https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1598133658191532032
The Senate must do the same
https://twitter.com/LaurenKGurley/status/1598415616167530497
shockedpikachu
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heh, the no true socialist shtick on UP sure is fun with examples like bernie, aoc, and morales.
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The average pay of a rail employee if the deal is ratified would be approximately $110,000 per year by the end of the agreement. Combined with benefits like retirement, and health care, employees would earn $160,000 a year. If agreed upon, industry insiders tell CNBC the general wage increases will be the most substantial in at least 40 years of rail labor negotiations. According to the industry report, the average U.S. Class I freight rail employee earned wages of $95,700 and fringe benefits of $40,000 in 2020, for total compensation of $135,700.
So they could take 7 unpaid days off and still make like 20+% more even adjusted for inflation? They donât need paid sick days in that case.
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They get fired for taking days off that arenât approved weeks/months in advance.
I shudder when people fixate on how much the people involved in strike actions are earning/will earn because it almost always results in people concluding they are entitled (and thus shouldnât be striking) when there may be (and usually are) many reasons they are entitled to ask for what they ask for and be disappointed not to get it. We, as an ostensibly left leaning forum, should always support strike action as strikes, or any direct action by labor forces, can never be viewed in isolation. If one strike is defeated due to a lack of political support it will just lead to the same happening (for lower paid workers) more in the future as corporate interests will feel encouraged and empowered to further mess around labor.
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Eh, disagree. They very well may be sympathetic for a number of reasons but their compensation is relevant.
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Oh I donât disagree itâs relevant but, and this may not be happening on UP, people often just look (/fixate on) at the salary number and end any further thought on other things at play/on the line (work conditions, leave etc).
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One of their big âwinsâ in these negotiations was getting some of these disciplinary penalties removed
On the key point of leave, however, the railroads conceded only a single paid personal day, plus the removal of some disciplinary penalties for time missed as a result of a medical emergency.
Rail Strike: Why The Railroads Wonât Give In on Paid Leave
So yeah itâs probably not immediate firing the first time you donât show but youâre for sure getting canned if you try to give yourself 7 unpaid days off.
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unless fmla laws donât cover these workers, which makes no sense.
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The problem here is that 1) itâs not clear that a strike will lead to a better outcome than what is currently on the table and might lead to a worse outcome and 2) a strike probably causes a recession. A pragmatic or utilitarian left-leaning person could reasonably conclude that enforcing an agreement does the most good for the most people and that you need to pass whatever can get beat a filibuster in the Senate before the Republicans take control of the House.
And lol anyone whoâs still beating a drum about ending the filibuster.
Yes and weâve had the pragmatism/utilitarianism/vote harder argument many times in this thread/elsewhere! I guess itâs just a point of fundamental disagreement among posters which is fine.
Do you at least agree that a strike seems highly likely to lead to a recession and that itâs very possible that it wonât be successful even with the support of Democrats in Congress? Are those who want to be pragmatists making major errors in their assessment of what might happen?
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I am not confident either way. Iâm sure pragmatists are informed on the short term implications of their decisions (on this, on 30% climate change targets etc).
Itâs pretty hard to win any negotiation if the other side knows you are so terrified of the potential consequences you always fold.
Dems are the weak tight nit reg. Just focusing on losing as little as possible at the expense of ever having a real chance to win.
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âBut the FMLA only applies when an employee has worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months. Rail carriers donât count time toward FMLA eligibility when a rail worker is on call, leaving many rail employees out, said Jared Cassity, Alternate National Legislative Director for SMARTâs Transportation Division. The lack of protections made the sick leave issue a particular sticking point in the contract negotiations that came to a head last monthâ
The article points out some other ways the railroads have argued that federal Railway regulations may preempt FMLA or other leave laws, so it seems like a fair number of workers might not be able to take advantage of the FMLA (or, at least, will get pushback from the companies if/when they try to use it. And not everyone wants that kind of fight just to take a simple sick day.)
Almost zero chance a strike leads to a recession. If this was true then it would be the only single sector of society whose absence could single handedly lead to a recession and they should be the highest paid workers in America.
What? A general rail strike cripples the economy. How does any industry operate without it?
Do you believe most pragmatists are acting in good faith for what they sincerely believe is in the countryâs best interests?
This is why I argue people on the left should be more willing to accept collateral damage.