Biden looks to Congress to force deal on railroad workers

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

https://twitter.com/NancyVu99/status/1597716142235140097?s=20&t=soOGjfACUjyx...

https://mobile.twitter.com/marcorubio/status/1597620780816531458?ref_src=twsrc%5...

https://twitter.com/NewsWire_US/status/1597662506247651328?t=Vd8TePvUuYLYe1i-T7k...


Seems like even the GOP is moving away from the Reagan/Thatcher consensus  on unions

TR SHALL RISE AGAIN!!!

[PSOL]

Given the threats of the strike, getting paid sick leave is all but certain. The union leaders played their cards right.

Republicans are clearly just virtue signaling but it’s funny to see this as one of the more successful versions we’ve seen so far. Of course with a Republican controlled legislature this wouldn’t be a thing in the first place and they’d stonewall till the strike in some 4D chess move.

[MR DARK BRANDON]

For those wondering here’s what’s in the deal

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/28/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-averting-a-rail-shutdown/

“The deal provides a historic 24% pay raise for rail workers. It provides improved health care benefits. And it provides the ability of operating craft workers to take unscheduled leave for medical needs.”

I’d say this is a pretty good deal!

[Gracile]

Paid sick leave passes 221-207:

https://twitter.com/mattbc/status/1598020248959324162

[Hope For A New Era]

Who are the three Republicans?

[KaiserDave]

Bad! Hopefully the Congress imposes the paid leave in the deal. Otherwise very bad!

[emailking]

House passes legislation to avert a rail shutdown

The House on Wednesday approved legislation to avert a rail shutdown following a grave warning from President Joe Biden about the economic danger posed by congressional inaction.

By a 290 to 137 vote, the House passed the tentative rail agreement that will prevent a rail strike. The vote was largely bipartisan, with 79 Republicans joining Democrats in voting for the bill. Eight Democrats voted against the bill.

The House used an arcane procedure to pass the bill so that it can include language to give railroad workers paid leave, in a separate subsequent vote that progressives had called for. But, because it’s a procedure, the Senate can vote on the original measure without considering the paid leave component and won’t have to send it back to the House.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/30/politics/congress-rail-vote-house/index.html

[Gracile]

Who are the three Republicans?

Bacon, Fitzpatrick, and Katko

https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2022/roll491.xml

[PSOL]

Disappointing from Biden, I guess we’ll just have to see if this ends up actually happening. Hopefully there isn’t support in Congress to force a bad deal.

When the stake is the the global economy and many ppls livelihoods, it’s not disappointing.

This is where the left gives up the game. They don’t care about “workers”; a rail strike would be disastrous for working people in this country. They care about unions, even if their demands are to the detriment of everyone else. This is just one of many examples (see also their support of teachers unions).

It’s also of course very funny how easily they are swindled by the bad faith trolling of fascists like Cruz and Rubio.

lmao, union gains are the only thing that trickles down to us without that protection. And quite honestly a strike would improve service by having happier and more able workers lasting for longer.

Most parents backed the teachers strike for a reason, because they love the care that teachers give as they slave off to work and cannot provide during that time.

[Lief 🗽]

Biden is the president of the United States. He should obviously be privileging the welfare of the vast majority of working people over one specific group, and a rail strike would be a disaster for working people. Hopefully the unions can still negotiate a good deal, but that shouldn’t be the president’s primary concern.

[PSOL]

I do hope the rank-and-file manage to see that this is unacceptable, and have locals issue a wildcat strike. Clearly showing a light hand and taking into account the wants of Democratic leadership doesn’t lead anywhere but having the bosses laughing as they prepare to weaken the strike through attrition and division.

[KaiserDave]

Bad! Hopefully the Congress imposes the paid leave in the deal. Otherwise very bad!

I'll clarify here that I totally agree that a rail-strike would be catastrophic. But a refusal to allow just 7 days of paid sick leave is shocking intransigence for some of the America's most important and hard working laborers (reflects horribly on management). Congress has the power to implement this and should, if they don't, I understand why they would choose to strike and they are well within their rights to do so, though that's not a decision anyone should take lightly.

[jojoju1998]

Bad! Hopefully the Congress imposes the paid leave in the deal. Otherwise very bad!

