[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 186 (Thursday, December 1, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





  PROVIDING FOR A RESOLUTION WITH RESPECT TO THE UNRESOLVED DISPUTES 
    BETWEEN CERTAIN RAILROADS REPRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL CARRIERS' 
   CONFERENCE COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL RAILWAY LABOR CONFERENCE AND 
                       CERTAIN OF THEIR EMPLOYEES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 30, 2022

   Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, we're here today to end three years of 
contract negotiations between the freight railroads and their 
workforce.
  For three years, more than 115,000 essential railroad employees have 
worked without a new contract or a pay raise, all the while enduring a 
global pandemic and new work rules that further erode their quality of 
life.
  We shouldn't be here today. But the freight railroads brought us 
here, and now we have to act.
  This all could have been avoided had the railroads been willing to 
provide their employees with a basic protection and what so many 
Americans already have: paid sick time.
  While 75 percent of private industry workers have paid sick time, 
more than 100,000 railroad employees who work 24/7 operations in all 
types of weather don't have a single day of paid sick time. And, let's 
be clear, it's not because the Class I railroads can't afford it.
  In the last three years, five of the Class I railroad CEOs were paid 
more than $200 million. One of the CEOs made 144 times what the average 
railroad worker makes. Since 2010, the seven Class I railroads spent 
$230 billion to line the pockets of their owners and shareholders 
through stock buybacks and dividends. That includes the $26 billion 
they sent to shareholders in 2021, on top of $29 billion they reported 
in profits.
  The railroad CEOs--who I'm sure have paid sick leave--are watching 
their record profits soar, while worrying that their stock prices may 
drop slightly if they give their workers paid sick leave. Why? Thanks 
to the vultures on Wall Street, the seven Class I railroads have all 
implemented so-called precision scheduled railroading--or PSR--an 
operating strategy that focuses on cutting costs in order to increase 
profits, which are returned to shareholders.
  In implementing PSR, the seven Class I railroads have cut their 
workforces so deeply--by nearly one-third--that it has significantly 
impacted service. While the railroads were dithering on their contract 
negotiations, railroad shippers, including the agricultural, energy, 
and construction industries--have all attested to how these workforce 
impacts have contributed to delayed shipments, disruptions to business, 
and extra shipping costs that get passed on to consumers.
  And what has been the railroads' solution to these self-imposed 
wounds? To force their remaining employees to work harder and longer, 
and unilaterally impose harsh attendance policies that penalize workers 
if they have the audacity to call in sick. This is an industry where an 
inch in the wrong direction can cost you your life or limb--yet the 
railroads are incentivizing people to come to work sick. It's as 
dangerous as it is unconscionable.
  The railroads argued to the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) that 
their record profits were not due to ``any contributions by labor.'' 
Despite a 75 percent decrease in worker-hours and a 602 percent 
increase in worker-hour productivity, the railroads argued that 
productivity was not the result of labor and they claimed that their 
employees are not overworked or fatigued. However, hour-of-service 
violations have increased by 60 percent over the last decade. It's 
2022, but the robber barons are back.
  We're here today because we recognize what makes this country run. 
It's frontline workers. Without them, just under one third of our 
country's freight would sit idle. We know the current conditions cannot 
continue--because without improvements to their ability to reliably 
spend time with family, be sick without punishment, schedule a doctor 
appointment, or plan a vacation, railroad workers will continue to 
leave this industry. And when the best of our essential workers leave, 
we all suffer. I believe it's well past time that these workers have 
paid sick leave and it's something the railroads can easily afford.
  In 2021 the seven Class I railroads could have paid for their workers 
to have seven days of paid sick leave by spending just 6/10 of a penny 
for every dollar they reported in profit and shareholder returns. These 
highly compensated railroad CEOs should not be opposed to paid sick 
days for their front-line employees--employees who are responsible for 
their very success.
  The reality is that the robber barons are nothing without the labor 
of their employees, who deserve better. But recognizing that the 
parties are no closer to a solution today than they were three years 
ago, and that railroad workers make this country run, the House will 
consider this joint resolution to bring an end to this fight in its 
current form, lock in the tentative agreements that provide historic 
pay increases, guarantee reimbursement for work expenses, and prevent a 
massive disruption to our economy that would hurt millions of working 
people and their families.
  I will proudly vote to lock in the tentative agreements and provide 
railroaders seven paid sick days. The CEOs can take a shift in the rail 
yard to cover them.

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