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We've seen this 'split the bill' trick too many times of late. Put all the concessions for business in the first bill and then bring up a second bill with conc
by jethro_tell 4y ago
We've seen this 'split the bill' trick too many times of late. Put all the concessions for business in the first bill and then bring up a second bill with concessions for workers. For some reason, the first is always bipartisan and the second is a bipartisan failure.
There was a bill that required the rail to have enough staffing to give sick days (not 15 but real sick days non-the-less) and required that the workers keep at it.
Then the bill got split into, workers go back to work, and workers get real sick days.
Obviously, only one passed. The argument I guess is that they couldn't pass the first bill that included sick days for workers, so they should have stayed out of it.
Rail workers didn't actually need the legislature to give them sick days, just get out of their way and let them cost the business enough that it's worth paying them what they are worth.
Pretty fucked up.
- HDThoreaun 4y agoThe issue with "get out of the way" is that railroads would shut down which would basically close the economy after a week or two. Power plants would be forced to shut down and there would be blackouts because they can't get their coal. Grocery stores would have empty shelves. Allowing that isn't a political reality, and the opposition party knows it, so there's no reason for them to give any concessions to the ruling party.
- jethro_tell 4y agoSo, either these people are important enough to pay or they aren't, so let the opposition party shut the country down? Its either a mandated compromise or left alone. The railroad doesn't negotiate in good faith because they always get bailed out by Congress. Change that dynamic and you won't have this problem again. Doing the right thing is hard and this is no exception. The fact is, you are too soft to stomach a minor inconvenience that we'd rather take it out of someone else's Christmas than be patient for two weeks and give everyone a better life. And with that, we turn into Russia where everyone hates the ruling class but would rather play the game against each other because it's easier.
- HDThoreaun 4y agoShutting down the entire economy, including the electrical grid is not a minor inconvenience. It's a political nightmare that is not in the rail workers long term interests because next time they need to negotiate the railroads will be even more stingy. If you think a rail strike could end with anything other than a forced contract you're more naïve than a third grader.
- jethro_tell 4y agoBoo fuckin hoo, maybe we should just make them indentured servants because it's inconvenient for us. What the fuck man.
- NavinF 4y agoThe law we're talking about does not force them to work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_railroad_labor_dispute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_railroad_la...
- dendrite9 4y agoSeems to me that a likely result is people choose to stop being railroad workers. It has been interesting to learn about the history of why railroad workers have mostly separate but parallel labor laws.
- jethro_tell 4y agoThis is happening, we are kicking the can down the road, for a minor convince for a couple weeks.
- specialist 4y agoSure. That's the historical disadvantage of Labor in the USA. But there may come a point where Labor can flip the narrative, if only briefly. After decades of teachers being demonized, the mood in West Virginia, of all places, shifted enough for teachers to win historical gains, with broad public support. We'll see how long that lasts. The revanchists controlling corporate media always regroups and retakes the initiative. But I respect those teachers for seizing the moment and scoring some wins. The railroad union needs a cunning strategy. PR, lobbying, alliances, direct action, etc. It's hard to pull off. For all the reasons. Structural disadvantages, exhaustion, competing for limited attention, yadda yadda. Whereas capital never sleeps, has effectively infinite resources, and clarity of purpose.
- nitwit005 4y agoRegardless of the law, the workers have negotiating power. They're free to stop working, and they can't be easily replaced. Congress can hope they'll pay attention to some law they pass, but that sort of thing has failed in the past.
- HDThoreaun 4y agoIf the workers strike when it's illegal the railroads can take away their pensions. Not something anyone would be willing to give up.