“Last year, the rail industry made a record-breaking $20 billion in profits. They can afford to give their workers paid sick leave,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) wrote on social media Tuesday. “The rail industry must put the quality of life of their employees over profits. I stand with rail workers.”
Rep. Marie Newman (D-Ill.), who lost her Democratic primary race in June, tweeted Tuesday that “paid leave should be the bare minimum.”
“Good Lord, this is the U.S., not a third world country,” Newman wrote. “Paid leave has to be part of the deal. Period.”
Another Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) member, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), asked, “Why wouldn’t the rail companies just allow workers to have paid sick days?”
“We need to stand with workers,” Khanna added. “This is not complicated.” …
In a separate tweet, Bowman said he “can’t in good conscience vote for a bill that doesn’t give rail workers the paid leave they deserve.”
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) echoed that sentiment.
“Every worker deserves paid sick leave,” Bush wrote. “I will not support a deal that does not provide our rail workers with the paid sick leave they need and deserve.”
[Remember, Pelosi only has a thin cushion in the House — and the Progressive Caucus has 99 members. Still no word from CPC chair Pramila Jayapal yet. — Ed]
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