Let the workers decide!!!!!
The most pro-union president in decades sided against labor — and may cause the very economic strife he's trying to avoid.
www.msnbc.com
President Joe Biden
announced Monday that he was siding with freight rail bosses against their workers, who have been at daggers drawn for over half a year. It’s well within Biden’s power to do so — but it is unquestionably a big mistake on his part.
Not only is he badly damaging a valuable pro-labor reputation he has hitherto carefully cultivated, but his decision may also well create the very shipping snarls he’s trying to avoid.
Using the Railway Labor Act’s authority, the government forced the two sides to negotiate, which
produced a tentative agreement on Sept. 15. But four out of 12 unions, representing
more than half of unionized freight rail employees, voted the agreement down.
The biggest quibble: The agreement did not have the
four days of paid sick leave seen as a bare minimum concession. Since the unions have agreed to respect each other’s decisions, this set the stage for a strike starting Dec. 9.
Not only is Biden badly damaging a valuable pro-labor reputation, but his decision may also well create the very shipping snarls he’s trying to avoid
Under that same act, Congress and Biden can make such a strike illegal simply by passing a resolution.
Politico reported that Biden and other top Democrats are worried both about the economic damage a strike would cause and how Republicans would respond to the situation after taking control of the House of Representatives next year. Leaders in Congress are moving fast:
The House on Wednesday
passed a bill by a vote of 290-137 to avert a strike, sending it over to the Senate. (They also passed a second bill — which includes seven sick days for workers — and will leave it to the Senate to decide how to proceed.)
The most pro-union president in decades sided against labor — and may cause the very economic strife he's trying to avoid.
www.msnbc.com
