Rail Worker Slams Biden Deal 'Forced' on Unions, Knocks President's Tweet

A rail worker and union official has taken Joe Biden to task over the terms of the recent deal the president signed to avert a strike and dodge economic turmoil, which many have said does not adequately meet the demands of workers.

Earlier this week, Congress approved a measure that would force the acceptance of a rail worker contract, which Biden then signed into law on Friday. Unions and rail companies had been at a stalemate over the former's demand for quality-of-life improvements for workers, including the addition of paid sick days.

A vast majority of Democrats, 211, voted in favor of the resolution and were joined by 79 Republicans. Meanwhile, eight Democrats did break with their party and joined the 129 Republicans who voted against it.

While the deal backed and signed by Biden averts the inevitable economic disaster that would have resulted from a railroad strike, especially so close to the holiday season, many workers and other commentators have slammed the deal for not including the addition of any paid sick days, among other issues.

One of the rail workers who criticized the president was Ross Grooters, the union co-chair of Railroad Workers United and train engineer, who has been outspoken in his support of union rail workers and their demands. On Saturday, he responded to an Associated Press article about union worker concerns regarding the new deal.

"Spoiler alert: the deal forced by congress on a majority [of] rail labor will not address quality of life concerns," Grooters wrote. "Those concerns are rooted in inadequate staffing."

Grooters also directly responded to a tweet from Biden's official presidential account, which celebrated a supposedly "historic" raise that the new deal granted to railroad workers. According to the engineer, the figures that Biden's account cited were inaccurate and the raise conferred by the deal might not be enough to keep pace with ongoing inflation.

"The raise was [22 percent] or an average [4.4 percent] per year," Grooters wrote. "Meanwhile we've been without a raise since July of 2019 during a period of record inflation and pandemic. Even compounded to [24 percent] these wage increases aren't extraordinary and might not keep us up with inflation."

In a Friday interview with the political magazine Jacobin, Grooters reiterated his point that the current deals do not address the staffing issues that are the root of the industry's current problems and do not take enough steps to make "to make our workplace safer and healthier and more sustainable." With the next round of contract negotiations set for 2025, he urged workers and allies to try and sustain the pressure and momentum built up during the most recent round.

"In my mind, the work that we're doing now shouldn't stop," Grooters added. "That's what I'd impress upon railroad workers and our allies that have seen this moment and been activated. People who are frustrated with the progressive caucus—try to keep this on the front burner and organize with us. Keep pressure on the carriers; this thing isn't going away. The problems we have are going to continue, and it's going to continue to jeopardize the supply chain and the economy."

Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment.