Unions wedged, South Dakota legislators frustrated by Congress' involvement in railroad dispute

Government intervention on the part of the Biden Administration helped cool tensions between railroad companies and their respective unions in mid-September, when the latter threatened to strike on the grounds of being underpaid and lacking certain quality-of-life benefits.

But after the unions ultimately struck down a deal they were offered, Congress intervened Wednesday after the House passed Joint Resolution 100 to avert the railroad strike. Instead of facilitating an agreement between the two parties, this resolution would force unions and rail companies to resolve the dispute under the initial September deal.

And on Thursday, the Senate voted 80 to 15 to pass the bill as well. The legislation, which now awaits President Joe Biden's signature, prevents what would have been a $2 billion-a-day toll on the U.S. economy during a critical holiday shipping season. Based on previous Argus Leader reporting, 1,000 South Dakota rail workers – a large majority of which fall under BNSF Railway's umbrella – could have joined the picket lines should a deal have not been imposed.

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But South Dakota Federation of Labor President Kooper Caraway told the Argus Leader on Wednesday that Congress' intervention in the negotiations undoes years of bargaining between the two groups.

"It's not right for the government to impose something the majority of workers didn't support," Caraway said. "The railroad workers have made it clear what their interests are, and for the lawmakers to overrule that is wrong."

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Congress has intervened 18 times in railway labor negotiations to shut down strikes since 1926. The last time legislators broke into the negotiation process was in October1994.

Each time this is done, Caraway said, it diminishes the bargaining power of the unions and workers.

"It's never good when the democratic rights of workers is overruled," Caraway said. "When a contract is imposed, it steps all over the negotiation process."

Sick leave bill was a sacrificial lamb

Despite having what rail operators called the most generous wage package in 50 years, per Reuters, four out of 12 rail unions dug their heels in on bargaining for more benefits like sick leave, which the original agreement was lax on. While a 24% wage increase did help smooth the deal over, it only included a single day of added paid sick leave.

A separate bill, promised by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prior to the Wednesday vote, was proposed to grant workers seven additional days of paid sick leave. While the main bill passed by a large majority, the adjacent legislation left the House in a much narrower window, with a 221 to 207 vote.

According to the Washington Examiner, the House-passed resolution failed to score enough Republican votes to overcome a filibuster, with a 52 to 43 vote killing the provision Thursday afternoon.

BJ Motley, vice president of South Dakota's major labor federation, told the Argus Leader on Wednesday that while an increase in pay is technically a net positive for workers, the unions could have used the full timeframe to negotiate a better deal for the rail workers.

"That's the reason why you might have eight on board and four maybe not on board," Motley said. "[The railroad companies] are trying to keep it separate, but that should be included in the bill itself. That's what frustrates a lot of unions, when the companies try to split the deal. It's kind of delicate how they do that, but now the workers have to suffer."

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), one of the "yea" votes on the primary legislation, said the logic behind creating two separate bills was to avoid changing the original deal agreed upon by the majority of rail unions. He did note it was unlikely the secondary bill would make it out of Senate.

"You had Joe Biden, you had Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, you had Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, you had union leaders and you had the railroads agree to the deal," Johnson told the Argus Leader on Thursday. "And changing the conditions of the deal unilaterally, through an Act of Congress, is wholly inappropriate. That's why there isn't anyone who thinks the second bill has any chance at passage."

South Dakota's lone representative voted "nay" on the sick leave bill.

More: 'He's not stepping up': Union workers feel let down by 'pro-union' Joe Biden amid rail dispute

State legislators agree congressional involvement is an 'embarrassment'

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is in agreement with Johnson that Congress should never have gotten involved in the rail union-company dispute.

Speaking on Fox News' "Your World," Thune said a number of Senate Republicans expressed "consternation" that legislative powers were even wielded to impose an agreement in the first place. Though he floated the idea there may be some ambiguous difficulties in getting the main bill to pass, he is one legislator among who took a bipartisan stance that a rail strike should be avoided.

More: Looming national railway strike could include 1,000 South Dakota workers

Johnson agreed. Prior to the House vote, a Nov. 29 release from the representative read, "It’s embarrassing we’re at the point where Congress has to intervene – the unions and rails have had two years."

"I'm frustrated that Congress has had to act," Johnson later told the Argus Leader. "The parties should have reached an agreement on their own - and, to be clear, they did reach an agreement, but the agreement fell apart at the 11th hour. It's important for Congress to be big boys and big girls, step up and exercise the power that federal law provides to us."

Thune also mentioned some Senate discussion was circulating around extending the cool-off period between the two rail parties, but the Washington Examiner also reported that a GOP amendment to impose a 60-day break was voted down.

Dominik Dausch is the agriculture and environment reporter for the Argus Leader and editor of Farm Forum. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook @DomDNP and send news tips to ddausch@gannett.com.