#railway workers strike

[mbrainspaz]

your average american really does not comprehend what they are missing with functional public transit. I just started googling a trip back to Germany and found out I can get pretty much everywhere I want to go (in and out of the big city) in a week for about 30 dollars total without ever getting in a car. Can you imagine??? I can't even drive myself in to Houston from the suburbs for less than $20 (+$10 for parking), and it's death-defying stunt traffic all the way. OR in the same amount of time that that takes I could take a train (A TRAIN!!!) directly from a hostel in munich to my home village in rural bavaria--for 15 buckaroos.

#public transit #guillotine oil lobbyists #i miss trains #TRAINS!!!! #gonna do a socialism #support railway workers #railway workers strike #us politics #urban planning

[sudorm-rfslash]

Lol op of the post about the railway workers strike dismissed my research as irrelevant, called me a homophobic slur, and blocked me 🙃 I'm not even sure now if they actually had any idea what was being discussed in the screenshot they posted...

For context, railway workers have been trying to negotiate a better contract for a while, but negotiations have been breaking down, and the union authorized a strike. Biden stepped in to create a Presidential Emergency Board, which legally blocks the strike for 60 days while the board tries to resolve the issue. So the question is, "did Biden do a good thing or a bad thing here?" The liberal gut response is yes! He prevented a strike, thereby taking power away from the union! But in fact, this board doesn't block the strike, it delays it, and specifically because of a different Democrat-led meditation group, it delays it until a little before Republicans take over Congress in November. So if the union or the railway industry doesn't like the outcome, the workers can again threaten to strike, forcing a still majority Democratic Congress that doesn't want things to get even worse for consumers to pass legislation that (if I understand correctly) does prevent a strike but that also mandates a set contract for them before Republicans take over and give them peanuts. I even found a union representative saying basically that they view the PEB as a positive.

The key thing to remember is that the union's goal isn't striking, its goal is getting a good contract. Presidential Emergency Boards in the past have had success at this, so it makes sense to try that first. If it succeeds, great! If it fails, the railway workers can go back to threatening to strike, which would likely see a relatively pro-labor (at least compared to what it will be in November) Congress legislate a resolution.

So, this is probably not a case of Joe Biden and the Democrats screwing over labor unions in order to elicit more campaign money from wealthy corporations. It's probably just what any relatively pro-labor politician would do in his shoes.

#politics #us politics #railway workers strike #please stop making me have to defend Biden #please only criticize him for things he does that are actually terrible #like seizing assets from Afghanistan to give to a 9/11 fund #or nominating Jerome Powell to head the federal reserve #this is not worth getting angry about unless you're angry about Biden not doing anything to get angry about lately

[bisexualgoth]

all workers' strikes are good. yes even if they're inconvenient. even if they're making your life harder. even if you don't get to watch your favourite tv show. workers fighting for their rights is ALWAYS a good thing

#ETA: sag-aftra prompted me to make this post but this IS about ALL strikes. #support USPS support railway workers support teachers and doctors and nurses and miners and grocery story employees #commie on main or whatever #wga strike #sag aftra strike #444 #fuck me for forgetting to turn off replies 💀 #*100 #*1k #*5k

[politijohn]

Railway workers: "sick days pls or we'll strike"

CNN: "is a strike worth it? the holidays are just around the corner. think about the economy! now joining us live is the Bank of America CEO to weigh in"

#mass news media #railway workers #strike #unions #unionize #capitalism #current events

[alanshemper]

Most Americans don't realize that the Railway Labor Act (1926) is the earliest formal recognition of organized labor in the US, and that it predates the National Labor Relations Act (1935) by nine years. Before that, they just sent the national guard to shoot you in the head if you struck. But the rail workers kept striking anyway, so...

#labor #labor history #railway labor act #national labor relations act #rail #rail workers #rail strike #500

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The union representing 9,300 workers at Canada’s two biggest railways says public safety is at stake after contract negotiations ground to a halt this month, with a potential strike on the horizon.

Teamsters Canada president François Laporte said demands by Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. are “non-negotiable.”

“CN and CPKC aim to eliminate all safety-critical rest provisions from our collective agreements. These provisions are necessary to combat crew fatigue and ensure public safety,” he said in a press release on Monday.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

#cdnpoli #canada #canadian politics #canadian news #canadian #unions #strike #railways #railway workers #safety #workers rights #workers' rights

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

General strike?

What are we saying the threshold for a general strike is? The famous general strike in 1926 was 1.7 million workers (yes, smaller population, etc etc).

So when can we call it a general strike?

