Biden prevented the strike but continued to fight for rail workers rights. And they ended up getting what they wanted!
After months of negotiations, the IBEW’s Railroad members at four of the largest U.S. freight carriers finally have what they’ve long sought but that many working people take for granted: paid sick days.
“We’re thankful that the Biden administration played the long game on sick days and stuck with us for months after Congress imposed our updated national agreement,” Russo said. “Without making a big show of it, Joe Biden and members of his administration in the Transportation and Labor departments have been working continuously to get guaranteed paid sick days for all railroad workers.
“Biden deserves a lot of the credit for achieving this goal for us,” Russo said. “He and his team continued to work behind the scenes to get all of rail labor a fair agreement for paid sick leave.”
So…Biden castrated the railroad union and it’s now functionally pointless. Any union that cannot strike or perform its own negotiations is a paper tiger.
It’s not better if your master stops his friend from beating you and throws a scrap from the table. All he did was remind the unions and employees who the master is. Next time they’ll be just as dependent, if not more so, on government intervention.
Railroads now know they never have to negotiate again.
It’s not better if your master stops his friend from beating you and throws a scrap from the table.
It wasn’t a scrap, it was exactly what they were asking for. And it was achieved without a strike that would have cost the economy billions. You are putting words in the unions mouth when their own words are right in front of you. They did not have to thank Biden. If they felt that Biden had “castrated” them they would not have spent so much time praising him for his help.
Railroads now know they never have to negotiate again
Well, except for this time… when they did exactly that. Not sure why you think next time would be different.
Don’t get me wrong, I think everyone should have a right to unionize and I don’t think that Biden should have passed that law. I’m simply calling attention to the fact that Biden still fought hard to give the rail workers what they deserved, while still averting a strike, and was successful. To simply say he “castrated” the union and leave it at that, is ignoring the reality of the situation.
You skipped the part where he says the only reason this happened was Bernie Sanders…
On Feb. 8, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, wrote a letter to the leaders of six Class I railroads, urging them to guarantee at least seven paid sick days for all of their workers.
"Last year, the companies you lead made over $22 billion in profits,” Sanders wrote, noting that they had cut 30% of the workforce over the last six years. “Guaranteeing seven paid sick days to rail workers would cost your industry just $321 million.”
Russo is grateful that Sanders stepped in. “We truly compliment his effort to bring dignity to workers in the rail industry,” he said. “Without it, we very likely would not have gotten what we have gained today.”
Biden prevented the strike but continued to fight for rail workers rights. And they ended up getting what they wanted!
https://www.ibew.org/media-center/Articles/23Daily/2306/230620_IBEWandPaid
So…Biden castrated the railroad union and it’s now functionally pointless. Any union that cannot strike or perform its own negotiations is a paper tiger.
It’s not better if your master stops his friend from beating you and throws a scrap from the table. All he did was remind the unions and employees who the master is. Next time they’ll be just as dependent, if not more so, on government intervention.
Railroads now know they never have to negotiate again.
It wasn’t a scrap, it was exactly what they were asking for. And it was achieved without a strike that would have cost the economy billions. You are putting words in the unions mouth when their own words are right in front of you. They did not have to thank Biden. If they felt that Biden had “castrated” them they would not have spent so much time praising him for his help.
Well, except for this time… when they did exactly that. Not sure why you think next time would be different.
Don’t get me wrong, I think everyone should have a right to unionize and I don’t think that Biden should have passed that law. I’m simply calling attention to the fact that Biden still fought hard to give the rail workers what they deserved, while still averting a strike, and was successful. To simply say he “castrated” the union and leave it at that, is ignoring the reality of the situation.
You skipped the part where he says the only reason this happened was Bernie Sanders…
Bernie fucking Sanders.
America may have given up on him…
But he hasn’t given up on America.
Wow!
I wish more people knew this! I couldn’t even find a news article with this info. The site I linked is the unions official post.