this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2023
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Railroading. Not the next day, but probs pretty quick. There's a reason Biden nipped the railroad strike in the bud, and my theory as to why he's trying to build up the "pro-union" image again before the election - he really screwed labor in that move.
Maybe you missed the part where he went back and fulfilled that promise to get the railroad workers sick days.
https://crooksandliars.com/2023/06/sick-days-biden-administration-gets-it
I actually did miss that, thank you for replying. I had been working for a passenger rail company at the time, but ended up leaving my job a little after the big event and didn't keep up on the news.
That being said, I still think the union could have gotten a much better deal had they been permitted to strike. They were originally asking for 15 paid days (note: I think they would've settled lower, but higher than 4). While the deal that was negotiated does help people, it is a far cry from what's needed. I worked at the best of the railroads (in terms of contract), and that was too much for me. I was on call 6 days a week and worked all 6 of those days for several months straight. I got sick a lot more often in my year on that job than ever before and it's becuse I didn't have rest. But again, that was the best contract in the RR, freight workers (at the time at least) were on call for up to 2 weeks at a time, sometimes being called in more than once a day.
I haven't looked at the new contracts that freight workers are getting now, but I know that 4 days sick leave (7 if you convert your personal days), is not enough, even if they got contracts as good as we had at my company. The railroads use and abuse their employees, and employees should've gotten a lot more than they did. A strike would have ground things to a halt, but that's literally the point. That's the only card we have as workers and Biden took that away at a pivotal moment.
So I personally still think it was a shit deal, and it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm glad that workers are getting more now than they were, but they could have gotten more had they not been kneecapped.
I agree with your sentiment and am frustrated at why Dems in general have such a hard time siding with labor and the more progressive wing of the party.
It's because the overton window has shifted so much that the Democrats only have to give scraps to workers and that is still the best those workers will get from any viable political party. It's better than what the Republicans are offering which is getting financially pissed on or literally shot.
Exactly. And maybe I'm just a salty leftist, but I don't think we should thank dems for not pissing on us when they choose to spit on us instead.
I agree with your sentiment. But I don't fault the party itself for having grown to cover so much turf that there is room for conservatives. I don't like that and I wish it would fragment and support multiple parties - but alas FPTP.
He got them a few and far far less than they asked for.
But he did go the extra mile. Credit where due. Tfg would have thrown towels at them.
But is a strike enough to make the industry disappear ? Several European countries (especially France) regularly get large strikes in the rail (and indeed these workers are essential thus striking works). For a few days/week people find alternative way to commute, employer close their eye on people coming late/leaving early but a week of strike (even a hard one) isn't enough to collapse the economy
This strike was regarding freight rail and would definitely not cause the industry to disappear since rail is the most cost effective way to transport certain goods, and we do not have enough infrustructure for trucks to be a reasonable alternative (and we have a hell of a lot of roadways). Here's a basic list of common things freight trains carry.
Many people would feel the hit from things like lumber and car shortages, but I think hazmat materials would be the biggest stopper of the economy. According to this page rail transports 99.9% of hazmat materials in the US, including 11% of the US's crude oil at it's peak oil shipments in 2014, though idk how pipelines factor in/how companies distibute gasoline, so not sure if that would affect gas prices in some areas more than others or if it would affect the nation as a whole. What I do know is that many industries rely on our freight system, and it can't all be converted to trucking. Many workers wouldn't have raw materials to work with and it would touch everyone in some way.