#uk politics #general strike #strike action #civil servants #teachers #university staff #neu #ucu #railway workers #rmt

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

#us politics #2022 #twitter #tweet #sen. bernie sanders #vermont #railway workers #railroads #railroad strike #railway unions #union workers #worker's rights #worker's union #warren buffett #bnsf railway #eat the rich #eat the fucking rich

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Sen. Bernie Sanders said late Tuesday night that it was time to "put up or shut up" for any U.S. lawmaker who claims to fight for the working class as he and other progressives in Congress vowed to insert paid sick leave into a labor agreement between railway workers and the nation's rail companies.

With a vote in the U.S. House as early as Wednesday morning, Sanders was asked by MSNBC host Chris Hayes whether Congress has the authority to mandate that sick leave—the final key demand of railway workers unions who have battling the carriers for months—be added to the deal that congressional lawmakers have been asked by President Joe Biden to force through as a way to avert a strike by the workers that would have huge impacts on the national economy.

"Congress has the power to come up with an agreement in order to protect the economy," said Sanders. While he said that he doesn't know anybody who wants a strike—and acknowledged that such a work stoppage would hurt the broader economy—Sanders said the "bottom line" in this fight is quite clear.

"The bottom line," said Sanders, "is that the American people and workers throughout this country are profoundly disgusted by the kind of corporate greed that we are seeing. Everybody knows that billionaires are getting richer, working people are struggling, corporate profits are at an all-time high, and they're making goods unaffordable for ordinary Americans—that's the overall reality. And what you're seeing in the rail industry is that phenomenon in spades."

Citing statistics that show the major rail carriers have made an estimated $21 billion in profits over the last three quarters, another $25 billion in stock buybacks to enrich their wealthy investors, and multi-million dollar salaries to top executives, Sanders slammed the fact that the railway workers themselves "have zero—underline zero—guaranteed sick leave."

Watch the full interview:

On Tuesday night, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) introduced an amendment in the House that would add seven paid sick days to the labor contract proposal that was negotiated with the assistance of the White House earlier this year, but subsequently rejected by a number of the railway unions for lack of sick leave. With the strike deadline looming, Biden on Monday angered many rank-and-file union members and outside progressives by asking Congress to force through the previous contract deal without pushing for the inclusion of sick leave.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday backed Biden's call to push through a vote on the contract "with no poison pills or changes to the negotiated terms," but in a Dear Colleague letter issued Tuesday evening she adjusted that course by indicating that two votes would be held, explaining to members:

• First, we will consider the strike-averting legislation to adopt the Tentative Agreement, as negotiated by the railroad companies and labor leaders.

• Next, we will have a separate, up-or-down vote to add seven days of paid sick leave for railroaders to the Tentative Agreement.

• Then, we will send this package to the Senate, which will then go directly to President Biden for signature.

With Sanders vowing to fight for the same kind of inclusion in the Senate, reporting from Capitol Hill indicated that there may be enough Republican support for adding the paid sick leave to bypass the 60-vote threshold and overcome a filibuster in the upper chamber.

Asked if he thought he could get the ten necessary votes from the GOP in the Senate, Sanders said, "Well, who knows?" as he mentioned that Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the party caucus' whip, has indicated "significant" support for the amendment among Republicans.

"Look, you have a number of Republicans who claim—claim—to be supporters of the working class," he added. "Well, if you are a supporter of the working class how are you going to vote against the proposal which provides guaranteed paid sick leave to workers who have none right now? So I am cautiously optimistic that we can get this done."

Asked by Hayes if this represents a "put your money where your mouth is" moment for a Republican Party that has tried to claim the mantle of being the authentic blue-collar party, Sanders nodded in agreement.

"Put up or shut up," said Sanders. "If you can't vote for this, to give workers today—who really have hard jobs, dangerous jobs—if you can't give them paid sick leave, don't tell anybody that you stand with working families."

#us politics #news #2022 #sen. bernie sanders #vermont #biden administration #railway workers #railroads #railroad unions #railroad strike #paid sick leave #us house of representatives #us senate #msnbc #chris hayes #common dreams #progressives #progressivism #worker's rights #union workers #working class #YouTube #videos #Rep. Jamaal Bowman #twitter #tweet #speaker nancy pelosi #rep. nancy pelosi

[thatquietsong]

The Pullman Strike of 1894, led by the American Railway Union, was one of the greatest strikes in American history. Workers were protesting layoffs, low wages, and the high cost of rent in company towns, and it spanned across more than half the states. It was the first time the federal government intervened and (literally) stomped out a strike by sending 10,000 federal troops, and legislation was enacted to make it harder for strikes to occur in big industries like this going forward. But because capitalists doubled down the way they did, it essentially kickstarted the modern American labor movement, which, as we know, led to historical improvements in the workforce. It directly led to Labor Day becoming a federal holiday. And Eugene Debs, who had led the strike, would go on to win nearly a million votes when running for president in prison on the Socialist Party ticket.

