Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the majority of lawmakers who backed passing the legislation that notably did not include provisions for paid sick leave. A separate measure that also passed the House Wednesday, however, did include such provisions by giving rail workers seven paid days of sick leave each year.
"If Congress intervenes, it should be to have workers' backs and secure their demands in legislation," she tweeted. In another tweet responding to a union that thanked her for backing rail workers' pleas for paid sick leave provisions, Ocasio-Cortez wrote "Stay strong" and "we've got your back."
A lot of media outlets are wrongfully saying that AOC voted against the back to work bill, but if you check the House Clerk website it's clear that she voted "Yea".
https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022490
Some of the unions did ask congress to pass legislation that would force the companies to provide sick days. AOC also voted for the revision to the bill that added sick days to the bill. She's trying to do what the unions have asked for. So far the unions have only praised the actions of AOC.
If the unions come out against AOC, that would be meaningful. Hexbear being mad at AOC means nothing.
The bill hasn't been revised, AOC voted for the original H. J. Res. 100 that every rail union has harshly condemned. The paid sick days are part of an entirely separate bill that can easily be voted down without effect. I haven't seen a single union ask congress to pass H. J. Res. 100, and I haven't seen any praise AOC for doing so, do you have any sources for that? Eight democrats, including Rashida Tlaib, managed to vote against the act; were they wrong to do so?
https://www.bmwe.org/secondary.aspx?id=721
This is one of the unions involved. This is one of the unions that voted against the September agreement. They are asking people to call their senators to support the 7 day sick leave bill. The union wants this to be passed. If you really care, then do as the union said and call your senator. Listen to the unions.
I understand that a lot of people on hexbear want to see a strike because we don't like America and we want to see a powerful labor action, but this is not about us. This about the railworkers union workers getting the sick days that they want. If their demands are met without a strike happening, that's great. The important thing is that their demands are met.
Here's the same union supporting AOC on twitter.
https://twitter.com/BMWEDIBT/status/1597692112585515008
How is the decoupling of the sick leave from HJ 100 anything other than an incredibly obvious scam? In what universe will 10 Republican senators vote to approve the sick leave bill--in what universe will calling a Republican senator's interns convince them to vote against the interests of capital? What are you talking about? Isn't this obviously a ploy by Dems--isn't it obvious that, since there is no path towards the Senate approving the sick leave bill, any nominally pro-worker representatives in the House should've voted as a bloc to defeat the strike-breaking bill?
I would love if there was a nationwide strike that crippled the US's economy but this isn't about what I want. It's about doing whatever the union thinks is the best way for them to get their payed sick days.
I'm telling you what the union's statements were. I'm not going to pretend like I know what's best for the union. The two larger unions of the the four unions planning to strike released statements saying that they think the best thing right now is to try to pass the 7 sick day correction.
Is this not the union leadership, who agreed to the contract their members voted down, saying this? I realize they can't do a referendum for every twitter post and press release, but I wonder how many of the membership agree with this stance.
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There are 12 rail unions in total, 8 rail unions voted in favor of the September agreement, 4 rail unions voted against the September agreement. The 4 unions that voted against the September agreement are SMART-TD, BMWED, IBB, and BRS. SMART-TD is the largest, BRS is the smallest.
SMART-TD supports the 7 day bill:
"As for this moment, we ask these elected leaders to stand with our essential workers and urge the House and the Senate to vote in favor of guaranteeing seven days of paid sick leave to rail workers."
https://smart-union.org/smart-td-statement-on-congressional-intervention-in-the-national-rail-negotiations/
BMWED supports the 7 day bill and is asking people to call their congress representatives to support it.
"The BMWED applauds the representatives in Congress and any Senators that will stand in support of Railroad Workers receiving paid sick leave. The additional legislation needs to pass so that Railroad Workers will have basic protections against illness, and protection from punishment from the railroads when Workers are most vulnerable."
https://www.bmwe.org/secondary.aspx?id=723
I do not see a statement from IBB.
https://boilermakers.org/
BRS is not happy with congress getting involved:
https://www.brs.org/?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=883627
What does support for the seven day bill have to do with the separate bill that isn't dead in the water that she voted for?
The 7 days resolution is a correction to the bill that the article is referring. The main bill is H.J. Res. 100 which blocks the strike. The second bill is H. Con. Res. 119 which adds 7 days of sick leave to the main bill. I believe both have to pass for the 7 sicks days to go into effect.
Main bill:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-joint-resolution/100
Correction bill:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/119
It's a separate "correction" bill because it can and will be voted down without consequence. Voting for the Never Going to Pass Vacation bill doesn't cancel out voting for the Get Back to Work bill.
That second bill will never get pass the filibuster. This is the bbb scam all over again. As I said, just strike, American govt are a performative clown joke of a show
By "union," is this union leadership or rank-and-file union members? The distinction is very important when we're talking about unions in the US.
It's disappointing that this comment is not getting more traction.
This is a good comment but I dunno if they've had much time to respond, and they could be waiting until the final vote to speak more freely