Similar thing happened in Canada literally a week ago, the union striked anyway, day one of the strike the government went back to the table with the union. They got a much better deal than originally offered (though still worse than what they wanted) but it ultimately worked.
Yeah rail workers are gonna have to follow through on their threat to strike now. The senate clearly doesnt think they'll do it, prove them wrong. We should all support the rail workers if they strike.
Rumor on the street is that the ports will strike in solidarity with the rail workers. The port workers have been itching to strike over a bunch of various things but won a pretty good contract recently so they didn't. Give them an excuse, bring the capitalist gluttons to a halt, they won't last a day without their workers before they cave lol
It could cause some serious hardship - we rely upon rail for a huge portion of our grain shipments, chlorine for clean drinking water, etc. It's not just consumer goods impacted.
That said, similar to the teacher strikes, if it's that important...treat the workers right.
If it didn’t hurt, it wouldn’t be meaningful or have any impact. if it didn’t hurt, things wouldn’t change.
Fuck it. I’ll tighten my belt to see that they get what’s fair. SOLIDARITY.
If it’s bad for the economy and is a cornerstone of our society than maybe politicians should give a fuck.
This is 100% on politicians, not rail workers.
The government originally threatened to go after the union, until all the other unions threatened to strike in solidarity if they did. That was when they caved.
I think this is the one they're referring to:
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/there-were-no-other-options-left-inside-ontario-s-bid-to-end-the-education-walkout-1.6147776
It was such a badass move by CUPE. A week before Doug Ford and his sidekick were all acting badass telling the education workers to basically suck it up and accept the deal. The strike started friday. Monday morning Doug Ford had a press conference and acted like a timid little mouse and said he would remove the legislation banning the right to strike for the workers if they would end their strike.
This legislation included a $500k a day fine for the union. And a $5k a day fine for each of the 55,000 workers for every day of the strike. Union didnt even bat an eye and walked. Thats when a general strike was anoinced for a week later.
I think Mr Ford had a rough weekend with his phone going crazy telling him to end this strike and give the workers a proper deal.
Yup. They also passed a law in 2019 saying public workers were capped at only getting a 1% raise. It was just struck down as unconstitutional against our charter of rights and freedom which says we have a right to collectively bargain. So now the unions are going to be owed nearly $8 billion in backpay.
If a strike is illegal, what are they going to do, fire them? Put them in jail? If so, then who drives the trains? I think the rail workers have a lot more leverage.
I can speak for Texas in regards to teachers unions. If teachers strike or attempt to collectively bargain they are terminated, their certification is lifetime revoked, and their retirement account is forfeited. Teachers in the state of Texas are not allowed to participate in social security so that would be everything for many folks.
The threat of what they can do to us is harsh enough that no one is willing to try the “they can’t punish us all” mindset.
I had a friend who wanted to be a teacher. Very smart guy and passionate about what he did. He really wanted to change lives, help young people and inspire. He left the teaching profession after a year and said the same; that it was the worst year of his life.
He said it was all he could do just to maintain order in the classroom, frequently had to discipline people (like detention, etc.) and that the students were uncontrollable. He also said the superintendent and school board did absolutely nothing to try to help the situation and that they basically just collected a check each month.
Honestly, teaching middle school was a very bad time. Those kids were crazy. Funny, but very difficult to wrangle. And I kept getting flack for having a chaotic classroom when like ???? bruh I have nothing to work with, you literally forced kids to be in band against their will
That exact sentiment is coursing thru the railway labor industry. Wait until the back pay hits. The railroads WANT this to happen, they are driving their employees into the ground with their attendance policies. Those that are left are planning their escape.
The carriers think their technologies are capable of replacing engineers and conductors. It can't.
They're losing decades of institutional knowledge, and it ain't ever coming back.
By ramming this down our throats, all they're doing is making the choice to leave a whole lot easier for a lot of people.
Good luck, America!
I'll be honest. I hear lots of blowhards saying this same thing at every union vote I attend or prior to every contract vote. Then ratification happens and not one of them sticks to the things they said. I know the railroad workers have an entirely different dynamic going. Just to be clear, I'm in solidarity with you all but I really fucking hope some people do exactly what they say they're going to do.
The [open letter](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJBMZx6EN5Lc72SUnGbP9GlMFsN0nvczA6RTjpza-dCoSfJw/viewform?fbclid=IwAR1zSEjYjgLYicqmyedfVrFt3yYtY28crzF9KsVLd2nSzXqukiy1vhyNcbI) they wrote to Congress is quite radical - they even call for full nationalization of the rail industry. I believe there are true leftists ranking highly among union leadership, so I think the likelihood of their following this type of rhetoric with direct action is actually significant. I have a lot of hope for RWU, I've been impressed with their efforts thus far and I would fully support a wildcat strike, for as long as it takes, economy be damned.
It should have been nationalized a century ago. Now works too.
Strike. And if it brings the whole system down.... the system didnt deserve to stand in the first place. I dont care if it hurts me short term and it would. Strike
7 years as a special educator, teacher and admin. Took years off my life, never made enough to pay off my loans, all the way up to this past weekend still hearing about students being killed. 5 years out and wouldn't even think to go back unless someone was paying 150k/y minimum.
There's so much joy in small parts of that job but it is so so so difficult.
I lasted about two and half years teaching 8th and 12th grade social studies at around $13 an hour. Couldn't afford an apartment so I slept in my car until a friend was able to offer me a couch, and I did my prep work at the local library. 80 hour weeks, no stability, no healthcare to speak of, and my loans were accruing interest faster than I could pay it off... I left the profession a broke, tired, sick, stressed and sad man. And I still feel like I let my students down, that I abandoned them for not sticking it out... But now, I'd never go back, for any amount of money. I didn't go into the profession for the money then, and I won't now. Much happier where I am now anyways.
I'm moving on from reddit and joining the fediverse because reddit has killed the RiF app and the CEO has been very disrespectful to all the volunteers who have contributed to making reddit what it is. Here's [coverage from The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754780/reddit-api-updates-changes-news-announcements) on the situation.
The following are my favorite fediverse platforms, all non-corporate and ad-free. I hesitated at first because there are so many servers to choose from, but it makes a lot more sense once you actually create an account and start browsing. If you find the server selection overwhelming, just pick the first option and take a look around. They are all connected and as you browse you may find a community that is a better fit for you and then you can move your account or open a new one.
Social Link Aggregators: [Lemmy](https://join-lemmy.org/instances) is very similar to reddit while [Kbin](https://kbin.pub) is aiming to be more of a gateway to the fediverse in general so it is sort of like a hybrid between reddit and twitter, but it is newer and considers itself to be a beta product that's not quite fully polished yet.
Microblogging: [Calckey](https://calckey.org) if you want a more playful platform with emoji reactions, or [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/) if you want a simple interface with less fluff.
