Railway Unions Not Relenting From Strike Date, Despite Dems' Public Vows

But, gosh, I thought the Rear Admiral, Buttigieg, was the man for the job... overqualified in fact if you listen to the MSM...

Oh yeah, he's the guy who, as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, could not even get pot holes filled.

Useless come to mind.

I don't think there has been any negotiating going on... they can't seem to negotiate with unions anymore, even with both parties are Teat sucking Democrats.


AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies told reporters, "If the unions are interested in a holistic discussion for structural changes as it relates to their sick time, I think absolutely the railroad carriers would be up for a holistic discussion; but [they] have not done it in the zero hour."

According to CNBC, the alignment of the four unions — including the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers — that have yet to ratify a labor deal has provided "a clear timeline for strike prep plans among the freight railroads and with sensitive cargo including chemicals."
 
They've had the support of union leadership for so long that the unions now expect the Dems to roll over and play dead for them.
 
I'm hearing that Biden asked congress to block the strike and that the House has already voted to do so.

The unions gonna be pissed at the Democrats!
 
Democrats as dumb as dirt.

How do you MAKE someone work, short of slavery? It's not like you can bring in random people to run and service trains and trainyards. Holy Carp, I can see the disasters now. Hasmat cars dumped on the ground, broken trains everywhere.

It's not like the Air Traffic Controller strike where they have alternative workers so you just fire everyone who strikes. i doubt the army has enough engineers and mechanics to keep all the trains in the US running.

All it takes is the conductor declaring an issue that causes his train to be speed limited by law to 5 MPH and the entire track is essentially shut down for the next six to eight hours.

I'm also told that railroad workers are not you typical democrat either. They have weapons and know how to use them.

This may not end well.
 
Back in the 60's the railroad engineers went on strike and white collar management, which my FIL was a part of, had to run essential trains. My FIL had to take a train up through Harlan County Kentucky and on the way was shot at several times. When he got it back to the yard he filled out the service log, "Repair bullet hole in window and thoroughly clean engineer's seat."
Railroad unions play hardball, just like coal miners.
 
And yet, they want to put us all on trains and buses - out of our cars... In a way a strike will wake up the simpletons.

Not enough trucks, a shortage of diesel, and the train engineers on strike... glad the Dems are the ones in charge... the people got what they voted for.

Hope we all have enough in our pantry to get through another shitty year of "supply chain" disruptions.
 
It's really hard for me to ascertain what is in the bill the senate passed, and what the unions were offered and were demanding. It sounds like the senate blocked the strike, but gave them the original 3 days unpaid sick leave, (with 30 days notice of use) and 14% wage increase over 3 years. The unions were willing to accept the 14%, but wanted an additional 7 days paid sick leave, (no idea of advanced notice). Does that mean they wanted 10 days of additional paid sick time, or 3 days unpaid and 7 days paid, or just 7 additional paid days? It's my understanding that the 7 days paid days passed the house but not the senate. Is that correct, and why did it fail if it did? It sounds like Schumer wanted it to fail along party lines, which is strange. SMDH, as usual.
 

One of the largest rail unions, SMART Transportation Division, announced earlier this month that its members had voted down the tentative deal. Three smaller unions also rejected the contract. Together, the four unions represent more than half of the unionized rail workers.​

What do the rail workers want?​

A crucial issue in the dispute is a points-based attendance policy adopted by some of the largest carriers earlier this year. Those policies penalize workers, up to termination, for going to routine doctor’s visits or tending to family emergencies. Conductors and engineers say they can be on call for 14 consecutive days without a break and that they do not receive a single sick day, paid or unpaid.

Rail carriers have said their employees can take time off when they are sick by using paid vacation days, but some unions have said their members are typically asked to schedule time off months in advance.

The tentative deal does not include any sick days. It does include one paid personal day that needs to be scheduled in advance, and some workers would have the ability to call out of work three times a year for doctor’s appointments, which would also need to be scheduled.

“The biggest thing we wanted is sick days,” Steve Sample, 54, a rail maintainer in northern Ohio who voted against the agreement, told The Washington Post. “We get one personal day.”

