldn't take his pregnant wife to the doctor because 
it could have resulted in disciplinary action for him.
  Tragically, we witnessed the death of a locomotive engineer, who was 
forced to skip his doctor's appointment after experiencing unusual 
symptoms, only to suffer a heart attack and die in an engine room weeks 
later.
  And here is what one rail worker recently said:

       I'm tired of being tired all day every day and having . . . 
     every one of my coworkers being physically sick from sleep 
     deprivation, most of my coworkers can't stay awake anymore 
     during a 12 hour trip!


[[Page S6873]]


  That is one rail worker.
  There is absolutely no reason why these workers should have to deal 
with these conditions in the richest country in the history of the 
world.
  And I wonder if the CEOs--the CEOs in the railroad industry or other 
top executives in this industry--get fired when they don't get into the 
office because of sickness or when they have a medical emergency in 
their families.
  So I think it is--in fact, the head of the Teamsters recently said 
this, Sean O'Brien, that, you know, what is good for the CEOs in terms 
of paid sick leave is good for employees as well, and I think he is 
absolutely right.
  Further, I should add, as everybody knows, that, quite sensibly, the 
Federal Government guarantees 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave 
to its workers. So if you are an employee, for example, at the 
Department of Transportation in the United States of America, sitting 
behind a desk, you are appropriately--appropriately--guaranteed 12 
weeks of paid family and medical leave. But if you are an engineer 
running a train with tons of freight behind you, you get zero sick 
time.
  Now, that may make sense to somebody, but it does not make sense to 
me. As a result of this incredibly reactionary policy of denying 
workers sick time, rail conductors, engineers, and other rail employees 
are coming into work sick and exhausted, which is a danger not only to 
themselves but to their coworkers and everyone else who is around them. 
The work they do is dangerous work.
  The United States, sadly, is the only major country on Earth that 
does not guarantee paid sick days, something that we hope to remedy, we 
have tried to remedy, and we have got to continue going forward so that 
we do remedy it. It is a bit of an embarrassment that, of all the major 
countries on Earth, we are the only one not to guarantee paid sick 
days.
  In Germany, workers are entitled to as many as 84 weeks of paid sick 
leave at 70 percent of their salary, depending upon how serious the 
illness is. And countries all over the world, in one way or another, 
have generous policies that recognize that in a modern, civilized 
society, if you get sick, if your kids get sick, if your wife or 
husband gets sick, you are entitled, as a worker, to have paid sick 
leave.
  But while government workers here in the United States and in many, 
many industries and many companies are guaranteed paid sick leave, rail 
workers in the United States of America today, in the year 2022, are 
guaranteed zero paid sick days--zero.
  Now, the rail industry has told us that they can't afford to provide 
paid sick days to their employees. Instead of sitting down and 
negotiating with their unions to bring about a reasonable compromise, 
for the past 3 years, the rail industry has refused to agree to a 
single day of guaranteed paid sick leave to its workers. They say it 
would cost too much money to provide their workers any paid sick days. 
Well, let's see. They have made over $21 billion in profits so far this 
year. They provide their CEOs with huge compensation packages. They 
spent $25.5 billion to buy back their own stock and hand out huge 
dividends to their wealthy stockholders. But they are just too broke, 
too financially hard-pressed, to guarantee paid sick days to their 
employees.

  So here is where we are. Interestingly enough, it turns out that 
guaranteeing 7 paid sick days to rail workers would cost the industry a 
grand total of $321 million a year--a tiny fraction of the $21 billion 
in profits that they have already made. If the major rail carriers can 
afford to spend $25.5 billion a year on stock buybacks and dividends, 
do not tell me that they cannot afford to guarantee paid sick days to 
their workers and allow these workers to have a reasonable quality of 
life.
  The outrage over the lack of paid sick leave is not the only issue 
that rail workers in America have been fighting for. The rail workers 
in this country are sick and tired of unreliable scheduling, which is 
having a negative impact on their personal and family lives. In America 
today, rail workers are on call for up to 14 consecutive days, 12 hours 
a day. In fact, it is not uncommon for many rail workers to be on call 
nearly 24 hours a day, with a requirement to report to work within 90 
minutes for shifts that can last nearly 80 hours.
  Now, as you know, last September, President Biden and Labor Secretary 
Walsh worked with the rail industry and union leaders to come up with a 
tentative agreement that was better than what the rail industry had 
been offering, but this agreement still does not require the industry 
to provide a single day of paid sick leave to workers.
  I thank President Biden and Secretary Walsh for their efforts, but 
Congress can and must do better. That is why I will be introducing 
legislation to guarantee paid sick days to every rail worker in 
America, and I will insist on a rollcall vote in the Senate on this 
legislation as part of any unanimous consent request required to vote 
on the tentative rail deal.
  I hope very much and I think we may have bipartisan support for this 
modest legislation, and I would hope--and I have talked to Republicans 
who indicate that they are prepared to support the workers. But I would 
say to every Member of this body--Democrat, Republican--to think long 
and hard about how you go home to your constituents and say: I voted 
against allowing rail workers in this country 7 paid sick days. Go home 
and think about how you are going to explain that vote.
  Let's be clear. It is not just the rail unions and Bernie Sanders who 
believe that working conditions on the railroads, with no guaranteed 
sick leave, is wrong and inhumane. It turns out that view is shared by 
some of the railroad's major business customers who are seeing a 
decline in the service that they are receiving and that they need.
  Let me quote from a recent op-ed by Eric Byer, the president and CEO 
of the National Association of Chemical Distributors, who wrote an op-
ed entitled ``Railroads should give workers the benefits they seek.'' 
Here is what Mr. Byer wrote, and, again, this is a business 
organization that wants to make sure that their product is delivered on 
the railroads in a reasonable period of time and on schedule. Mr. Byer 
writes:

