Senate votes to impose Biden rail deal on unions, avoiding Dec. 9 strike

The Senate overwhelmingly voted Thursday to prevent a national rail strike from kicking off next week by imposing a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the Biden White House.

The Senate voted 81-15 to enshrine the terms of a tentative deal unveiled in September that would give 115,000 members of 12 rail unions 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses retroactive to 2020. It also would require that workers pay a larger share of their health insurance costs, but their premiums would be capped at 15% of the total cost of the plan.