How could Congress intervene?​

Congress can vote to force the rail carriers and unions to adopt the tentative deal. U.S. union members generally have the right to go on strike to pressure companies to offer strong contracts. But the Railway Labor Act of 1926 imposed barriers to such walkouts, including intervention mechanisms from Congress, given the potential economic effects of these work stoppages.



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The Sound Guy said:

One of the largest rail unions, SMART Transportation Division, announced earlier this month that its members had voted down the tentative deal. Three smaller unions also rejected the contract. Together, the four unions represent more than half of the unionized rail workers.​

What do the rail workers want?​

A crucial issue in the dispute is a points-based attendance policy adopted by some of the largest carriers earlier this year. Those policies penalize workers, up to termination, for going to routine doctor’s visits or tending to family emergencies. Conductors and engineers say they can be on call for 14 consecutive days without a break and that they do not receive a single sick day, paid or unpaid.

Rail carriers have said their employees can take time off when they are sick by using paid vacation days, but some unions have said their members are typically asked to schedule time off months in advance.

The tentative deal does not include any sick days. It does include one paid personal day that needs to be scheduled in advance, and some workers would have the ability to call out of work three times a year for doctor’s appointments, which would also need to be scheduled.

“The biggest thing we wanted is sick days,” Steve Sample, 54, a rail maintainer in northern Ohio who voted against the agreement, told The Washington Post. “We get one personal day.”

How could Congress intervene?​

Congress can vote to force the rail carriers and unions to adopt the tentative deal. U.S. union members generally have the right to go on strike to pressure companies to offer strong contracts. But the Railway Labor Act of 1926 imposed barriers to such walkouts, including intervention mechanisms from Congress, given the potential economic effects of these work stoppages.



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www.washingtonpost.com
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Easy solution....don't accept the job. If you know the working conditions but accept the job afterwards then whose really at fault? Sure, it sounds uncivil and unjust...but not when you cash that check every pay period.
 
J-man said:
Easy solution....don't accept the job. If you know the working conditions but accept the job afterwards then whose really at fault? Sure, it sounds uncivil and unjust...but not when you cash that check every pay period.
Click to expand...

The main concern seems to be this:

A crucial issue in the dispute is a points-based attendance policy adopted by some of the largest carriers earlier this year.
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The carriers appear to have implemented this without agreement and that's what' they are concerned about. Enough points and you are fired, and every sickday is a point....
 
The Sound Guy said:
The main concern seems to be this:



The carriers appear to have implemented this without agreement and that's what' they are concerned about. Enough points and you are fired, and every sickday is a point....
Click to expand...
The excuse the railroads are giving about time off and keeping people on call for so long is that they can't find new employees. What they should be doing is improving the wage compensation package to attract new employees. I'm sure all their current employees are being very vocal to family and friends about how they're being treated. Then all those people tell others. It's no wonder they can't find new employees.
 
I just wonder if the government still subsidizes fuel for the railroads and if that causes a certain requirement for the railroads to deliver consignments on time, every time. I know when my FIL worked there, it was a mountain of regulations to be followed, and getting things done to suit the government took priority over what people wanted. Sometimes gov regs would run afoul of their own safety regs, not to mention the union agreements, so I can see both sides of what looks like an ugly situation.
 
I have stated before I have a friend who is an engineer/union steward with Norfolk Southern. He is well compensated with one of the best retirement plans in existence. Downside is he works all the time and is a on call all the time. Odd hours, holidays, weekends do not matter. It is a very dangerous/stressful job. He gets two refusals a year to take a call out and has to be at the train yard (Inman Yard Atlanta) within two hours of a call out. Anything over two refusals or two hour show up he gets written up and accumulates negative points. These points can determine raises, promotions,schedule or even employment status. I agree if you know this coming in it is just part of the job either except it or get another job. I have done a lot of things in my life I really did not want to do but it was my job. With high fuel, driver shortages, bad roads, winter weather and the Mississippi River at all time low water marks making barge traffic difficult the workers have the upper hand. The strange dynamic is the Dems bucking a major union. I would like to think it would wake up the Union yellow dogs but I doubt it will.
 
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