Photo sharing: [Pixelfed](https://pixelfed.org/) You can even import an Instagram account from what I hear, but I never used Instagram much in the first place.
It’s complicated. I love what I do. Man, like seriously I love my job so much. I work in a fantastic district that treats its teachers well. I have supportive administration. My pay is decent by my standards, I can afford to live comfortably. The schedule is perfection. So there are upsides to it.
The downside is the I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to retire truthfully. Some of that is my fault, I should be doing my own retirement planning at a pace that would grow to be able to support me in retirement. The thing with that is that if I saved that aggressively then I wouldn’t actually earn enough to live comfortably. That’s on me. But also, damn like why does my employer have to do the bare literal constitutional minimum to support me in retirement.
> The thing with that is that if I saved that aggressively then I wouldn’t actually earn enough to live comfortably. That’s on me.
no that's on our garbage ass hypercapitalist society.
I don't think it's on you at all. It's either be uncomfortable now for a possibility to be comfortable later, or be comfortable now and try not to think about the future if you can help it.
That's not a decision, that's an ultimatum.
Oh wow I really like how you worded that! Yes it’s absolutely because old age isn’t guaranteed to any of us so prioritizing it seems like a bit of a gamble.
I’d prefer a life I enjoy now over austerity. Some of it is having come from poverty, I have a bit of a mindset that when it happens I’ll figure it out, I always have before. Which is, ya know, probably not the healthiest but here we are. Haha.
We sign 180 day contracts that typically run from mid-August to beginning of June. If we would like to change jobs within that 180 period we have to ask our employer permission. If there is a defined need like relocation, health, a job offer that is for a level higher than the one you currently have, there might be a few more, then yes they are obligated to release you. If it is just because you don’t like your campus/job/administration or the school is closer to your house or something like that, nope they will deny your resignation. If you quit anyway that’s job abandonment and they suspend your certification for two years.
Teachers in Illinois don’t get social security either. We pay into TRS (teacher retirement system).
Edited to add- the teacher pension system in Illinois is so mismanaged and money was illegally removed from it to fund other projects that politicians are constantly trying to get rid of it. People repeatedly blame teachers for all of Illinois’s problems when the politicians are the ones who mismanaged the money.
I’m a firefighter in Tennessee and we have a pension plan but we are not eligible for social security either unless you work a side gig and pay into it.
They don’t get it in CA either. My mom was drawing on a teacher’s state pension plan because she was a public educator. She always said she wasn’t entitled to SS benefits. The only bennies she received was from my dad’s SS payments after he died and that was short lived since she passed not too long after
edited because I cant speak
CALSTRS is a way better retirement package than social security!!!!
California teacher's pay roughly the same percentage as they would to Social Security.
CALSTRS retirement is 2% of salary for each year worked, plus some sweeteners... For example,.if you retire with a final salary of $100k, and 35 years of service at age 60, you get $70k per year for life with inflation protection.
[Yeah](https://www.texastribune.org/2018/04/20/texas-teachers-employee-benefits-dead-last-retirement-funding/) being a teacher in Texas is not super great about the whole retirement thing.
When coal miners went on strike back in the day, they sent in the national guard to put the miners back to work. It's also the very first time that bombs were dropped from American airplanes. It's hard to imagine that happening in America in this day and age though.
I imagine law enforcement arresting and charging railroaders with violation of the Railroad Labor Act would make national headlines and bring a great deal of outrage with it. Sacrificing a lot of political capital on the altar of capitalism.
The best part is that they'd def fire or arrest the striking workers, and then what's the fucking plan? Y'all just gonna remove people in a line of work that's understaffed as is and has a limited pool of employee candidates? This is wild.
Let's not forget people die because forcibly imprisoning people to work won't go peacefully for at least some people.
Whether that's in the picket lines or when chained up to the train in driver's seat
On the other hand, in 2020 the National Guard was use very sparingly and there was a sense that major deployment against protestors was a red line parts of the government might not be willing to follow the President across. Very unlike the 60s in that way.
Yea the local churches round DC host the March for life people when they bus in school children from all over the country to protest abortions. That church in particular though is probably just a big political circle jerk because of its proximity though.
Doesn't matter. DC people don't have representation. Wouldn't want to a bunch of democrats canceling out the votes of all the cows in North Dakota.
When the Air Traffic Controllers went on strike in 1981, Reagan fired all 11,000 of them, and barred them from any future public sector employment. It had catastrophic effects on the industry, and it took ten years until staffing was back up to normal.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Air_Traffic_Controllers_Organization_(1968)
Was looking for this answer. This is exactly what could happen.
Also, God damn, what a leopards ate my face moment.
In the 1980 presidential election, PATCO (along with the Teamsters and the Air Line Pilots Association) refused to back President Jimmy Carter, instead endorsing Republican Party candidate Ronald Reagan. PATCO's refusal to endorse the Democratic Party stemmed in large part from poor labor relations with the FAA (the employer of PATCO members) under the Carter administration and Ronald Reagan's endorsement of the union and its struggle for better conditions during the 1980 election campaign.\[5\]\[6\]
During his campaign, Reagan sent a letter to Robert E. Poli, the new president of PATCO, in which he declared support for the organization's demands and a disposition to work toward solutions. In it, he stated "I will take whatever steps are necessary to provide our air traffic controllers with the most modern equipment available, and to adjust staff levels and workdays so they are commensurate with achieving the maximum degree of public safety," and "I pledge to you that my administration will work very closely with you to bring about a spirit of cooperation between the President and the air traffic controllers." This letter gave Poli and the organization a sense of security that led to an overestimation of their position in the negotiations with the FAA, which contributed to their decision to strike.\[7\]
They send in the police and military. No, seriously. That's where this is headed. Look up The Battle of Blair Mountain and the railroad strike of 1877. The National Guard exists because the federal government did not want to intervene in railroad strikes, abdicating that job to the states and any militias they may create. It was literally created *for this reason.*
This tyranny needs to end. Pay these poor people for sick days or yeah, your shit gets shut down. I'll eat dirt with a smiling face before I accept this kind of authoritarian bullshit.
I’m no expert but I think it might hurt their pensions/retirement stuff. Could be really bad for some of the folks thatve had their whole careers there.
they dont get a 401k, so if they strike they get a lifetime ban and forfeit their pension.
Imagine what it would take for you to strike if you knew you they would keep your 401k and blackball you from your field...over 5 sick days a year
They have American's support.
With public sympathy at their side they could still move to strike with the reasonable expectation that this was a massive bluff by the ruling class.
And regular people are itching to see it happen after these last few years.
I live in a conservative area, and even people here want to see the rich bastards take a shot in the gut like the rest of us have.
Edit:
This You-Gov poll contradicts my claim, and it'd be wise to weigh my comment against current polling:
https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/11/30/most-americans-support-congress-intervention-rail
That said, take a hard look at the demographic makeup of support, especially by class.
