President Joe Biden chalks up another win as his team assists in averting an economy-crippling railway strike. But it’s more profound.
The railway deal is an example of corp. greed
I am happy that President Biden‘s administration successfully preempted a rail strike. But I think the narrative is all wrong. They made it seem that these were discussions based on debatable issues.
Here is what the New York Times printed.
Although the agreement included compromise by both sides, workers ultimately won several of the concessions they were seeking, including better pay and more flexible schedules, like time off for medical appointments. With rail unions making clear that their workers were prepared to walk off the job, pressure was building on freight carriers to avoid an economically devastating strike that was set to inflict financial pain on them as well as businesses, farmers and consumers by crippling the movement of many critical goods.
These corporatists were holding up a contract because they did not want to give workers time off for medical appointments. I have spoken about the executive class having little care for humanity. Their only interest is enrichment at all costs. Even the compromise reached was a calculated business move. The cost of giving in to the workers was likely cheaper than the hit a strike would cause.
We continue to see corporations taking advantage of their workers, from airlines to trucking companies, to retail. These railway workers had some leverage. They could have destroyed the U.S. economy, which forced the highest level of the Executive to engage. Think about most American workers who are not part of a union or organized group. They stand alone. That is why we must have federal policies that protect workers from slave wages and distressed working places.