       To say the paid sick leave policy for rail workers is 
     woefully inadequate would be an understatement. The 
     negotiated agreement does not include any significant 
     measures to improve quality of life issues. Rail workers 
     today have zero time allotted to them by their freight rail 
     employers for sick leave. . . . According to the Bureau of 
     Labor Statistics, private sector workers receive seven to 
     eight days of sick leave per year.
       A fragile and volatile supply chain requires a strong rail 
     network. Now is not the time to deny reasonable benefits for 
     a labor community that has been decimated by losses in recent 
     years. . . . It's time for the freight . . . industry to 
     right this wrong and get rail back on track.

  That is from the chemical distributors, an important customer of the 
railroads.
  It is not just the chemical distributors. I want people to hear what 
the Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, Martin Oberman, had 
to say about the horrendous working conditions in the rail industry at 
a conference with rail executives earlier this month. Here is what Mr. 
Oberman said:

       When railroads try to excuse their failures by pointing to 
     labor shortages at other businesses, those other businesses 
     did not enter the pandemic having stripped themselves of 
     nearly 20 percent of their workforce in recent years. . . . 
     Today the railroads tell us they are still having a hard time 
     recruiting and retaining workers and try to blame this on the 
     ``Great Resignation.'' The fact is the railroad's personnel 
     practices made these jobs much less desirable.

  According to Mr. Oberman, the railroad industry has slashed its 
workforce by 10 percent since the pandemic started, slashing some 
13,000 jobs.
  Mr. Oberman continued, saying:

       Class I [rail companies] over the past 2.5 years saved 
     roughly $4.8 billion in payroll. . . . During the same 2.5 
     years, the Class I [rail companies] have returned nearly $60 
     billion to stockholders in stock buybacks and dividends, more 
     than 12 times what they saved in payroll. Might the 
     shareholders have been satisfied with only $55 billion in 
     buybacks and dividends? Apparently not. The $4.8 billion in 
     saved payroll would have been a drop in the bucket, but the 
     operating ratio had to be met.

  So what he is saying, and I think many of us understand, is that the 
railroads are making huge profits. They have seen their profit margins 
nearly triple over the past 20 years, and during the last 6 years, they 
have reduced their workforce by 30 percent. Do you want to make more 
money? That is the way you do it--you cut back on your

[[Page S6874]]

workforce. Now they are in a situation where they are telling workers: 
If you get COVID, you are going to get fired.

  So clearly we need to rethink the entire business model of the rail 
industry, but right now, the issue before us is not complicated, and 
that is that in an industry which is enjoying recordbreaking profits, 
an industry which laid off 30 percent of its workforce in the last 6 
years, an industry which gives its CEOs huge compensation packages, now 
is the time for that industry to respect its workers and treat them 
with the dignity that all working people are entitled to.
  So we are in an important moment--not just for the rail industry and 
not only for rail workers. The issue is whether or not this United 
States Senate will join the House. And my understanding is that the 
House just passed paid sick leave, 7 days. They did the right thing, 
and I want to applaud the Members of the House for doing the right 
thing.
  Now it is going to come here to the Senate. Do we stand with workers 
in the rail industry and say: Yes, you are right. Working conditions 
are horrendous. We cannot continue a process by which you have zero 
paid sick leave.
  Do we stand with workers or do we stand with an industry that is 
making huge profits, pays its CEOs exorbitant salaries, and treats its 
workers with contempt? That is the choice this Senate will soon be 
having to make, and I hope very much that, in a bipartisan way, we can 
do the right thing and tell the rail workers and tell every worker in 
America that the United States Congress is prepared to stand with them 
and not just the people on top who are doing extraordinarily well.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.