Washington DC - Railroad workers on Tuesday rallied outside the US Capitol and in cities around the country after the US government imposed a contract agreement on them with no paid sick days.

"What do we want? Sick days! When do we want them? Now!" rail workers and supporters chanted at the protest on Capitol Hill.

Rallies also took place in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, and Wyoming.

The labor uprising came after President Joe Biden signed a bill blocking a nationwide rail strike and forcing on workers a contract agreement which they had already voted to reject.

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On top of that, a separate measure that would have granted rail workers seven paid sick days passed in the House before ultimately failing in the Senate.

Biden had previously called on Congress to pass legislation to avert a rail strike without providing any additional benefits for workers, who currently get no paid sick leave.

Workers had been pushed to the brink of a massive strike as understaffing, grueling scheduling practices, and harsh attendance policies increasingly take their toll. Employees have been left to struggle through a global pandemic with low wages and a dwindling quality of life as rail companies continue to rake in record profits quarter after quarter.

In pointing out this gross inequality, rail workers found a strong supporter in Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who told the crowd in DC, "You have stood up and helped lead this country through the most important economic struggle that we face – and that is against the disgusting and outrageous level of corporate greed that we are seeing all across this economy."

"I tell those CEOs who may be paying attention, the guys who make $20 million a year on your back, the people who give all these stock buybacks to their shareholders: Watch out," Sanders warned.

Other progressive members of Congress joined the rally, vowing to continue to fight alongside rail workers until they get a fair deal.

"Every single worker in our country should have the right to strike for better working conditions and a better quality of life until their demands are met," said Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who voted to extend paid sick leave but against blocking a rail strike.

Tlaib, Sanders, and dozens of their colleagues have sent a letter to Biden demanding he use his executive authority to give workers the seven paid sick days which didn't make it through the Senate.

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"It is disgraceful that 43 senators with unlimited paid sick leave voted against providing the decency of even seven days of paid sick leave for our rail workers," Tlaib lamented.

Fellow Squad member, New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman, added: "We are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. We have corporations making record profits, doubling their money year over year over year. We allow them as many stock buybacks as they want, but we continue to give workers and labor the short end of the stick. That ain't right!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, that is bulls***," he put it bluntly.