They got a fraction of what they were asking for and they weren’t even asking for much. Their working conditions are still so awful that it’s only a question of time before the next major derailment disaster like the one in Ohio happens.
Next time, it might happen in a major metropolitan area, in which case many will die and the economy will suffer a lot worse than not trampling on their rights would have.
And even the tiny concessions they DID get in spite of Biden convincing congress to make them fight oligarchic railway companies without their best weapon, strike actions, was due to NLRB efforts with no help from Corporate Joe.
The strike threat was about paid sick leave, it wasn’t about railroad safety. Safety is an important issue too, but every single source from the time, even directly from the unions, explicitly discussed only paid sick leave. In that sense they got their demand met completely
It was about sick leave and improving the working conditions that are so awful that they’re literally making workers sick and trains less safe.
every single source from the time, even directly from the unions, explicitly discussed only paid sick leave
That’s simply not true. That’s the MSM and party narrative, but it isn’t the truth. Outlets less intertwined with the political establishment such as The Intercept and The Nation could have informed you better, had you bothered to look beyond the bubble.
in that sense they got their demand met completely
You mean in that entirely fictional sense? To quote the Nation piece:
this was never just a conflict over the number of paid sick days. About 115,000 workers represented by 13 separate craft unions, who keep 40 percent of the nation’s freight moving, got screwed. The coalition of interests that did the screwing includes: the executive boards of the seven class-1 carriers, most of Congress, and the president.
They got a fraction of what they were asking for and they weren’t even asking for much. Their working conditions are still so awful that it’s only a question of time before the next major derailment disaster like the one in Ohio happens.
Next time, it might happen in a major metropolitan area, in which case many will die and the economy will suffer a lot worse than not trampling on their rights would have.
And even the tiny concessions they DID get in spite of Biden convincing congress to make them fight oligarchic railway companies without their best weapon, strike actions, was due to NLRB efforts with no help from Corporate Joe.
The strike threat was about paid sick leave, it wasn’t about railroad safety. Safety is an important issue too, but every single source from the time, even directly from the unions, explicitly discussed only paid sick leave. In that sense they got their demand met completely
It was about sick leave and improving the working conditions that are so awful that they’re literally making workers sick and trains less safe.
That’s simply not true. That’s the MSM and party narrative, but it isn’t the truth. Outlets less intertwined with the political establishment such as The Intercept and The Nation could have informed you better, had you bothered to look beyond the bubble.
You mean in that entirely fictional sense? To quote the Nation piece: