this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2023
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
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You wouldn't have support for the UAW, writer's, and Kaiser healthcare strikes, if the rail strike caused the general public to go without power and water. Blame the idiot people who favor their comfort over other people's lives, same as it ever was. But you absolutely would have seen the public turn against strikes, if that had happened.
And of course they walked away with only part of what they came in asking. That is how negotiations work.
The only thing I came away feeling from the whole situation is that if those rail services are so critical to the basic functioning of this country that we can't afford a strike and the government needs to step into negotiations, then we should be nationalizing this industry. Period. It should not be permitted to be in the hands of a corporation.
They got what, 4 days out of 15 they asked for and nothing else? He's not a good negotiator.
Rail strikes are common in a lot of the world and they seem to do just fine.
And in any case, the strike doesn't have to be all or nothing. They can do limited and partial strikes. They could do some days on and off.
This "oh the economy would've imploded and thousands would die" narrative is probably partially coming from industry propaganda.
The US is the third most populous and fourth largest country in geographic area in the world. We're genuinely far more dependent on rail freight for basic functioning than countries that have had rail strikes.
(Which is why we should nationalize the rail system.)