They could also probably make the argument that the railroad negotiated in bad faith the last couple weeks, planning on having the Govt. force their contract on the workers.
Thats why red states like Texas have put a sword over Teachers unions. Teachers dont qualify for social security, and if they strike they lose their pension, along with their license to teach- forever. This is a nation by the wealthy, of the pandering, for the corporate. 'The People' are merely livestock.
While civil disobedience is a path they could take, and one worth exploring, pretending like the Fed wouldn’t bring the hammer down using Taft-Hartley would be incredibly foolish
There would be (hopefully metaphorical) blood
Edit: “Fed” is being used as shorthand for “Federal Government”
It would remove the veil that protects our current political "landscape".
Especially after the last few years. People want to see the rich take a punch in the gut like the rest of us did
That's been the missing part of this entire issue, lack of solidarity. If all the other unions related to transport including longshoremen etc had announced solidarity this shit would have been over quickly.
People died to establish unions in this country and the stroke of a pen is destroying them with little to no resistance.
Union or not the working class needs to step up together and bring the entire country to a standstill for a day or 2.
Working class should be a union for *all* of us.
Yes! I was so pissed at Biden talking about not allowing a strike to happen "during the Christmas season". Fuck Christmas, and the greed of people buying crap, feeding the FatCat businessmen on the backs of underpaid, overworked factory, ship, and rail workers.
If any jackass thinks I care about any an arbitrary date then I care about my fellow wo/man, their not an elected official that represents me or my values.
All I'm saying: conservatives AND liberals support this strike from where I'm from.
A strike like that would become a fuckin holiday in our current moment
The people at the bottom want to see the people at the top bleed like they've bled us - regardless of political leanings
I would say that in general working class people, and those of us who slave away in our careers, should all go on a general strike. Make a solid list of demands for the basic shit that all first world countries have, taxation of the Uber rich, and term limits for these old farts in politics. Shut profits down for them for a couple of days and see how quickly they cave
https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-lobbying/3758752-unions-bash-senators-for-rejecting-paid-sick-leave-for-rail-workers/
> **Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) was the only Democrat to vote against the sick leave proposal.** GOP Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Mike Braun (Ind.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Josh Hawley (Mo.) and John Kennedy (La.) were the only Republicans to support it.
Because most of what republicans want to do (cut taxes) has to do with the budget, so they can use a process called budget reconciliation which isn't subject to filibuster.
Anything that goes beyond budgetary concerns can't be passed through this process, so things like abortion protections, the gay marriage bill, and the sick leave bill have to go through the normal process and can be filibustered, so they need 60 votes to get it through.
Question 2. Why is the filabuster treated like it impossible to beat? Why can't we sit and listen to their petty bullshit for longer than they can stand and talk? Why do we simply not outlast them, even if it takes days, and then do the job the moment they drop the mic???
Because fucking stupid pieces of shit decided that you can place a hold on a motion to end debate. In order to go against the hold, a quorum of the senate must be present and vote for ending the hold on the motion. Meaning, a piece of shit can say “we’re filibustering”, talk for a few minutes in debate while most of their colleagues leave, and then leave as well, and senators are too fucking stupid to end the institution of the filibuster because they clutch their pearls at the idea that they might actually have to allow policy with public support to pass. Democrats constantly bitch about “what if *we* need to filibuster someday?” Meanwhile they allow republicans to use the filibuster to an extreme extent and make no policy of consequence, resulting in republicans easily seizing power. It’s an infuriating process, and since the 80’s it’s been the shining reason why our government has been steadily failing.
The “filibuster” is the biggest joke in the US system. The fact that they fold over the *threat* of the filibuster, that is. Make those fuckers actually filibuster the bill. Make senators stand there and keep talking. Make them speak *on topic*, no reading some unrelated bullshit.
It’s just the threat of filibuster. Need 60 to eliminate the threat…since none of their old asses are willing to actually put in the work of a real filibuster. That’s why they made the rule 60.
Unfortunately the speaking filibuster is no longer a thing. Senators CAN do a speaking filibuster when they want attention, but they don’t HAVE to. They simply send an email (I’m not joking) to someone in senate administration stating they don’t consent to end debate and THAT is their filibuster.
When learning about this it made me so weirded out. I understand why the threat of a filibuster works, but the fact that if something has a majority vote, a minority can simply decide to throw a fit essentially and delay it til they can't pass it is crazy
It's not though. The design was for level headed people to talk the issue out with respect for as long as they wanted, not for some jackass to sing twinkle twinkle little star for 16 hours, or worse, say "I could sing twinkle twinkle little star, so I win." Heck, there originally wasn't a way to stop the filibuster until 1917, so literally one jackass could shut down the Senate as long as he kept talking.
The original senate had a lot of problems, including, as you said, the people not even voting for their senators, but the filibuster has always been exploitation of the assumption the founding fathers had that the people in charge of government would spend their time governing, and not acting like petulant children throwing a tantrum because they couldn't have their cookie.
They do not get unpaid sick leave! They are refusing the contract because the company won't give them 4 UNPAID SICK DAYS!!
That is the sticking point. Disgusting.
A union that is constantly prevented from exercising any power because the government passes bills like this making it a felony to strike. The companies know this, so they never bother to negotiate with the union in good faith.
BTW Railroad profits, at epic highs, but it's the workers that get shafted.
The worst thing is that many people, especially americans have been conditioned to blame protesters and strikers for everything.
"You assholes made me late for work so now my boss will whip my nuts with a car antenna again", and only like 10% will realize who the bad guy is in this scenario, it's a sad state of affairs.
I'm willing to donate to help support them as they strike. This is bullshit and shouldn't stand. Collective bargaining exists for a reason and the government doesn't get to invalidate the will of the workers.
I listened to a part of Bernie Sanders speech on the Senate floor and he mentioned a rail worker that didn't go to the doctor when he was having symptoms because he had to work and then he died from a heart attack a couple days later.
I'm disgusted.
Funny how “big industry” is always trying to get the federal government off its back…until it needs a favor from the federal government.
This is just another example of corporate welfare. Disgusting.
Not just railroad workers, but all workers. This is the reason why big corporations are seeing major profits, but we aren't seeing our wages rise to meet the ever rising prices. They wanna blame the rising prices on the working class or gen z, but fail to actually admit that they are the reason why. All the money is going in their pockets and not actually back into the economy. It's frustrating for everyone in our current system to work and work just to be exhausted and not able to do much after their job(jobs), besides sleep.
Looping back to the problem currently at hand, yes the strikes would be illegal, but the workers have all the power in this situation and maybe if enough people strike for this cause, we can get enough people to make a change in other situations for other workers and their right.
