“The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people,” Biden said in a statement. “It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years.”

The White House had been in talks with railroad workers’ unions and companies for several months, but negotiations were hung up over unpaid sick time.

The new contracts provide rail employees a 24% wage increase during the five-year period from 2020 through 2024, including an immediate average payouts of $11,000 upon ratification, according to the Association of American Railroads. All tentative agreements are subject to ratification by the unions’ membership.

Biden, who has called himself the most union-friendly president in history and pilloried companies for raking in “excessive” profits, praised a deal that he said would give workers “better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs.”