The Biden administration and most media outlets last week accepted at face value railroad unions’ claims that U.S. railroad companies impose harsh working conditions on their union employees. That claim of onerous working conditions sounded apocryphal.

Under the national collective bargaining agreement still in force, rail employees receive three weeks or more, up to five weeks, of paid vacation. “All rail employees also receive a combination of holidays and personal leave days of up to 14 days per employee.”