I'll clarify here that I totally agree that a rail-strike would be catastrophic. But a refusal to allow just 7 days of paid sick leave is shocking intransigence for some of the America's most important and hard working laborers (reflects horribly on management). Congress has the power to implement this and should, if they don't, I understand why they would choose to strike and they are well within their rights to do so, though that's not a decision anyone should take lightly.

Then the unions shoudn't have given up the barganing chip regarding paid sick leave in their past negotiations.

[darklordoftech]

If the railroads are shut down, why not ship things by plane or car instead?

[Utah Neolib]

If the railroads are shut down, why not ship things by plane or car instead?

There isn’t nearly enough truck drivers or planes in the air to fill the gap of trains. Not even close to enough.

[John Dule]

If the railroads are shut down, why not ship things by plane or car instead?

Trains are the spine of the American economy, and it's about time the carbrains of this country realized this.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Biden is the president of the United States. He should obviously be privileging the welfare of the vast majority of working people over one specific group, and a rail strike would be a disaster for working people. Hopefully the unions can still negotiate a good deal, but that shouldn’t be the president’s primary concern.

If it's Biden's job to prioritise the many over the few, then - if he is to interfere in the strike - surely he should do so on the side of the larger group (the workers). It's within the federal government's power to force a deal that the current management doesn't like.

[jojoju1998]

It's a lose lose situation in my view.

You don't do anything, the strike happens, the economy goes into a tailspin, and the workers and Union gets blamed ( And that's the truth ).

Or, Biden stops the potential strike, And the workers have to accept a 1 star buffet deal. They also lose in this scenario.

Because either way, the companies are not going to budge on the sick leave, for many reasons ( even though most federal contractors, and the federal government itself have some kind of sick leave so.... ).

[Lief 🗽]

Biden is the president of the United States. He should obviously be privileging the welfare of the vast majority of working people over one specific group, and a rail strike would be a disaster for working people. Hopefully the unions can still negotiate a good deal, but that shouldn’t be the president’s primary concern.

If it's Biden's job to prioritise the many over the few, then - if he is to interfere in the strike - surely he should do so on the side of the larger group (the workers). It's within the federal government's power to force a deal that the current management doesn't like.

Doesn't that need to be done through legislation though? Which means you need 10 Republicans to vote for it or to abolish the filibuster, neither of which he can do.

[NYDem]

Which Republican Senators are a yes on the paid sick leave provision? Rubio, Cruz, Hawley and Cornyn have all made statements of approval. I assume all 50 Democrats are onboard, so 10 Republicans needed?

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Also, let's not be fooled, the GOP showed their hand in the House about what a lower body controlled by them will look like in regards to Labor and Union rights.

With liberal Democrats threatening to withhold their votes unless the legislation granted additional paid leave, a key demand of workers, the House also approved a separate measure to add seven days of compensated sick time to the compact. That measure passed largely on party lines, 221 to 207, with all but three Republicans opposed.

I'm skeptical anything comes of this show-boating by Republican Senators, but we shall see. Let's not mistake it for genuine care though.

[jojoju1998]

Can someone clarify this for me ?

I thought that the Railroad Industry is essentially private, ( and if they were government owned, then workers would have paid sick leave autotmatically under Federal law).

So then why is Congress passing a bill for them ? I'm confused on that part.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Can someone clarify this for me ?

I thought that the Railroad Industry is essentially private, ( and if they were government owned, then workers would have paid sick leave autotmatically under Federal law).

So then why is Congress passing a bill for them ? I'm confused on that part.

I believe it's because the commerce clause of the constitution, which gives the federal government control over interstate commerce, including railways, also gives them the ability to regulate it in special ways and enforce special provisions on unions who work in industries defined as 'interstate commerce'.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Interestingly, you can convincingly argue that most railroad workers were willing to accept the contract negotiated by the Biden administration and it seems that virtually all of them would support a contract with a few extra sick days. It's utterly despicable that Republicans would oppose adding a few extra sick days to the contract.

Overall, I don't think the Biden administration has received as much credit as it deserves for this deal. He could have blinked before the midterms but his administration didn't immediately try to force railroader workers back to work - they used the threat as leverage to exact some concessions from the carriers. Union leadership thought this was a pretty good deal, as did many workers...

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Biden is the president of the United States. He should obviously be privileging the welfare of the vast majority of working people over one specific group, and a rail strike would be a disaster for working people. Hopefully the unions can still negotiate a good deal, but that shouldn’t be the president’s primary concern.

Literally Reagan Democrat type argument in favor of busting PATCO, right?