The House approved legislation Wednesday to stop a strike by freight rail workers that threatens to jar the economy, a rare move by Congress to intervene in a labor dispute that has angered Democrats’ union base.
The final vote to impose the railroad labor agreement was 290 to 137, with 79 Republicans joining 211 Democrats in support.
In a separate vote, Democrats narrowly pushed through a provision to add seven days of paid sick leave to the labor contract over the objections of Republicans who called it a political stunt to appease Democrats’ labor supporters.
The vote on the sick-leave measure was 221 to 207, with only three Republicans voting for it.