#eugene debs #eugene v. debs #pullman strike #railway #railway workers #strike #history #leftist #radical #socialist #communist #capitalist #capitalism #revolt #revolution #reform #union #working class #rent #living wage #labor day #American history

[human-leather-hat-appreciator]

#railway strike #unions #workers rights #railway union

[postcard-from-the-past]

Strike of the railway workers in Paris

French vintage postcard

#vintage #tarjeta #briefkaart #strike #postcard #photography #postal #carte postale #sepia #ephemera #historic #paris #french #ansichtskarte #postkarte #railway #workers #postkaart #photo

[millionmovieproject]

After B*den shut down the railway worker's strike (which--wtf?? how is that a thing), with all of these other unions striking, couldn't they just re-call a strike? Their demands weren't met, and negotiations shut down, so it shouldn't have anything to do with contract-negotiation timing.

#strike #labor rights #worker's right #wga strike #sagaftra strike #sag aftra #sag aftra strike #teamsters strike #ups strike #unions #railway workers #like that would kick ass so hard #all unions need to strike #all workers need unions

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"'LONGSHOREMEN HERE JOIN SHIPPING STRIKE," Toronto Star. September 13, 1943. Page 2. ---- Object to Labor Board Hearing Case Until Third Member Named ---- Montreal, Sept. 13 - (CP) National war labor board hearings of disputes involving "several thousand" freight handlers across Canada will await "the time when the board is fully constituted," F. H. Hall, vice-president of the International Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, so announced today.

He said he had sent a telegram to the labor board "declining to proceed with hearings scheduled for tomorrow and Wednesday and had urged Hon. Humphrey Mitchell, minister of labor, "to take immediate steps to fully constitute the board."

The labor board now has only two members, as the service of J. L. Cohen, K.C., labor representative, was terminated by federal cabinet action.

Meanwhile Mr. Hall gave this picture of the situation as far as A.F.L. freight handlers are concerned:

The strike of 1.800 Canadian Steamship Lines freight handlers and sympathizers from the Clarke Steamship Line in various St. Lawrence waterway ports continues, virtually paralyzing the movement of waterborne freight from the lakehead to Quebec.

Representatives of 3.500 C.P.R. hourly-rated employees from coast to coast, demanding vacations with pay and scheduled to appear before the labor board tomorrow, will not appear.

Representatives of 650 stevedores, employed by the Eastern Canada Stevedoring Co. of Halifax and demanding wage increases, will not appear at a scheduled hearing before the labor board.

Representatives of 500 Canadian Pacific and Canadian National freight handlers of Montreal, demanding wage increases, will not appear at a scheduled hearing before the labor board.

Representatives of 250 Canadian Pacific longshoremen at Saint John. N.B., demanding wage increases, will not appear at a scheduled hearing before the labor board.

Strike Spreads Here One hundred and fifty longshoremen, all C.S.L. employees in Toronto today joined the shipping strike which has involved five Great Lakes and St. Lawrence river ports.

Frank H. Hall, president of the board of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees union. an- nounced: "The national war labor board has set Wednesday for the hearing of the case and the union has declined to proceed until the board is fully constituted.

"By an order-in-council made public last week. J. L. Cohen is no longer a member of the board. The union, on my instructions, has declined to be heard until a labor representative is appointed."

Mr. Hall said that freight at the head of the lakes is "completely tied up" there. He said, longshoremen employed by the Canadian Pacific Steamships and the Canada Steamship lines are on strike. The Montreal strike included employees of the Clarke Steamship Lines Ltd.

A C.S.L. official said that freight loading and unloading "is moving as usual in Toronto. We have a permanent staff here," was his only comment. There are no picket lines, he added.

No lake ships were unloaded at Montreal during the week-end. But at Fort William, white collar workers turned out to move part of the cargo of the passenger and package freight carrier Keewatin. All package freight boats at Fort William are idle, a C.S.L. official said.

The Keewatin cleared Fort William several hours later and with part of her cargo unloaded after all available labor, including office workers, trucked freight from the vessel to the shed for hours. At Sarnia, the C.S.L. steamer Huronic remained unloaded after 75 dock handlers there walked out in sympathy.

#montreal #thunder bay #toronto #halifax #stevedores #longshoremen #canadian sailors #railway workers #strike #union demands #union men #seamen's union #lakers #freighter #great lakes #shipping companies #canada steamship lines #working class politics #working class struggle #canada during world war 2 #wage demands #fort william

[thoughtportal]

rail workers and sick time

#railway strike #tiktok #motherboard #trains #union workers #labor unions #trade union strike #trade union #union #supply chain #skilled labor #labor vs capital #capital vs labor #labor rights #labor

[kiraleighart]

"A rail traffic stoppage could freeze almost 30% of US cargo shipments by weight, stoke inflation & cost the US economy as much as $2B/day"

GOOD

#railway workers #strike #unions #unionize #capitalism #current events #workers #policy #labor #news #america #democracy #revolution