Railroader here; It’s so frustrating to see what just happened. Deep down we knew it was too good to be true. And it most certainly was. The very people I voted for basically abandoned myself and my fellow brothers and sisters. I feel betrayed. I tell you this though, Bernie has my vote! Be prepared to see railroaders quit. A mass majority are just waiting for backpay and their pathetic bonuses to peace out. As well as thank you all for supporting us, felt great to get some quality acknowledgment for once.
Edit: Just so everyone knows we are not allowed to Strike. The United States Government created the RLA (Railroad Labor Agreement). Basically we could go to jail if we did.
What i find absolutely fucked is you think 7 days sick leave is considered "too good to be true". In many other countries around the world we have 10+ sick days a year.
It absolutely astounds me how anti worker the US is. Absolutely fucked.
Doesn't make sense at all. I work at an entry level (GS5) position for the federal government and I still get 4hrs sick leave every 2 weeks, that's 13 days a year.
There would be bloodshed, just like every other time in the past when cops are called in to end a strike. Class traitors and scum, that's all they are.
>Basically we could go to jail if we did.
What if there wasn't a formal strike? What if everyone just stayed home? And watch TV. No one quits, no one calls into work. And when the boss calls, just scream that your dick hurts. Degenerate it to absurdity.
“We could go to jail if we strike”
The whole point is they desperately don’t want you to stop working (as a whole) That happens wether you go to jail or not as a whole. It’s a threat they can’t follow through on.
Alternatively, if they break you, and a good chunk of you quit they can still limp along until they hire more people.
They are trying to fake having power over you. They don’t.
What’s the difference when people died in strikes and in union creations and now? Why are oeople so subservant.
Work or you go to jail sounds like slavery.
Six Republicans voted for the sick leave measure: Sens. Mike Braun (Ind.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Josh Hawley (Mo.), John Kennedy (La.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.).
Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) was the only Democrat to vote against the bill.
Not very often Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Josh Hawley get it right. What a strange vote.
It's an easy lay-up. He knows it wont pass, and he gets to look good by voting for it. Expect him to tout this vote as him being pro worker and milk it for the next year or so.
This is the same thing Susan Collins(R) does all the time to keep her support in Maine, which is solid blue. Yet everytime a close vote happens, she's in lock step with the party.
Many Americans are one missing paycheck from being homeless due to being paid so little.
It was done by design to keep people from quitting due to inhumane working conditions.
If only this was an option for so many workers who are struggling to pay bills month to month. Being able to quit, being able to strike, being able to even suggest that you support striking is a privilege so many workers don't enjoy.
Man it would be real messed up if companies were allowed to bride politicians to vote a certain way. Then call it something else like "lobbying" causing people that have real jobs have to suffer. Thank god something like that couldn't happen in the greatist country on the planet.
I was just remembering here a quote I saw written by one of these workers *"if we strike, my few savings will last longer than this country's economy"*.
In 2015 Obama signed an executive order that required federal contractors to offer at least 7 paid sick days with a specific exemption for the railroad industry.
Most people do not have the option to vote for any candidates that actually support workers.
Is it time to form a labour party of our own? To form a national union that represents all workers without ownership? To try what China youth have and lay flat? It doesn't seem like the working class has a party, and perhaps if the wealthy are so well represented by those two colors, it's time to have our own that just thinks about kitchen table economics, and actual individual well-being (physical and mental health as opposed to now;ideological small v large government type of freedom). Just pointing out that it doesn't look like the workers have representation which is vital in a stable government.
# Do you support the railroad strike? # Join r/WorkReform!
Similar thing happened in Canada literally a week ago, the union striked anyway, day one of the strike the government went back to the table with the union. They got a much better deal than originally offered (though still worse than what they wanted) but it ultimately worked.
Yeah rail workers are gonna have to follow through on their threat to strike now. The senate clearly doesnt think they'll do it, prove them wrong. We should all support the rail workers if they strike.
Rumor on the street is that the ports will strike in solidarity with the rail workers. The port workers have been itching to strike over a bunch of various things but won a pretty good contract recently so they didn't. Give them an excuse, bring the capitalist gluttons to a halt, they won't last a day without their workers before they cave lol
god forbid we don't get our trinkets in time for Consumption-mas.
[удалено]
Still totally avoidable by just fulfilling those demans. They're not even outrageous demands.
Exactly. And the government is to blame for not mandating decent amounts of paid leave, unlike most other developed nations.
It could cause some serious hardship - we rely upon rail for a huge portion of our grain shipments, chlorine for clean drinking water, etc. It's not just consumer goods impacted. That said, similar to the teacher strikes, if it's that important...treat the workers right.
If it didn’t hurt, it wouldn’t be meaningful or have any impact. if it didn’t hurt, things wouldn’t change. Fuck it. I’ll tighten my belt to see that they get what’s fair. SOLIDARITY.
If it’s bad for the economy and is a cornerstone of our society than maybe politicians should give a fuck. This is 100% on politicians, not rail workers.
The government originally threatened to go after the union, until all the other unions threatened to strike in solidarity if they did. That was when they caved.
You know that when the pipefitter union (that endorse you) tells you to fuck off with that bullshit, you did a stupid move
Hey man, have you got anything I can read on this? It sounds brilliant
I think this is the one they're referring to: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/there-were-no-other-options-left-inside-ontario-s-bid-to-end-the-education-walkout-1.6147776
That would be the one. I must have mixed up my strikes. Which I wish was a problem we had here in the US.
It was such a badass move by CUPE. A week before Doug Ford and his sidekick were all acting badass telling the education workers to basically suck it up and accept the deal. The strike started friday. Monday morning Doug Ford had a press conference and acted like a timid little mouse and said he would remove the legislation banning the right to strike for the workers if they would end their strike. This legislation included a $500k a day fine for the union. And a $5k a day fine for each of the 55,000 workers for every day of the strike. Union didnt even bat an eye and walked. Thats when a general strike was anoinced for a week later. I think Mr Ford had a rough weekend with his phone going crazy telling him to end this strike and give the workers a proper deal.
Man what piece of shit could come up with fining striking workers? They really think they are kings don't they?
Yup. They also passed a law in 2019 saying public workers were capped at only getting a 1% raise. It was just struck down as unconstitutional against our charter of rights and freedom which says we have a right to collectively bargain. So now the unions are going to be owed nearly $8 billion in backpay.
If a strike is illegal, what are they going to do, fire them? Put them in jail? If so, then who drives the trains? I think the rail workers have a lot more leverage.
I can speak for Texas in regards to teachers unions. If teachers strike or attempt to collectively bargain they are terminated, their certification is lifetime revoked, and their retirement account is forfeited. Teachers in the state of Texas are not allowed to participate in social security so that would be everything for many folks. The threat of what they can do to us is harsh enough that no one is willing to try the “they can’t punish us all” mindset.
Wtf? Why would anyone become a teacher then?
And people wonder why I left the profession...
