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| Late night strongarm by Biden leads to Railroad union agreement |
| 2022-09-15 |
| [PJMedia] Labor headaches are the last thing any president needs — especially when it involves critical transportation infrastructure like railroads in an election year. So, on Wednesday, the eve of a potentially politically and economically ruinous rail strike, Joe Biden asked the two sides to meet in Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh’s office for negotiations. Harry Truman reportedly tried this method of persuasion during the steel strike of 1949 by locking the negotiators for both sides in a room and not letting them out until they made a deal. As it was, the two sides were making little progress until Biden called into the meeting around 9 p.m. After that, it was all downhill as a tentative labor agreement was reached a few hours later. CNBC: “The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people,” Biden said in a statement. “It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years.” Once Biden got involved, the writing was on the wall. And not surprisingly, the unions made out like bandits. The new contracts provide rail employees a 24% wage increase during the five-year period from 2020 through 2024, including an immediate average payouts of $11,000 upon ratification, according to the Association of American Railroads. All tentative agreements are subject to ratification by the unions’ membership. It appears the union got the sugar while the companies probably got the vinegar. “Nice company ya got there, pal. Be a shame if the SEC got interested in your books.” Biden, who has called himself the most union-friendly president in history and pilloried companies for raking in “excessive” profits, praised a deal that he said would give workers “better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs.” Jacking up transportation costs in the middle of an inflationary period will probably mean the Fed’s inflation-fighting rate increases won’t mean squat. Biden may have solved his immediate political problem but what’s inflation going to look like a year from now? Presidential intrusions into the labor-management dynamic always end up being good for the union and not so good for the average consumer. Related: Rail strike: 2022-09-13 Joe Biden Scolds at Boston Airport: ‘What the Hell Is the Matter with Us?' Related: Marty Walsh: 2022-09-03 Biden's Labor Chief Promotes Worker Replacement, Says Immigrants Are ‘Only Way' to Fill Jobs Marty Walsh: 2022-05-02 Report: Biden Labor Secretary Covered for Police Union that Enabled Convicted Child Rapist Marty Walsh: 2022-02-05 Here Is What's Behind Today's Stunning Payrolls Beat |
| Posted by:DarthVader |
| #10 I heard BNSF stands for Better Not Start A Family.... |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2022-09-15 22:45 |
| #9 What do the RR workers make per hour? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021 median pay for railroad workers was $64,150 per year/$30.84 per hour. Required education is a high school diploma. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2022-09-15 22:31 |
| #8 Speaking of late night, many many cars pulling into the Dallas FBI Deep State Office parking lots. Something big about to go down. Probably more raids on President Trumps voters. |
| Posted by: Sloluse Slutle9788 2022-09-15 20:43 |
| #7 What do the RR workers make per hour? |
| Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2022-09-15 20:06 |
| #6 Lord Garth they already have unpaid sick leave. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2022-09-15 16:24 |
| #5 GDP Now measured by the Atlanta Fed is only +0.5 as of a few days ago If there were a RR strike, even if only a few days, this would have guaranteed a GDP for 3Q that would be solidly negative - and that would have likely cost the Dems a half dozen House and one or two Senate seats. The 3Q GDP might still be negative, even with a settlement, but only by a bit less than 1%. |
| Posted by: Lord Garth 2022-09-15 15:42 |
| #4 Key words here , "tentative agreement". Friday is the day. |
| Posted by: Dale 2022-09-15 14:39 |
| #3 This may be wrong but I read that the tentative agreement included the RRs giving workers UNPAIDED sick leave as a concession. Unions still have to vote on it. I'm not sure if I was a union guy I would consider this much of a concession since most unions get paid sick leave. |
| Posted by: Lord Garth 2022-09-15 14:07 |
| #2 C'mon, man. You don't expect me to believe that Joe had the strong arm...especially late at night. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2022-09-15 12:18 |
| #1 Sweet deal for the unions. Expect transport costs to skyrocket in a stagflation economy. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2022-09-15 09:53 |