Biden-Harris Administration Calls on Class I Freight Railroads to Guarantee Paid Sick Leave and Get to 100% Worker Coverage

On Biden-Harris Administration's watch, the percentage of rail workers who are guaranteed paid sick leave has gone from 5% to 90% 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Department of Labor Acting Secretary Julie Su today sent letters to the CEOs of three Class I freight railroads – CPKC, CN, and CSX – calling on them to guarantee paid sick leave to all of their employees. 

In their letter, Secretary Buttigieg and Acting Secretary Su highlighted the tremendous progress that rail labor and the rail industry have made in expanding access to paid sick leave with three Class I freight railroads now guaranteeing it for all their employees. Since the end of 2022, the number of Class I freight railroad employees who have access to paid sick days increased from 5% to 90%. However, they also noted that the remaining 10 percent of workers who do not have paid sick time – workers employed by the three recipients of the letter – are no more immune to illness than those with coverage. 

Paid sick days help prevent unnecessary safety risks. Rail workers have peace of mind knowing that they can take time off while sick, or to help a family member recover from illness without being penalized. Paid sick leave also protects the public by ensuring healthy, focused railroad workers are on the job. Secretary Buttigieg and Acting Secretary Su called on the three Class I freight railroads without full coverage to reduce unnecessary safety risks by immediately working with their labor unions to provide paid sick days to all of their employees.  

“Every worker deserves paid sick leave - and that is certainly true for the railroaders operating freight trains running through America's communities,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “When we got here, only about 5% of Class I union freight railroad workers had paid sick leave, but the Biden-Harris administration has pushed hard to support rail labor's work to fix that - and now 90% of these workers have paid sick leave. We're proud of that progress, but we will not stop fighting until the remaining 10,000 railroaders can count on this basic benefit. Today, we pressed the three remaining freight rail companies to provide paid sick leave to every employee." 

“The Biden-Harris administration has made clear that sick leave for workers is not a luxury—it’s a necessity,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “Workers in this country deserve to know that they won’t have to choose between getting well and putting food on the table. That’s not who we are—which is why Secretary Buttigieg and I are calling on the final three freight rail companies to do right by their workers and ensure paid sick leave for all of their employees. The unions and companies have come a long way on this issue, but it’s time to finish the job and protect the people who keep our country moving forward.” 

“Guaranteeing paid sick leave is a commonsense move. In fact, three of the Class I freight railroads already provide this benefit to their entire workforce. Unfortunately, the other three that are receiving the Secretary’s letter have not kept up with their peers,” said FRA Administrator Amit Bose. “While we applaud the paid sick leave agreements the unions and railroads have reached so far, extending paid sick leave to 100 percent of this workforce is necessary.” 

View Secretary Buttigieg and Acting Secretary Su’s letter here. 

This comes one week after President Biden signed the Good Jobs Executive Order, the first-of-its-kind action to ensure investments from the Administration’s Investing in America agenda—including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—support good jobs with high labor standards like paid sick days, family-sustaining wages, and the free and fair choice to join a union. 

In February 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration called on the Class I freight railroads to take specific actions to increase accountability and safety, including providing paid sick leave to the more than 100,000 workers that they employ. The Administration has secured other gains, including finalizing rules on minimum train crew size, programs to manage fatigue risks, and certification of signal and dispatch employees. In addition, President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has invested tens of billions of dollars in America’s passenger and freight railroad infrastructure, helping to make the network safer, more efficient, and expansive.   

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