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REUTERS/Carlos BarriaJune 9 (Reuters) - The largest U.S. business group on Friday urged President Joe Biden him to intervene immediately and appoint an independent mediator to address a protracted West Coast ports labor dispute. West Coast ports stretching from California to Washington state are critical to U.S. supply chains and the nation's economy. U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark in a letter to Biden cited "continued and potentially expanded service disruptions at these ports heading into peak shipping season." Workers reported for duty on Thursday and Friday at the Port of Los Angeles, officials said. "Operations going into the weekend seem to be the most normal they've been" since labor disruptions started late last week, Los Angeles port spokesman Phillip Sanfield said, adding that the port has limited weekend hours.

Persons: Carlos Barria, Joe Biden, Suzanne Clark, Biden, Phillip Sanfield, David Shepardson, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Potter Organizations: Shipping, Port, REUTERS, . Chamber of Commerce, Pacific Maritime Association, Warehouse Union, Workers, Retailers, Thomson Locations: Oakland, Oakland , California, U.S, West Coast, California, Washington, Seattle, Tacoma, Los Angeles, Long, Port of Los Angeles, San Francisco, East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, Asia, Panama

Pelosi said the House would vote separately on Wednesday on a proposal to give seven days of paid sick leave to railroad employees. There are no paid sick days under the tentative deal after unions asked for 15 and railroads settled on one personal day. "Guaranteeing 7 paid sick days to rail workers would cost the rail industry a grand total of $321 million a year – less than 2% of its profits," Sanders said. The railroads oppose giving their workers paid sick time because they would have to hire more staff. "I can’t in good conscience vote for a bill that doesn’t give rail workers the paid leave they deserve," Representative Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat, said on Twitter.

WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote Wednesday to block a potential a U.S. rail strike after President Joe Biden warned of the dire economic consequences of a rail disruption that could happen as early as Dec. 9. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers will vote Wednesday to impose a tentative contract deal struck in September. At a White House meeting Tuesday with congressional leaders, the Democratic president was asked if he was confident he could avert a rail strike, and responded, "I am confident." Labor unions have criticized the railroads’ sick leave and attendance policies and the lack of paid sick days for short-term illness. There are no paid sick days under the tentative deal.

"There's a lot of anger about paid sick leave among the membership" who kept goods flowing during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Seth Harris, a professor at Northeastern University. Labor unions have criticized the railroads' sick leave and attendance policies and the lack of paid sick days for short-term illness. There are no paid sick days under the tentative deal. Unions asked for 15 paid sick days and the railroads settled on one personal day. Railroads have slashed labor and other costs to bolster profits and are fiercely opposed to adding paid sick time that would require them to hire more staff.

Train and engine service members of the transportation division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) narrowly voted to reject the deal. Three other unions that rejected the deal have already agreed to extend a strike deadline until early December. Labor unions have criticized the railroads’ sick leave and attendance policies and the lack of paid sick days for short-term illness. Beginning on Dec. 9, SMART-TD would be allowed to go on strike or the rail carriers would be permitted to lock out workers, unless Congress intervenes. The Biden administration helped avert a service cutoff by hosting last-minute contract talks in September at the Labor Department that led to a tentative contract deal.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the transportation division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) -- representing about half of all unionized rail employees are set to report results. The standoff between U.S. railroad operators and their union workers disrupted flows of hazardous materials such as chemicals used in fertilizer and disrupted U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak service in September. The Biden administration helped avert a service cutoff by hosting last-minute contract talks in September at the Labor Department that led to a tentative contract deal. The unions represent 115,000 workers at railroads, including Union Pacific (UNP.N), Berkshire Hathaway Inc's (BRKa.N) BNSF, CSX (CSX.O), Norfolk Southern (NSC.N) and Kansas City Southern. Labor unions have criticized the railroads’ sick leave and attendance policies and the lack of paid sick days for short-term illness.

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