As it turns out, the rail workers had good reason to threaten a strike. Right now in the United States, rail workers aren’t guaranteed paid sick days. They must use vacation time for any illness, and here’s the best part: They must request that vacation time in advance. Of course, as anyone who has been sick knows, it’s nearly impossible to forecast an illness before it happens. That’s how the current standoff started: Railway workers wanted sufficient paid leave to cover illnesses, and the big companies didn’t want to provide them, despite the fact the rail companies are more profitable than ever. How have they gotten so profitable in just the last few years? By cutting the number of rail jobs and working laborers harder.