Sanders Vows to 'Stand With Rail Workers' as Republican Says Congress Will Prevent Strike

[Uncle Joe]

"Last year, the rail industry made a record-breaking $20 billion in profits," Sen. Bernie Sanders noted. "Meanwhile, rail workers have ZERO guaranteed paid sick days."

(snip)

Powerful industry groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Association of American Railroads have been pressuring Congress to step in after members of the largest rail union in the United States voted to reject a White House-brokered contract deal that rebuffed workers' push for at least 15 days of paid sick leave. The deal, touted by the Biden White House as a victory for workers and profitable rail companies, does not include a single paid sick day.

(snip)

In June, a locomotive engineer died of a heart attack after he put off a doctor's visit when his employer BNSF—a rail giant owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway—called him into work.

"When railroads refuse to give us sick time, what they are saying is their profits are worth more than their workers and the national economy," Ross Grooters, co-chair of Railroad Workers United, tweeted over the weekend. "Hold the railroads accountable. Tell your elected leaders to give railroad workers the sick time they need or let them strike."

Progressive lawmakers have also placed blame for the looming strike with large railroad companies, which have been gorging on their own stock, reporting huge profits, and enriching shareholders and executives while refusing to budge on workers' longstanding demands for basic quality-of-life benefits.

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https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/11/28/sanders-vows-stand-rail-workers-republican-says-congress-will-prevent-strike

[TheBlackAdder]

1. My son was looking at becoming an engineer. One of the lowest paid jobs in the country.

.

Not only was the pay shit, when you're on a long-haul with multiple engineers working shifts, you only get paid for the time you are behind the controls. The rest of the time you are trapped in a dank room.

.

[Magoo48]

2. Thanks Bernie for standing with working people.

Union Strong

Solidarity