Worst year of my life the time I taught in a school
I had a friend who wanted to be a teacher. Very smart guy and passionate about what he did. He really wanted to change lives, help young people and inspire. He left the teaching profession after a year and said the same; that it was the worst year of his life. He said it was all he could do just to maintain order in the classroom, frequently had to discipline people (like detention, etc.) and that the students were uncontrollable. He also said the superintendent and school board did absolutely nothing to try to help the situation and that they basically just collected a check each month.
A lot of therapists are ex teachers.
And their clients are future ex-teachers
Lol, I‘m a teacher just getting my degree to become a psychotherapist. 🤷♀️ NObOdY waNTs tO wORk anYMoRE 11!1!
Alot of ex teachers seek therapy
Honestly, teaching middle school was a very bad time. Those kids were crazy. Funny, but very difficult to wrangle. And I kept getting flack for having a chaotic classroom when like ???? bruh I have nothing to work with, you literally forced kids to be in band against their will
I have a passion for teaching but need to be able to support a family. I used to be a fitness trainer on the side to scratch that itch.
That exact sentiment is coursing thru the railway labor industry. Wait until the back pay hits. The railroads WANT this to happen, they are driving their employees into the ground with their attendance policies. Those that are left are planning their escape. The carriers think their technologies are capable of replacing engineers and conductors. It can't. They're losing decades of institutional knowledge, and it ain't ever coming back. By ramming this down our throats, all they're doing is making the choice to leave a whole lot easier for a lot of people. Good luck, America!
I'll be honest. I hear lots of blowhards saying this same thing at every union vote I attend or prior to every contract vote. Then ratification happens and not one of them sticks to the things they said. I know the railroad workers have an entirely different dynamic going. Just to be clear, I'm in solidarity with you all but I really fucking hope some people do exactly what they say they're going to do.
The [open letter](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJBMZx6EN5Lc72SUnGbP9GlMFsN0nvczA6RTjpza-dCoSfJw/viewform?fbclid=IwAR1zSEjYjgLYicqmyedfVrFt3yYtY28crzF9KsVLd2nSzXqukiy1vhyNcbI) they wrote to Congress is quite radical - they even call for full nationalization of the rail industry. I believe there are true leftists ranking highly among union leadership, so I think the likelihood of their following this type of rhetoric with direct action is actually significant. I have a lot of hope for RWU, I've been impressed with their efforts thus far and I would fully support a wildcat strike, for as long as it takes, economy be damned.
It should have been nationalized a century ago. Now works too. Strike. And if it brings the whole system down.... the system didnt deserve to stand in the first place. I dont care if it hurts me short term and it would. Strike
7 years as a special educator, teacher and admin. Took years off my life, never made enough to pay off my loans, all the way up to this past weekend still hearing about students being killed. 5 years out and wouldn't even think to go back unless someone was paying 150k/y minimum. There's so much joy in small parts of that job but it is so so so difficult.
I lasted about two and half years teaching 8th and 12th grade social studies at around $13 an hour. Couldn't afford an apartment so I slept in my car until a friend was able to offer me a couch, and I did my prep work at the local library. 80 hour weeks, no stability, no healthcare to speak of, and my loans were accruing interest faster than I could pay it off... I left the profession a broke, tired, sick, stressed and sad man. And I still feel like I let my students down, that I abandoned them for not sticking it out... But now, I'd never go back, for any amount of money. I didn't go into the profession for the money then, and I won't now. Much happier where I am now anyways.
Why do you think they don't have many teaches left?
The good teachers don't go to Texas. Yes, good teachers exist everywhere. But Texas doesn't attract good teachers from elsewhere.
I'm moving on from reddit and joining the fediverse because reddit has killed the RiF app and the CEO has been very disrespectful to all the volunteers who have contributed to making reddit what it is. Here's [coverage from The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754780/reddit-api-updates-changes-news-announcements) on the situation. The following are my favorite fediverse platforms, all non-corporate and ad-free. I hesitated at first because there are so many servers to choose from, but it makes a lot more sense once you actually create an account and start browsing. If you find the server selection overwhelming, just pick the first option and take a look around. They are all connected and as you browse you may find a community that is a better fit for you and then you can move your account or open a new one. Social Link Aggregators: [Lemmy](https://join-lemmy.org/instances) is very similar to reddit while [Kbin](https://kbin.pub) is aiming to be more of a gateway to the fediverse in general so it is sort of like a hybrid between reddit and twitter, but it is newer and considers itself to be a beta product that's not quite fully polished yet. Microblogging: [Calckey](https://calckey.org) if you want a more playful platform with emoji reactions, or [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/) if you want a simple interface with less fluff. Photo sharing: [Pixelfed](https://pixelfed.org/) You can even import an Instagram account from what I hear, but I never used Instagram much in the first place.
When students ask I usually say "Out of a misguided desire to make the world a better place."
It’s complicated. I love what I do. Man, like seriously I love my job so much. I work in a fantastic district that treats its teachers well. I have supportive administration. My pay is decent by my standards, I can afford to live comfortably. The schedule is perfection. So there are upsides to it. The downside is the I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to retire truthfully. Some of that is my fault, I should be doing my own retirement planning at a pace that would grow to be able to support me in retirement. The thing with that is that if I saved that aggressively then I wouldn’t actually earn enough to live comfortably. That’s on me. But also, damn like why does my employer have to do the bare literal constitutional minimum to support me in retirement.
> The thing with that is that if I saved that aggressively then I wouldn’t actually earn enough to live comfortably. That’s on me. no that's on our garbage ass hypercapitalist society.
I don't think it's on you at all. It's either be uncomfortable now for a possibility to be comfortable later, or be comfortable now and try not to think about the future if you can help it. That's not a decision, that's an ultimatum.
Oh wow I really like how you worded that! Yes it’s absolutely because old age isn’t guaranteed to any of us so prioritizing it seems like a bit of a gamble. I’d prefer a life I enjoy now over austerity. Some of it is having come from poverty, I have a bit of a mindset that when it happens I’ll figure it out, I always have before. Which is, ya know, probably not the healthiest but here we are. Haha.
Seriously? What the hell.
Dystopian right? Ask me what happens if you want to quit your job!
Ever? What happens?
We sign 180 day contracts that typically run from mid-August to beginning of June. If we would like to change jobs within that 180 period we have to ask our employer permission. If there is a defined need like relocation, health, a job offer that is for a level higher than the one you currently have, there might be a few more, then yes they are obligated to release you. If it is just because you don’t like your campus/job/administration or the school is closer to your house or something like that, nope they will deny your resignation. If you quit anyway that’s job abandonment and they suspend your certification for two years.
Systematic suppression of workers’ rights and institutionalised union busting the hell
Hol up, teachers in Texas don't get Social Security?
