"The Senate voted on Thursday to reject a proposal to give railway workers seven days of sick leave, a benefit that was left out of a labor deal brokered by the presidential emergency board between freight rail companies and unionized workers."
:death-to-the-poor:
I hope the workers strike anyway. It's cute the bourgeoisie think they can legislate this away.
collective bargaining is a compromise, it's a pressure valve that prevents workers from radicalizing to the point where we kill all the wealthy people.
This is what is so insane about all this. Congress is compelling people to work on terms they do not agree with. If people aren't able to negotiate the conditions of their employment, that is slavery. It's absurd that nobody is framing this as such.
I don't think they're gonna strike because Americans are terrified of their government like everyone else, but it's still awful to see everyone just roll over and take this.
OUCH, got burned by that take
It's distinct from chattel slavery but it is slavery nonetheless. If these workers choose to withhold their labor they will be compelled to return to work by fines, imprisonment, batons, and rifles. How can a person be considered free if they can be forced to sell their labor power, that is to work, on terms they explicitly did not agree to?
I want to lay out just what "striking anyways" means.
If a union's leadership declares a wildcat strike, the union can be de-certified by the AFL-CIO and by the NLRB. They can be held liable for damages, draining their treasury. Leadership can be imprisoned. It has very real consequences.
Here's the thing: illegal strikes still happen. The question is, how?
Usually, the answer is a robust network of shop-stewards. In the olden days, that was the core of a union. Now, paid staff who don't work on the shopfloor are the core of most unions (Workers United, UNITE-HERE, UE and ILWU are exceptions. SEIU, AFSCME and IBT are the rule). For a union to get back to that system, like Chicago Teachers' Union did, takes years of organizing to build that network.
If they strike or run a campaign of sabotage (sometimes called "working without a contract"), it will be because militants have been building a network of stewards. If they don't fight, it's because staffers still control the union and have been cowed by the government.
If you want to see wildcat railroad strikes, then it's time to start mobilizing leftists into the railroad industry and time to start building a network of stewards.
Organize Your Workplace
:iww: