Senate Passes Bill to Avoid Rail Strike

[rightwinger]

Why would anybody celebrate higher consumer costs amid an inflation rate of nearly 8%? Sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it?

Why would any worker celebrate record corporate profits and frozen employee wages

 

[Aldo Raine]

Well when you've seen company after company move out of state or country to get rid of unions, meaning loss of work to you, yes, you develop a resentment towards unions.

Your resentment is that they make more than you. Have better conditions, better benefits and better retirement. Sorry you didn't measure up, perhaps YOU should have gotten a better job since you are so easy to tell others to do so.

By the way how is your health doing. I know you mentioned awhile ago you had some serious issues coming up and I am hoping you are doing well.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

The BLS has them at 65K a year.

Railroad Workers : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Railroad workers ensure that passenger and freight trains operate safely. They may drive trains, coordinate the activities of the trains, or control signals and switches in the rail yard.

www.bls.gov

which is a shit ton below more than 100 grand as was your claim.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

They also are getting a 24% pay raise and 11K bonus. 8 of the 12 unions accepted the agreement, 4 held out.

.

The thing is none of these poor workers will ever quit their job because they found something better. Not many are paying better for blue-collar labor.

 

[Hutch Starskey]

And the UNiparty once again rejects an opportunity to stay in their own lane

Yep. Far better to bring our supply chain to a halt.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

which is a shit ton below more than 100 grand as was your claim.

It's median meaning some are making more and some are making less. But still, 65K a year isn't such bad pay that they need to demand a 24% increase.

 

[22lcidw]

Your resentment is that they make more than you. Have better conditions, better benefits and better retirement. Sorry you didn't measure up, perhaps YOU should have gotten a better job since you are so easy to tell others to do so.

By the way how is your health doing. I know you mentioned awhile ago you had some serious issues coming up and I am hoping you are doing well.

As long as any Prog purchases products made cheaply overseas, they are bullshit artists.

 

[Hutch Starskey]

Depends on when their last raise was

If the Government is going to unilaterally deny workers the right to collective bargaining “for the good of the country”

The workers should get something in return

They’re getting like a 25% pay increase and a $10k bonus. I certainly wouldn’t trade a handful of paid sick days for any portion of that.

It’s a good opportunity to look at a potential national action on paid sick leave for all.

 

[Hutch Starskey]

They have plenty more than most working Americans. This is the problem with unions in this country. The more they get for their workers, the more money the union collects in dues. They get too greedy, and our jobs get sent to China.

They’re gonna send rail jobs to China?

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Your resentment is that they make more than you. Have better conditions, better benefits and better retirement. Sorry you didn't measure up, perhaps YOU should have gotten a better job since you are so easy to tell others to do so.

By the way how is your health doing. I know you mentioned awhile ago you had some serious issues coming up and I am hoping you are doing well.

Well thank you very much. The chemo was working well until the doc tried to reduce the medication and the tests shot back up in the wrong direction again. So now I'm back on full chemo and it's pure hell. Taking some tests in December to see if it's working or not, or how well it's working. I appreciate you asking.

I'm never jealous what anybody makes in this country as long as they don't make it by force. If you ask your employer for a pay increase and you get it, it's because your employer believed you were worth it. When you have the ability to demand pay, your employer does not think you were worth it and you're forcing him or her to overpay you.

What is overpay? Our value as employees is what our employer could find somebody to replace us with. If you quit your job and your employer found somebody else to do the same job and quality of work that you did, that's all you were worth. If he has to pay somebody more money to replace you, you were correct, you were being underpaid. If he can find somebody to work for less money doing the same job, you were overpaid.

But we at least agree on something: If you are not happy with the money you are making, you simply go out and find another job. If you can't find a better paying job, then that's all your labor is worth in the market.

 

[Hutch Starskey]

It's median meaning some are making more and some are making less. But still, 65K a year isn't such bad pay that they need to demand a 24% increase.

Your standards are low.
I was making union wage of $65k with paid sick days at the phone company 25 years ago. That’s not counting the literal months of forced overtime and weekends annually. They work their asses off in all weather conditions for that money.

Paid sick time should be a given today especially given that we just came out of a pandemic. People shouldn’t have to choose between getting paid and taking care of themselves.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Yep. Far better to bring our supply chain to a halt.

Which is why we need to get rid of all unions in our government.

 

[rightwinger]

I'm never jealous what anybody makes in this country as long as they don't make it by force. If you ask your employer for a pay increase and you get it, it's because your employer believed you were worth it. When you have the ability to demand pay, your employer does not think you were worth it and you're forcing him or her to overpay you.

Bullshit

An employer is not going to pay you what you are worth. He will pay you as little as possible and threaten to replace you if you ask for more.
That is why wages have been stagnant for decades.

Unless an employer is forced to pay you more, he will not do so regardless of your worth to the company.

