• protist@mander.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    11
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    I’m trying to wrap my head around this…when the railroad unions were trying to negotiate a new contract with companies, the sticking point that was potentially leading to a strike was very clearly sick leave. Biden was portrayed as the bad guy here because he didn’t let these workers strike due to the real harm this would do to everyone else in the form of shortages and even worse inflation, but then he kept at it and they ended up with the sick leave they wanted in the first place.

    That was one issue, safety regulations and infrastructure investment are a totally separate issue. The Obama Admin issued rules in 2015 that very well could have prevented the derailment in Palestine with better braking systems and more structurally sound train cars. Republicans in the legislature lead by Senator John Thune overturned this rule when they controlled both houses in 2018, and Donald Trump signed it.

    My point is the railroad industry is constantly lobbying to decrease their regulations because they’re frankly evil corporations who put profit above safety, and the Republican Party stands squarely on the side of the companies, while the Democratic Party tries to implement safety regulations. I just don’t understand how you can sit here and blame Democrats for this

      • protist@mander.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        The government stopped the strike, they didn’t stop contract negotions and all the other pain that comes along with that, and the unions and companies recently came to an agreement giving workers 7 days of sick leave per year (in addition to their paid time off), which is what they were threatening to strike over