{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "I really think you\u2019re a shitty person if you\u2019re pro biden at this point", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/690338422367371264/", "html": "

as-if-and-only-if:

radiofreederry:

joofster-deactivated20220923:

I really think you\u2019re a shitty person if you\u2019re pro biden at this point

not pro Biden but this is pretty much straight-up misinformation? this makes it seem like this is a setback for unions, when the opposite is true: unions are largely in favor of this action!

Note that nothing here actually tells you what Biden actually did. What he did was create a board of neutral arbitrators to resolve the dispute and reach an agreement (without striking) within 30 days. Further, if nothing works within 30 days after that, then, as far as I can tell, workers can strike again. This is a delay to allow the chance to resolve the dispute via arbitration, not a quashing of strike power. And the resolution proposed by the arbitrators is entirely voluntary, and can be rejected.

Moreover, it\u2019s not something Biden \u201cjust did\u201d with executive power. The provision to create this board is already outlined under the Railway Labor Act. He didn\u2019t say \u201cfuck it\u201d and whip up an all-powerful executive order, because, oh, now he wanted to, as the original tweet seems to imply\u2014everyone expected the executive branch to do this at this point, because him doing this is already part of the law (and has already been done in the past).

In any case, the chance for workers to get the contract they deserve and to get their arguments heard without striking is good, because the immediate effects of a strike in this industry would be terrible for everyone. If the corporations still won\u2019t give them the contracts they deserve, then yes, strike = good. But any other way to get those same contracts is better.

Here\u2019s a statement from TTD, a federation of transportation unions:

We commend President Biden for announcing a board of neutral arbitrators to investigate and report its findings and recommendations to help both parties work toward a resolution.

After nearly three years of bad faith negotiations by the railroads, it is sad but not surprising that we arrived at this point in the bargaining process governed by the Railway Labor Act.

[\u2026]

Quite simply, the facts are on our side and we look forward to the forthcoming recommendations of the presidentially-appointed arbitrators.

(That link and quote contains some more context about how what they really want is a fair contract, and the companies essentially just haven\u2019t been listening.)

Here\u2019s a tweet retweeted by SMART:

the twitter profile of SMART, with the bio \"the official twitter home of SMART: the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers. #PassTheProAct\". their handle is @smartunionworks, their website is smart-union.org, and twitter is showing that they are followed by bernie sandersALT
tweet from @LizShuler retweeting a tweet from TTD that details the news. Her tweet says \"It is unacceptable that rail companies continue to put profits over the wellbeing of our rail workers, without whom the economy would grind to a halt. A Presidential Emergency Board is a historic measure & reflects the urgent need to get the workers a GOOD contract. #1u\"ALT

Like, this is very much a \u201cworkers getting their day in court\u201d deal, except instead of court it\u2019s a panel of arbitrators appointed by a pro-union president, and if they don\u2019t get the result they want, they don\u2019t have to accept it.

\n

Out of late 19th and early 20th century conflict when the railroads were the lifeblood of the nation, America evolved a system where the federal government has apparatuses taking particular interest in railroad laborers in return for ensuring they do not use their labor power to paralyze the economy. This is, for instance, why railroad workers don’t use Social Security; they’re covered by the previously established railroad retirement system.

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