With 3.6 percent unemployment, workers have other options. Union workers in critical fields have other options.
As a Blue Collar worker you should celebrate higher wages after decades of stagnant wages.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Your standards are low.
I was making union wage of $65k with paid sick days at the phone company 25 years ago. That’s not counting the literal months of forced overtime and weekends annually. They work their asses off in all weather conditions for that money.

Paid sick time should be a given today especially given that we just came out of a pandemic. People shouldn’t have to choose between getting paid and taking care of themselves.

Sick pay is not a requirement of employment, it's a benefit like vacation pay, personal days, college tuition help and so on.

Have the rail workers always worked without sick pay; did they accept the job with no sick pay? If so, they accepted the terms of employment. It's not up to them to change those terms of employment. If you want sick pay, get a job with sick pay which is most of them.

 

[rightwinger]

Which is why we need to get rid of all unions in our government.

As a former government worker, unions were a joke.
If a government worker strikes, they get fired.
Remember Reagan?

Government workers have no leverage in negotiating wages and benefits. They must rely on the Good Will of Congress many of whom brag about how tough they are on Government Workers

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Bullshit

An employer is not going to pay you what you are worth. He will pay you as little as possible and threaten to replace you if you ask for more.
That is why wages have been stagnant for decades.

Unless an employer is forced to pay you more, he will not do so regardless of your worth to the company.

With 3.6 percent unemployment, workers have other options. Union workers in critical fields have other options.
As a Blue Collar worker you should celebrate higher wages after decades of stagnant wages.

Again, if the employer can replace you after you quit your job, that's all your labor was worth. We all like to think we are worth more money. I spent my working years driving a 75,000 lbs tractor-trailer. Driving is in the top ten most dangerous jobs in our country, more dangerous than being a police officer or fire fighter. Try getting behind the wheel of one of those things in a snowstorm like we get up north and you can't even see the road in front of you.

But it doesn't matte what I think I'm worth, it matters what my employer thought I was worth since it's he who is paying me the money.

 

[Aldo Raine]

Well thank you very much. The chemo was working well until the doc tried to reduce the medication and the tests shot back up in the wrong direction again. So now I'm back on full chemo and it's pure hell. Taking some tests in December to see if it's working or not, or how well it's working. I appreciate you asking.

I'm never jealous what anybody makes in this country as long as they don't make it by force. If you ask your employer for a pay increase and you get it, it's because your employer believed you were worth it. When you have the ability to demand pay, your employer does not think you were worth it and you're forcing him or her to overpay you.

What is overpay? Our value as employees is what our employer could find somebody to replace us with. If you quit your job and your employer found somebody else to do the same job and quality of work that you did, that's all you were worth. If he has to pay somebody more money to replace you, you were correct, you were being underpaid. If he can find somebody to work for less money doing the same job, you were overpaid.

But we at least agree on something: If you are not happy with the money you are making, you simply go out and find another job. If you can't find a better paying job, then that's all your labor is worth in the market.

My prayers are with you for your illness.

As far as for workers, it is funny that you want corporations to make as much as they can but believe the workers you know the ones that actually do the nuts and bolts work of the company should be always under the heal of the corporations. It is actually sad not funny.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

As a former government worker, unions were a joke.
If a government worker strikes, they get fired.
Remember Reagan?

Government workers have no leverage in negotiating wages and benefits. They must rely on the Good Will of Congress many of whom brag about how tough they are on Government Workers

Oh please. My last job I worked with retired government workers. They were 55 years old when they joined our company. Their retirement paid them plenty to live on, but they got bored staying at home, or their wives were pissed off because they were still working and their husband not. So they either took a part-time or full time job.

True, government jobs pay about the same as the private market for most professions, but they do much better with benefits. And if their union isn't doing anything for them, why keep them? They can get rid of the union anytime they want. In fact the last customer of ours that was union, it's the workers that got rid of them.

 

[Aldo Raine]

Sick pay is not a requirement of employment, it's a benefit like vacation pay, personal days, college tuition help and so on.

Have the rail workers always worked without sick pay; did they accept the job with no sick pay? If so, they accepted the terms of employment. It's not up to them to change those terms of employment. If you want sick pay, get a job with sick pay which is most of them.

That's why they have contract negotiations to try to get better deals without having to change jobs. And unions also attract talent to certain corporations so there is that. Negotiated benies and wages is a good way to attract talent.

 

[rightwinger]

Again, if the employer can replace you after you quit your job, that's all your labor was worth. We all like to think we are worth more money. I spent my working years driving a 75,000 lbs tractor-trailer. Driving is in the top ten most dangerous jobs in our country, more dangerous than being a police officer or fire fighter. Try getting behind the wheel of one of those things in a snowstorm like we get up north and you can't even see the road in front of you.

But it doesn't matte what I think I'm worth, it matters what my employer thought I was worth since it's he who is paying me the money.

Workers create the wealth
They used to get a significant share of corporate profits. Those days are gone.

With high unemployment, an employer can tell you that he has three applicants ready to take your job. If you complain, you are gone.

With low unemployment, employers are forced to compete for their best employees and must compensate or lose them.

Why would any Blue Collar worker complain because workers have more bargaining position?