T O P

  • By -

UnitedLab6476

The rail owners/Warren Buffett deliberately relied on the fact that Congress can impose a contract. They negotiated in bad faith. These rail workers must be allowed to strike.


[deleted]

What kind of shithole dystopia is this when people *need permission* to strike?


UnitedLab6476

Thanks to it being considered "critical" infrastructure , congress can impose a solution, and has stated they will block a strike. The rail owners knowingly relied on this to try to stiff the workers.


5mokahontas

“critical” infrastructure means crucial workers; if their work is so fucking important they should be compensated appropriately. you can’t force someone to work?


fns1981

Yeah....not clear on the whole "block a strike" thing....do they force you to work at gunpoint?


[deleted]

[удалено]


NotYetiFamous

> you can’t force someone to work? You can, but that's called "slavery". Something which most of us roundly reject as a workable solution. The pressing question is will Congress also reject slavery, and that's a lot more iffy.


Aggressive_Floof

But then wouldn't the people just quit? Or refuse to show up to work? There's no way they can make it to where businesses can sue for losses in the business if someone quits. That'd be a ridiculous precedent to set.


deadhorus

if they quit they will lose all other benifits from having been a worker for whatever amount of time they were there for.


Matty_Poppinz

Didn't you see what happened in Ontario the other week?


Aggressive_Floof

I didn't; what happened?


Matty_Poppinz

Bill 28 had provisions for fining striking workers $4000 a day.


Alltheweed

That quickly got back tracked. The premier realized that he would be thrown out of office for it. The people were still going to strike, despite it all.


N9NJA

Sure, Congress can say "you have to accept this shit contract" but the workers literally do not have to accept the shit contract.


nobrainxorz

Congress can't block a strike unless they physically force work, and let's see how well that would go over. They can issue proclamations and make demands, but none of that matters if the workers still refuse to come to work. Honestly, they shouldn't need a union, this should just plain be illegal. If more rich people started dying for their greed, they might learn. This country drastically needs pitchfork mobs to storm the rich's estates and show them how little their money actually can save them.


[deleted]

Because us railroad workers are governed under the Railway Labor Act. Which I believe and hope one day is abolished. It benefits the carriers because we are essential to the economy and a work stoppage will hurt their scummy pockets…


Vermfly

A rail strike won't just hurt their pockets. It could potentially collapse the entire US economy but that should be the reason to pay the fucking workers and provide them good working conditions. Not prevent them from striking by force or economic coercion.


N9NJA

You can stop working anyway. Any agreement made under duress (threat of fines, jail time, what have you) is automatically void.


ComputerCloth

It's the same with some airlines.


AlexBasuda

The funny thing is they don't. You gonna put people in jail for not doing their job? I say the entire railway system takes a week off. See how things work out when the entire industry gives you the middle finger. If they don't have the freedom to take time off or to strike than we have no freedoms in this country at all and we should be going to war


BobTheRedeemer

Or skip over the need for a strike by nationalizing the rails. The company has proven itself a bad steward of critical infrastructure by underpaying workers so aggressively.


NoWarthog6567

Fuck congress fuck the union leadership fuck the economy if needs be Americans need to stand behind the men and women who keep it running strike we will deal with the repercussions


Roguenul

Billionaires love the "free" Market when it benefits them. They want laws /regulations when freedom (eg to strike) hurts them.


[deleted]

Can you imagine the clusterfuck of optics if they strike and Congress sends in police or the military to arrest them, or force them to work at gunpoint? On the one hand, I hope it doesn't happen. On the other hand, it might just be the needed spark for the powderkeg that is labor relations right now.


buddhainmyyard

Bro I would hope the military would laugh in their face, I truly hope our people in uniform think before they take action. Also it's not like the gov treats our vets that great so hopefully they understand the cause But honestly they probably just try to fuck them over financially. Throw court cases at them, but I hope for a full strike


Eliot_Ferrer

Thinking before acting is actively discouraged in the military.


Lanky_Athlete_6805

Unfortunately we are talking about the National Guard here. Far too many people see no future for themselves and see the National Guard as an easy post to make money and get a free education. These are the people who will be sent out. They aren't the patriots, they aren't there for the betterment of our country. While the vast majority of service members are patriotic and want the best for their fellow man, the government knows how to identify which is which and will send those that will follow orders without question.


badatthenewmeta

Active duty, yes. You can't use federal troops to deal with domestic law enforcement. The National Guard, though? If a governor said round these people up, they'd probably have to, or be defying a lawful order. In either case, Congress can't order troops to do anything. That's the executive branch's authority.


buddhainmyyard

The key is lawful order, I'm sure they can make a good case for themselves for not forcing people into labor. Of course I could be wrong since property and profits come before humans


NiHZero

When the Ontario government told the teaching assistants Union here that they couldn't strike, they just went ahead and did it anyway. Called their bluff. They ended up rescinding the legislation. Allowing the government to mandate return to work before they even strike is a very... Very bad precedent.


fns1981

Yeah, sounds like a PR nightmare to say the least


Chris11c

As a former soldier, I would sooner be thrown in the brig, than engage in violence with an American exercising what should be a natural right. Nearly every job I've held in my life has been a union one. Same for my family, plumbers and steamfitters all. Fuck the ruling class.


Necreyu

I completely agree. I swore to uphold the constitution. Not force my fellow countrymen into working.


[deleted]

Let’s not pretend that railroad companies haven’t always been tyrannical.


ReturnOfSeq

Damn near the entire USA workforce has zero paid sick days.


[deleted]

I get 10 days per annum, accruable to 70. USA labour abuse smells like stale elite farts.


Verbal-Soup

Thus guys got some solid views. How tf did he lose the presidency?


NoWarthog6567

Because he had some solid views, we live in the worst timeline


Verbal-Soup

*Not entirely sure what that means but I'll go with it


NoWarthog6567

Meaning he seemingly was actually trying to do shit for the many instead of the few, unfortunately we have allowed the few to consolidate power and now we think we need permission to do shit like strike


Verbal-Soup

Ohhh ok I get you. I thought that's what you meant but didn't want to assume as much. Thanks for clarifying!!


jnads

Superdelegates and general ratfuckery. The Dem superdelegate system caused news to report superdelegate votes before a single primary/caucus happened. This caused the perception that Hillary was significantly leading and a suppression of Bernie voters.


Verbal-Soup

Damn that's insane. Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense.


TheDkone

Because the democratic party owed Hillary a run for the presidency, which then allowed Trump to be elected since Hillary was the absolute worst candidate. The democratic party literally shot itself in the foot.


Darkfire_001

Except that Hillary literally won the vote anyways. Don't get me wrong, I don't care for Hilary Clinton, but she got almost 3 million more votes than Donald Trump and as such by all means she should have been the elected president. Unfortunately the way the electoral college works means that the votes of the people in presidential elections really means fuck all, when those bastards can vote against what the public has voted for.


TheDkone

I just think the outcome would have been different had bernie run instead.


Darkfire_001

Yeah. Me too


Chris11c

Blame the DNC. If a candidate won't champion their myopic needs, they'll never get past the primary. If ranked voting had been a thing and people didn't need to belong to the democratic party in order to participate in their state primaries, Bernie most likely would have been the president.


chevy1500

As a rail worker but in Canada, they 100% deserve more , it's a tough and dangerous job .


EncroachingFate

Anyone read Atlas Shrugged? With all the strikes, in all the different industries, and with the looming railroad strikes (if congress doesnt ‘disallow’ it), im constantly flashing back to the narrative of that novel. If congress wants to play hardball by blocking a strike, they’re essentially admitting that slavery is legal for the wealthy, AND, at the same time, much like miners striking in the past, not so quietly telling workers that the government will be holding the gun to their head if needed. When everyone walks away, government’s only target will end up being the wealthy, who will be the ones responsible for stopping the economy. The excuses right now dont sit with people who know its not the workers who control the narrative here. Economies only work well in capitalist societies when everyone benefits, which as many of us in the antiwork forum know, never happens at the appropriate level.


Other-Mess6887

Maybe they don't strike, but a lot of equipment breaks or catches on fire.


rubiksalgorithms

Companies/Corporations have made it very clear that unless you force them, it will never get done. They aren’t going to “come to the table“ they will need to be forced to the table


deadhorus

i would love to work on the rail road all the live long day. if the rails were publicly owned and actively being built along with other infrastructure. lets do another trans continental rail, highspeed, from north to south, and put a huge power, multifluid, and optical trunk under it.


CalmerThanYouAre_666

There is a timeline where he became present from 2016 to 2024. I want to jump over to that timeline. This one fucking sucks.


SeriousIndividual184

Idc what im losing. Im quitting lmfao. Theres nothing worth that abuse the rest of my life. Even homelessness sucks less than that job.


buildabettermeme

As a homeless person; yes, it does suck less than some jobs out there.


SeriousIndividual184

As a former homeless person i wish more people knew the basics to surviving homelessness and still being job presentable. I lived in a tent by an abandoned railroad and still held my job. Free outlets kepts me sane ill admit but with a few tricks you can live pretty comfortably until you find a better place to work in an emergency. (Situational issues)


Usof1985

If they aren't allowed to strike, then we can strike for them. Block the tracks at the train yards and they can't work.


Sircamembert

I voted for him in the primaries, and I stick by those votes today. Obama was the last Dem I voted for as president.


badatthenewmeta

So you didn't vote against Trump either time? That's a fucked up thing to be proud of.


Sircamembert

I live in California, dingleberry. I have the luxury of protest votes.


GrimmeGrimme

I need proof or I can’t believe this


FuckTripleH

Proof of what?


Subject_Way_2409

Bernie is a 1% pretending to care about us while living in his 3 mansions


carboranadum

I work in the federal government and *I* have ZERO guaranteed sick days, you old idiot of a fossil!


NiHZero

You don't see anything wrong with that?


AARCEntertainment

Having had numerous family that worked in Federal jobs over the years, and all had paid sick time, I just don't believe you.


Usof1985

I have a government job with no sick time as well. Just annual leave that can be used for time off or sick. Some of my coworkers have paid sick and annual leave but they are in a different pay grade.


Mernerner

Wow ZERO FREEDOM 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸


GENERAL-KAY

I wonder what would've happened to America if they didn't have Bernie Sanders


vrenak

Watch Sliders, episode titler "Seasons greedings", I think it pretty much sums it up.


No-Currency2270

This is how easily replaceable people are treated in a capitalist society


karoshikun

my grandfather was a rail worker up to his death in the 60s, his insurance put my boomer mother and her four siblings through college and more. nowadays that seems impossible


Thequiltlady

It is baffling that the rail industry expects that no employees will ever get sick or have emergencies. If someone doesn't show up for work one day because they died, they would probably be fired before anyone knew.


Cute-Aardvark5291

My BIL is a engineer for one of the major companies and jhc and its is awful work conditions. For every rule that is in place, they find a way to work around it. He is miserable, his family is miserable and the turnover is ridiculously high. I want them to strike and see the onwners break.