Bernie: It is beyond belief that rail workers in 2022 America have zero guaranteed paid sick days

[Donkees]

Bernie Sanders
@BernieSanders

It is beyond belief that in the year 2022 rail workers in America have zero guaranteed paid sick days. Zero. The rail industry, which made a record-breaking $20 billion in profits last year, must come to the table and negotiate a contract which treats their workers with respect.


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More Perfect Union
@MorePerfectUS
·
18m
NEW: Railroad workers are telling Congress to stop doing the bidding of profitable & exploitative railroad companies.

3 of the 5 largest rail unions rejected a tentative contract that gives workers 0 paid sick days.

Workers want Congress to improve the deal & save the industry.

Link to tweet

[CoopersDad]

1. K&R Thank you for this post!

Unions and essential rail employees need to be provided with COLAs and benefits they deserve.
Of course so do teachers, et al., and we need to stick together.

Thank you, Donkees!

[Hortensis]

2. Yes, it is. Democrats have always believed in the compelling value to society

and individuals of paid sick days. But creating a FEDERAL law to mandate it in all 50 states has not been possible. Democrats did accomplish mandated paid sick leave in many states we dominated, but over time majorities of those who voted elected conservatives who elimimated it in some states. Because only those committed to protecting it voted to.

After all, elections have consequences. Majorities rule. When enough people who want federally mandated paid sick leave come together to create a Democratic electoral majority strong enough to make it happen it will.

Maybe ask Bernie to spread the word farther. It takes a majority in control, and with so MUCH to be done even a strong majority will be checking off our too-do list for some years. FDR had Democratic TRIFECTAS in DC for 12 years (!!! !!! !!!) that still failed to achieve a lot of the New Deal goals they fought for.

[betsuni]

14. Thank you.

[crickets]

3. I'm with Bernie on this one, big time! K&R

[onecaliberal]

4. K&R

[former9thward]

5. The agreement that Bernie is attacking was negotiated by the White House.

Of course Bernie knows that.

The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people. It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years. These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned. The agreement is also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come.

I thank the unions and rail companies for negotiating in good faith and reaching a tentative agreement that will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy.

I am grateful for the hard work that Secretaries Walsh, Buttigieg, and Vilsack, and NEC Director Deese put into reaching this tentative agreement. I especially want to thank Secretary Walsh for his tireless, around-the-clock efforts that delivered a win for the hard working people of the US rail industry: as a result, we will keep Americans on the job in all the industries in this country that are touched by this vital industry.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/15/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-tentative-railway-labor-agreement/

[Donkees]

7. ''3 of the 5 largest rail unions rejected a tentative contract that gives workers 0 paid sick days''

Headlines:

''Key Freight Rail Union Rejects Deal, Increasing Strike Risk''

''Largest railroad union rejects labor deal''

''Largest freight rail union rejects contract agreement''

''Rail workers could strike before Christmas''

''Those unions are holding out for paid sick leave. ... the two largest rail unions have approved or rejected the proposed five-year deal.''

''Second railroad union rejects deal over lack of paid sick time ''

''Rail union votes could force Congress to head off a strike''

''Railroad worker contract negotiations stall over lack of paid sick days''

[former9thward]

15. The White House agreement gave one paid sick day.

Not a lot but it is not true to say 0 days. And its more than many get.

[Donkees]

20. ''There are no paid sick days under the tentative deal.''

The agreement brokered by the White House features one paid day off that can be used, without penalty, for a worker's birthday or to make doctor's appointments — but only on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

https://www.axios.com/2022/10/24/railroad-worker-possible-strike-sick-leave

"There's a lot of anger about paid sick leave among the membership" who kept goods flowing during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Seth Harris, a professor at Northeastern University.

Labor unions have criticized the railroads' sick leave and attendance policies and the lack of paid sick days for short-term illness. There are no paid sick days under the tentative deal. Unions asked for 15 paid sick days and the railroads settled on one personal day.

Railroads have slashed labor and other costs to bolster profits and are fiercely opposed to adding paid sick time that would require them to hire more staff.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/two-largest-us-rail-unions-report-contract-vote-monday-2022-11-21/

[former9thward]

22. RR workers are paid after 4 days off sick.

So, yes they get sick days. Attacks on this deal are attacks on President Biden who negotiated it.

[Donkees]

24. They voted to reject the deal.

[former9thward]

25. There are 12 unions involved.

Nine voted for the deal. Three against.

[inthewind21]

6. No Bernie

It's not beyond belief. In fact, in 2022, it's not even surprising. Bernie was in the House for 16 years and now in the Senate for 16 years. 32 years in congress and you're shocked? Really? He's had a front row seat to the dismantling of unions, workers protection rights and just about everything else he regularly Tweets his shock and disbelief over. Just sayin.

[whathehell]

8. His point, I believe, is that it SHOULD be shocking..

and I completely agree with that point..

[Emile]

11. Whoosh

[AZLD4Candidate]

13. And exactly what can one senator do by himself?

Wave a magic wand?

Unions have been under attack since Samuel Gompers.

[Blue Owl]

9. What full-time job SHOULDN'T come with sick leave/PTO???

[Skittles]

19. yes

encouraging people to go to work sick is never a good idea

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. I don't understand why the union negotiaters actually went along with

a no-sick days contract.

[former9thward]

16. It was the White House that negotiated the deal.

And it is one paid sick day not zero as the OP says. Maybe they went easy on sick days because they get an immediate 14% pay increase and another 24% by 2024. The biggest pay increase in four decades. That pays for a lot of sick days.

President Biden praising the deal:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/15/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-tentative-railway-labor-agreement/

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

18. Why the White House would negotiate this is also unbelievable.

The problem with no sick days, no matter how high the base rate of pay, is that people will then go to work sick. Perhaps with railroad workers they aren't infecting all that many other people, but it's common that restaurant workers don't get sick pay. So they go to work, make or serve food, and infect lots of others.

I am essentially the healthiest person I know. Almost never sick, lucky me. I left one job, after ten years, leaving behind more than 100 days of sick leave. I'd taken fewer than one day a year in that time. And did not get any compensation for those unused sick days. I have always regretted that, regretted that I didn't simply take the odd sick day off, no matter how healthy I was. Fortunately, in my most recent job before retirement, my accumulated leave (which I could use as I want, for sick or vacation) was paid out to me. How nice.

Most people tend to live from paycheck to paycheck. So the larger the paycheck, the more they spend. And the less able they are to accommodate the loss of a day or several days pay. It's human nature. Which is part of why actual paid sick time is important.

[Donkees]

21. ''There are no paid sick days under the tentative deal.''

The agreement brokered by the White House features one paid day off that can be used, without penalty, for a worker's birthday or to make doctor's appointments — but only on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

https://www.axios.com/2022/10/24/railroad-worker-possible-strike-sick-leave

"There's a lot of anger about paid sick leave among the membership" who kept goods flowing during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Seth Harris, a professor at Northeastern University.

Labor unions have criticized the railroads' sick leave and attendance policies and the lack of paid sick days for short-term illness. There are no paid sick days under the tentative deal. Unions asked for 15 paid sick days and the railroads settled on one personal day.

Railroads have slashed labor and other costs to bolster profits and are fiercely opposed to adding paid sick time that would require them to hire more staff.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/two-largest-us-rail-unions-report-contract-vote-monday-2022-11-21/

[former9thward]

23. RR workers are paid after 4 days off sick.

This has always been the case. And the deal added a personal day which can be used for one of the four days of sick leave. Attacks on this deal are attacks on President Biden who negotiated it and praised it.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

17. Construction workers are the same way. No work, no pay. The idea is that your pay is good enough

to make up for when you can't work because you're sick. But another result is that people don't go to annual checkups. Back in the day, railroads were staffed so generously you could go to work sick and sleep it off in the caboose while others covered for you. The other issue is that railroads have become so punitive that you have to jump through ridiculous hoops just to get unpaid time off.

[neverforget]

12. I'm not surprised my old union (SMART) voted it down. The company I worked

for did not give a shit about you. You were just number to be worked.

I tried to keep a scheduled job in the yard so I could plan doctor's appts and other stuff on my days off. But it was next to impossible because I would get bumped off one job and have to take another one with different days off. Also, if you were sick, it was tough shit. Go ahead and lay off but you'll go into investigation for attendance if you lay off more than 1 day in a month. Fun stuff.

[Duppers]

26. No right.

I'm currently on a train.