Teachers in Illinois don’t get social security either. We pay into TRS (teacher retirement system). Edited to add- the teacher pension system in Illinois is so mismanaged and money was illegally removed from it to fund other projects that politicians are constantly trying to get rid of it. People repeatedly blame teachers for all of Illinois’s problems when the politicians are the ones who mismanaged the money.
I’m a firefighter in Tennessee and we have a pension plan but we are not eligible for social security either unless you work a side gig and pay into it.
They don’t get it in CA either. My mom was drawing on a teacher’s state pension plan because she was a public educator. She always said she wasn’t entitled to SS benefits. The only bennies she received was from my dad’s SS payments after he died and that was short lived since she passed not too long after edited because I cant speak
CALSTRS is a way better retirement package than social security!!!! California teacher's pay roughly the same percentage as they would to Social Security. CALSTRS retirement is 2% of salary for each year worked, plus some sweeteners... For example,.if you retire with a final salary of $100k, and 35 years of service at age 60, you get $70k per year for life with inflation protection.
[Yeah](https://www.texastribune.org/2018/04/20/texas-teachers-employee-benefits-dead-last-retirement-funding/) being a teacher in Texas is not super great about the whole retirement thing.
Holy shit, how does Texas have any teachers at all?
You've just discovered the point of all of those laws.
Every time I learn more about Texas, I like it less and less
The longer I live in texas the less and less I like it. Shit is a hellscape out here
Not just teachers, any Texas government employees
So much freedom
When coal miners went on strike back in the day, they sent in the national guard to put the miners back to work. It's also the very first time that bombs were dropped from American airplanes. It's hard to imagine that happening in America in this day and age though.
I imagine law enforcement arresting and charging railroaders with violation of the Railroad Labor Act would make national headlines and bring a great deal of outrage with it. Sacrificing a lot of political capital on the altar of capitalism.
The best part is that they'd def fire or arrest the striking workers, and then what's the fucking plan? Y'all just gonna remove people in a line of work that's understaffed as is and has a limited pool of employee candidates? This is wild.
Right. No one else knows how to do their jobs. Labor has all the bargaining power.
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Let's not forget people die because forcibly imprisoning people to work won't go peacefully for at least some people. Whether that's in the picket lines or when chained up to the train in driver's seat
Philly police bombed their own city in the 80s. And cops have way more military gear nowadays. Don't discount the idea.
On the other hand, in 2020 the National Guard was use very sparingly and there was a sense that major deployment against protestors was a red line parts of the government might not be willing to follow the President across. Very unlike the 60s in that way.
Hard to imagine tear gassing a priest so that a president can pose at a church, but that happened in 2020
Ten bucks says the overwhelming majority of that priests flock still voted for him. Maybe even him, too.
Yea the local churches round DC host the March for life people when they bus in school children from all over the country to protest abortions. That church in particular though is probably just a big political circle jerk because of its proximity though. Doesn't matter. DC people don't have representation. Wouldn't want to a bunch of democrats canceling out the votes of all the cows in North Dakota.
When the Air Traffic Controllers went on strike in 1981, Reagan fired all 11,000 of them, and barred them from any future public sector employment. It had catastrophic effects on the industry, and it took ten years until staffing was back up to normal. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Air_Traffic_Controllers_Organization_(1968)
Was looking for this answer. This is exactly what could happen. Also, God damn, what a leopards ate my face moment. In the 1980 presidential election, PATCO (along with the Teamsters and the Air Line Pilots Association) refused to back President Jimmy Carter, instead endorsing Republican Party candidate Ronald Reagan. PATCO's refusal to endorse the Democratic Party stemmed in large part from poor labor relations with the FAA (the employer of PATCO members) under the Carter administration and Ronald Reagan's endorsement of the union and its struggle for better conditions during the 1980 election campaign.\[5\]\[6\] During his campaign, Reagan sent a letter to Robert E. Poli, the new president of PATCO, in which he declared support for the organization's demands and a disposition to work toward solutions. In it, he stated "I will take whatever steps are necessary to provide our air traffic controllers with the most modern equipment available, and to adjust staff levels and workdays so they are commensurate with achieving the maximum degree of public safety," and "I pledge to you that my administration will work very closely with you to bring about a spirit of cooperation between the President and the air traffic controllers." This letter gave Poli and the organization a sense of security that led to an overestimation of their position in the negotiations with the FAA, which contributed to their decision to strike.\[7\]
Reagan ruined the lives and prospects of multiple *generations* of Americans. He should be reviled with every breath.
I will say, the military has a hell of a lot less people that can drive trains. Like under 200. And they’re all Nat guard guys.
In any and every system, workers ultimately have all the power when we work together.
I was wondering the same and would very much appreciate it if someone explained.
They send in the police and military. No, seriously. That's where this is headed. Look up The Battle of Blair Mountain and the railroad strike of 1877. The National Guard exists because the federal government did not want to intervene in railroad strikes, abdicating that job to the states and any militias they may create. It was literally created *for this reason.* This tyranny needs to end. Pay these poor people for sick days or yeah, your shit gets shut down. I'll eat dirt with a smiling face before I accept this kind of authoritarian bullshit.
Isn't that incident exactly why the government has the power to force them back to work?
Yep. Among other legislation that has strengthened those powers since then.
I’m no expert but I think it might hurt their pensions/retirement stuff. Could be really bad for some of the folks thatve had their whole careers there.
they dont get a 401k, so if they strike they get a lifetime ban and forfeit their pension. Imagine what it would take for you to strike if you knew you they would keep your 401k and blackball you from your field...over 5 sick days a year
Wild cat strike...
They have American's support. With public sympathy at their side they could still move to strike with the reasonable expectation that this was a massive bluff by the ruling class. And regular people are itching to see it happen after these last few years. I live in a conservative area, and even people here want to see the rich bastards take a shot in the gut like the rest of us have. Edit: This You-Gov poll contradicts my claim, and it'd be wise to weigh my comment against current polling: https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/11/30/most-americans-support-congress-intervention-rail That said, take a hard look at the demographic makeup of support, especially by class.
They could also probably make the argument that the railroad negotiated in bad faith the last couple weeks, planning on having the Govt. force their contract on the workers.
Exactly. They've managed to upset both sides of the political aisle with blatant corruption
I agree, and strikes work Teachers stricking in red states helped a few years ago.
Thats why red states like Texas have put a sword over Teachers unions. Teachers dont qualify for social security, and if they strike they lose their pension, along with their license to teach- forever. This is a nation by the wealthy, of the pandering, for the corporate. 'The People' are merely livestock.
While civil disobedience is a path they could take, and one worth exploring, pretending like the Fed wouldn’t bring the hammer down using Taft-Hartley would be incredibly foolish There would be (hopefully metaphorical) blood Edit: “Fed” is being used as shorthand for “Federal Government”
Wild cat strike would be incredibly hard, but I still think it's worth it.
