Yahoo Finance labor reporter Dani Romero discusses the agreement between CSX and two rain unions.

Video Transcript

- Pressure is heating up again to secure an agreement for paid sick leave between rail workers and their operators, the latest development since President Biden signed legislation to block a national rail strike in December. Let's bring in Yahoo Finance's Dani Romero with the latest. Dani, what are we learning?

DANI ROMERO: Yeah. So there's a big picture going on right here. So it is the fact that workers still have the upper hand. And on Wednesday, we learned that two unions reached a voluntary agreement with CSX Transportation. And it really shines a light that the fact that these union workers, like I said, still have the upper hand. And I want to make it clear that this voluntary agreement was on behalf of CSX Transportation, not the union side.

And so the deal includes four paid sick days and four-- excuse me-- three paid personal days per year. It also impacts about 5,000 union workers. But if we backtrack just a little bit, like you said, President Biden signed legislation last year to avert any form of a rail strike. So the fact that this current agreement really was on the table. And it was a voluntary agreement on the railroad operator side really does move the dial a little bit for these unions.

And so from industry experts I've spoken to, it also gives it a little bit more pressure possibly that other railroad operators will join in and jump on the same bandwagon and offer these incentives to these rail unions. And so so far, Union Pacific, BNSF, and Norfolk Southern do not currently offer workers any paid sick leave. But that doesn't mean that later on, like I said, that they would offer these worker benefits. But it also does possibly signal that CSX Transportation is really trying to find more workers. And so they're trying to incentivize. And this could be some way of doing that.

- Certainly sounds like a step in the right direction. Dani, this week, we also heard from President Biden during his State of the Union address that his administration is once again pushing, advocating for family leave. When you talk about the progress here on the rail worker talks, does that help that narrative that the Biden administration is now pushing when it comes to family leave?

DANI ROMERO: Yeah, Seana. You do bring up a really good point. This narrative really does add to the Biden administration's narrative of being pro-union. It also gives the administration a leg up. And so if we go back to the State of the Union address, Biden advocated for more worker benefits, and specifically around family leave. But he did not propose any legislation in the future or any current legislation for that matter that would really tackle worker benefits. So if there is going to be a change, it probably would come from the state and local level. But, again, this really is a progress for the union side and also for the railroad operators themselves.

- It certainly is progress. All right. Dani Romero, thanks so much.