Posted on 09/18/2022 9:45:26 PM PDT by 11th_VA
One day after leading Democratic politicians and the media announced that tentative agreements had been reached between the two largest railroad workers unions, both unions acknowledged that no final tentative agreements actually exist yet and that workers should not expect to view any details of the agreements for weeks.
“Anyone who states that they have seen a final copy of the TA, have a copy of the final TA or knows the final contents of the agreement is not being truthful.” The documents, it continues, “have not been fully reviewed by both parties’ legal counsel” and have not been presented “to the SMART-TD District 1 General Chairpersons, nor has it been distributed to officers or membership.”
The SMART-TD statement added that “factual information” regarding the phantom agreement would be posted on their website “sometime next week.” As to when the full actual agreement would be posted for workers to review, the union did not say…
“This is probably going to take three to four weeks,” Pierce said. He claimed that this was “not a delay tactic, it’s just the way the process works.”
Why it would take BLET “three to four weeks” to post a slightly reworded version of the Biden-backed Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) recommendations, which have already been roundly rejected by workers for failing to deal with inhuman attendance systems and increasing health care costs, was not explained.
“Everyone needs to remain calm,” Pierce begged. The BLET president, who according to LM-2 tax documents, was paid over $275,000 in total compensation in 2021, added, “We’re not trying to impose anything. We’re trying to give them [that is, rank-and-file workers] a chance to decide their future.” (Emphasis added) …
(Excerpt) Read more at wsws.org ...
LOL 😂
Mongo, why would Hedley Lamarr care about where the choo-choo goes?
“increasing health care costs”
The RR workers want more $.
And so do the doctors, nurses, physical therapists, hospital cleaners, etc.
Railroads have reduced their staffing by 1/3 while moving the same tonnage. The crews are being required to work more hours and often their days off. Quality of life issues are their primary complaint.
The union leadership knows a strike before or during the elections would hurt the Democrats and thus the unions. Whether it help or hurts the workers doesn’t matter to either the union or the Dems.
I believe this is the 119-page report:
https://nmb.gov/NMB_Application/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PEB-250-Report-and-Recommendations.pdf
I’m too tired to read it now.
The WSWS often has good information in it. I quit posting articles from it because too many Freepers freaked out about the source
Perhaps some retired RR people would be willing to work part-time at new contract rates and without loss of any pension income.
Some people might have gotten burned out and quit but would be willing to give RR work another try at a part-time basis.
Maybe some managers, if qualified, could fill in for rank & file work.
Perhaps the text regarding the most critical issues could be posted ASAP.
Perhaps ships from China could sail further to reduce the distance goods have to travel on the railroads.
Perhaps the Keystone pipeline work could get restarted.
Amazon and Walmart might rearrange their shipping & warehousing systems to reduce the load on the railroads.
“Build Back Better”
“Final tentative agreement.” What happened to my beloved English language?
Railroad managements aren’t looking to hire more people. They intentionally reduce the workforce in order to increase productivity. But they’ve done it to the point that career employees are quitting because excessive hours are burning them out. And they are getting fired for refusing overtime. They are getting fatigued and fatigue is dangerous in RR work.
I first became aware of this issue from following railfan forums. A business press article mentioned that Union Pacific’s workforce is only 2/3 of what it used to be despite increased traffic. UP is typical of all of the Class I roads.
You are making me laugh.............
From what little I’ve read, I’m wondering why OSHA isn’t having a conniption fit over what management is doing. I certainly couldn’t have gotten away with some of it when I was working for the auto plants.
Quality of life issues are their primary complaint.
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At age 77, it’s mine too.
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