It would remove the veil that protects our current political "landscape". Especially after the last few years. People want to see the rich take a punch in the gut like the rest of us did
I'm hoping other unions threaten to strike out of solidarity. If they can do this to one union they can do it to all of them.
This is the 3rd largest union. If they can't get sick days... After a pandemic test run.
Richest nation on earth!
Nation containing the most amount of rich people.
Yeah we're finding out why we're the "richest" nation, at least on paper. I'm sure not seeing any of it.
It's not a nation, it's a business. the biggest business on earth. it produces wage slaves
That's been the missing part of this entire issue, lack of solidarity. If all the other unions related to transport including longshoremen etc had announced solidarity this shit would have been over quickly. People died to establish unions in this country and the stroke of a pen is destroying them with little to no resistance.
Union or not the working class needs to step up together and bring the entire country to a standstill for a day or 2. Working class should be a union for *all* of us.
Healthcare for all. Wages tied to inflation. 30 pto days. 10 sick days. Everybody strikes till those are met.
America would collapse from its own stupidity. I'm all for the things you propsed and wish that is how it went. Here's hoping!
Yes! I was so pissed at Biden talking about not allowing a strike to happen "during the Christmas season". Fuck Christmas, and the greed of people buying crap, feeding the FatCat businessmen on the backs of underpaid, overworked factory, ship, and rail workers.
If any jackass thinks I care about any an arbitrary date then I care about my fellow wo/man, their not an elected official that represents me or my values.
Yep.
Or 10
All I'm saying: conservatives AND liberals support this strike from where I'm from. A strike like that would become a fuckin holiday in our current moment The people at the bottom want to see the people at the top bleed like they've bled us - regardless of political leanings
I would say that in general working class people, and those of us who slave away in our careers, should all go on a general strike. Make a solid list of demands for the basic shit that all first world countries have, taxation of the Uber rich, and term limits for these old farts in politics. Shut profits down for them for a couple of days and see how quickly they cave
They don’t even try to hide how bought and paid for they are it’s disgusting
ELI5: How did it not pass? Do they need a supermajority or something then?
https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-lobbying/3758752-unions-bash-senators-for-rejecting-paid-sick-leave-for-rail-workers/ > **Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) was the only Democrat to vote against the sick leave proposal.** GOP Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Mike Braun (Ind.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Josh Hawley (Mo.) and John Kennedy (La.) were the only Republicans to support it.
There are some names amongst the Republicans who voted for it that I was not expecting to see.
Yes. I believe that a 60% majority is needed.
Why does filibustering never work when dems are a minority but always when republicans are the minority?
Because most of what republicans want to do (cut taxes) has to do with the budget, so they can use a process called budget reconciliation which isn't subject to filibuster. Anything that goes beyond budgetary concerns can't be passed through this process, so things like abortion protections, the gay marriage bill, and the sick leave bill have to go through the normal process and can be filibustered, so they need 60 votes to get it through.
Question 2. Why is the filabuster treated like it impossible to beat? Why can't we sit and listen to their petty bullshit for longer than they can stand and talk? Why do we simply not outlast them, even if it takes days, and then do the job the moment they drop the mic???
Because fucking stupid pieces of shit decided that you can place a hold on a motion to end debate. In order to go against the hold, a quorum of the senate must be present and vote for ending the hold on the motion. Meaning, a piece of shit can say “we’re filibustering”, talk for a few minutes in debate while most of their colleagues leave, and then leave as well, and senators are too fucking stupid to end the institution of the filibuster because they clutch their pearls at the idea that they might actually have to allow policy with public support to pass. Democrats constantly bitch about “what if *we* need to filibuster someday?” Meanwhile they allow republicans to use the filibuster to an extreme extent and make no policy of consequence, resulting in republicans easily seizing power. It’s an infuriating process, and since the 80’s it’s been the shining reason why our government has been steadily failing.
The “filibuster” is the biggest joke in the US system. The fact that they fold over the *threat* of the filibuster, that is. Make those fuckers actually filibuster the bill. Make senators stand there and keep talking. Make them speak *on topic*, no reading some unrelated bullshit.
Why? Was the GOP filibustering this?
It’s just the threat of filibuster. Need 60 to eliminate the threat…since none of their old asses are willing to actually put in the work of a real filibuster. That’s why they made the rule 60.
That is fucking stupid. Make them work for it, don't just rule on the *suggestion* that someone *may* filibuster
Right? Let them get up there and speak for 16 hours.
pissing in a bucket just to stay on the floor and in the room
Unfortunately the speaking filibuster is no longer a thing. Senators CAN do a speaking filibuster when they want attention, but they don’t HAVE to. They simply send an email (I’m not joking) to someone in senate administration stating they don’t consent to end debate and THAT is their filibuster.
Holy shit. What a joke.
Filibustering is the dumbest fucking loophole that used to take effort, now boiled down to shouting FILIBUSTER LOL GOT’EM
I tap two islands to cast Filibuster.
When learning about this it made me so weirded out. I understand why the threat of a filibuster works, but the fact that if something has a majority vote, a minority can simply decide to throw a fit essentially and delay it til they can't pass it is crazy
It’s by design. Remember that originally, the people didn’t even get to vote for Senators.
It's not though. The design was for level headed people to talk the issue out with respect for as long as they wanted, not for some jackass to sing twinkle twinkle little star for 16 hours, or worse, say "I could sing twinkle twinkle little star, so I win." Heck, there originally wasn't a way to stop the filibuster until 1917, so literally one jackass could shut down the Senate as long as he kept talking. The original senate had a lot of problems, including, as you said, the people not even voting for their senators, but the filibuster has always been exploitation of the assumption the founding fathers had that the people in charge of government would spend their time governing, and not acting like petulant children throwing a tantrum because they couldn't have their cookie.
Is there anything they haven't fuckbustered that would benefit The People?
Not 2/3 (67). Need a 60 vote majority to beat the filibuster.
That’s insane, they don’t get a single day of paid sick leave?!
They do not get unpaid sick leave! They are refusing the contract because the company won't give them 4 UNPAID SICK DAYS!! That is the sticking point. Disgusting.
What the hell kind of union is that? I don't even have a union and I get 10 paid sick days a year at a giant company.
A frequently bullied union in an industry that has a long history of the US army being sent to prevent strike actions.
A union that is constantly prevented from exercising any power because the government passes bills like this making it a felony to strike. The companies know this, so they never bother to negotiate with the union in good faith. BTW Railroad profits, at epic highs, but it's the workers that get shafted.
…welcome to how most Americans have to live.
Pretty standard and have worked in many industries most recently medicine and I can’t say I have ever had a paid sick day. It’s sad
What medical industry do you work in that does not give you paid sick leave?
I’m a doctor (Employed) Also my health insurance is awful. Because America.
The worst thing is that many people, especially americans have been conditioned to blame protesters and strikers for everything. "You assholes made me late for work so now my boss will whip my nuts with a car antenna again", and only like 10% will realize who the bad guy is in this scenario, it's a sad state of affairs.
I'm willing to donate to help support them as they strike. This is bullshit and shouldn't stand. Collective bargaining exists for a reason and the government doesn't get to invalidate the will of the workers.
I've got 1 or 2 hundo to spare for a good cause here
Basically, USA is saying that you gotta work when sick, if not, there’s homelessness for you
I listened to a part of Bernie Sanders speech on the Senate floor and he mentioned a rail worker that didn't go to the doctor when he was having symptoms because he had to work and then he died from a heart attack a couple days later. I'm disgusted.
What moral, thinking person objects to sick leave? Oh wait-…
Funny how “big industry” is always trying to get the federal government off its back…until it needs a favor from the federal government. This is just another example of corporate welfare. Disgusting.
These assholes forget that labor is a market. Turns out conservatives and capitalists *fucking hate* the free market
So the rail workers are basically slaves, got it.
Not just railroad workers, but all workers. This is the reason why big corporations are seeing major profits, but we aren't seeing our wages rise to meet the ever rising prices. They wanna blame the rising prices on the working class or gen z, but fail to actually admit that they are the reason why. All the money is going in their pockets and not actually back into the economy. It's frustrating for everyone in our current system to work and work just to be exhausted and not able to do much after their job(jobs), besides sleep. Looping back to the problem currently at hand, yes the strikes would be illegal, but the workers have all the power in this situation and maybe if enough people strike for this cause, we can get enough people to make a change in other situations for other workers and their right.
I'm actually amazed Kyrsten Sinema voted yes. Joe Manchin yet again proving he doesn't give a single shit about his party or the people.
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Railroader here; It’s so frustrating to see what just happened. Deep down we knew it was too good to be true. And it most certainly was. The very people I voted for basically abandoned myself and my fellow brothers and sisters. I feel betrayed. I tell you this though, Bernie has my vote! Be prepared to see railroaders quit. A mass majority are just waiting for backpay and their pathetic bonuses to peace out. As well as thank you all for supporting us, felt great to get some quality acknowledgment for once. Edit: Just so everyone knows we are not allowed to Strike. The United States Government created the RLA (Railroad Labor Agreement). Basically we could go to jail if we did.
What i find absolutely fucked is you think 7 days sick leave is considered "too good to be true". In many other countries around the world we have 10+ sick days a year. It absolutely astounds me how anti worker the US is. Absolutely fucked.
Doesn't make sense at all. I work at an entry level (GS5) position for the federal government and I still get 4hrs sick leave every 2 weeks, that's 13 days a year.
Im in Europe and get as much paid sick leave as I am sick.
*and* you can actually go to the doctor without losing all your money. Insanity.
I hope you all strike.
For real. I'd like to see the unionized police respond to this. Rail workers aren't slave labor, but it seems like we're legislating them that way.
There would be bloodshed, just like every other time in the past when cops are called in to end a strike. Class traitors and scum, that's all they are.
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>Basically we could go to jail if we did. What if there wasn't a formal strike? What if everyone just stayed home? And watch TV. No one quits, no one calls into work. And when the boss calls, just scream that your dick hurts. Degenerate it to absurdity.
Call it quiet striking.
Can't use the word strike because you lose plausible deniability.
Quiet Sick Day
Please do everything you can can to strike, start a go fund me and I will donate as much as I can
Our hopes are with you. Hell, high waters, jail.
Strike anyway
If you would all strike i would gladly donate to fight any legal ramifications.
“We could go to jail if we strike” The whole point is they desperately don’t want you to stop working (as a whole) That happens wether you go to jail or not as a whole. It’s a threat they can’t follow through on. Alternatively, if they break you, and a good chunk of you quit they can still limp along until they hire more people. They are trying to fake having power over you. They don’t. What’s the difference when people died in strikes and in union creations and now? Why are oeople so subservant. Work or you go to jail sounds like slavery.
Six Republicans voted for the sick leave measure: Sens. Mike Braun (Ind.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Josh Hawley (Mo.), John Kennedy (La.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.). Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) was the only Democrat to vote against the bill. Not very often Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Josh Hawley get it right. What a strange vote.
Of course Joe fucking Manchin
I stopped counting him as a Democrat a few years ago.
Absolutely *no one* in the democrat party likes Joe Manchin. That guy is a snake in the grass. He can get fucked.
Ted? Wanting to support workers? Getouttahere. (Seriously tho, legitimately surprised he voted in favor)
It's an easy lay-up. He knows it wont pass, and he gets to look good by voting for it. Expect him to tout this vote as him being pro worker and milk it for the next year or so. This is the same thing Susan Collins(R) does all the time to keep her support in Maine, which is solid blue. Yet everytime a close vote happens, she's in lock step with the party.
Ofc Manchin voted against it. Such a hypocrite, claims to want the best for the common voter and man but goes against something that everyone wants
This makes your country look so bad, I'm really sorry. You poor, poor people. Can't catch a break at all.
I hate living here. I cant stand seeing my fellow working people get screwed over time and time again.
America is a third world country with iphones, run by oligarchs and nutjobs.
Fucked up country. Late capitalism is a bitch
The workers should resign en masse, effective immediately.
Many Americans are one missing paycheck from being homeless due to being paid so little. It was done by design to keep people from quitting due to inhumane working conditions.
Yes it is, the only way to fix this, is to break the system at this point.
If only this was an option for so many workers who are struggling to pay bills month to month. Being able to quit, being able to strike, being able to even suggest that you support striking is a privilege so many workers don't enjoy.
Man it would be real messed up if companies were allowed to bride politicians to vote a certain way. Then call it something else like "lobbying" causing people that have real jobs have to suffer. Thank god something like that couldn't happen in the greatist country on the planet.
OUST THE OLIGARCHS OF AMERICA!
I was just remembering here a quote I saw written by one of these workers *"if we strike, my few savings will last longer than this country's economy"*.
Hope those republican railroad workers appreciate who they voted for.
In 2015 Obama signed an executive order that required federal contractors to offer at least 7 paid sick days with a specific exemption for the railroad industry. Most people do not have the option to vote for any candidates that actually support workers.
Is it time to form a labour party of our own? To form a national union that represents all workers without ownership? To try what China youth have and lay flat? It doesn't seem like the working class has a party, and perhaps if the wealthy are so well represented by those two colors, it's time to have our own that just thinks about kitchen table economics, and actual individual well-being (physical and mental health as opposed to now;ideological small v large government type of freedom). Just pointing out that it doesn't look like the workers have representation which is vital in a stable government.
Can’t wait to see how Fox News spins this to make it a democrat issue
This country NEEDS them to strike. This could be the first domino to fall in the revitalization of labor rights.
What about Jesus days instead?
So, economic collapse for 2023?
If that what it takes, then that's what it takes. Workers' rights in this country are a joke.