An article from a railroader about what they are fighting for

[neverforget]

https://www.railwayage.com/freight/class-i/dear-national-carriers-conference-committee-and-aar/#

My name is Michael Paul Lindsey II. I am a 17-year employee of Union Pacific in Pocatello, Idaho. I would like to humbly contribute my opinion on the recommendations of Presidential Emergency Board 250, and to also thank you for clarifying a few critical industry stances that employees and regulators will use when they inevitably bring your industry to heel in the upcoming months and years.

Your organizations seem to completely miss several much larger points that I intend to expose. This dispute has never been an issue of simply dollars and cents, or one that can be resolved by a financial bribe to labor in the correct percentage amount.

I could have read the entire PEB 250 report within 24 hours, but I selfishly chose to go to work instead. To encourage my selfish desire to work, my company has even imposed mandatory attendance standards to ensure that I can steal even more money from shareholders. To be logically consistent, this must be the reason for the attendance policy since we don’t actually contribute to the profits of the company. At least that is how I read page 32 of the PEB report, which stated that “investment and risk are the reasons for their profits, not any contributions by labor.”

In my opinion, what the railroads are doing is this: forcing a draconian availability standard on their employees so they quit and then they can run to the FRA and Congress and say "see no one wants to work for us so we need 1 person crews (engineer only, no conductor) and eventually automated trains". They tried getting the 1 person crews when I worked for a Class 1 railroad from 2013-2017 and they're doing the same now but with a different approach. Make the job so intolerable that you quit. I know of many friends who have left the railroad with 10 to 20 years experience since this availability policy was instituted in February. It's not worth being away from home all the time and not seeing your family, doctors, etc.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. How similar to the current bullshit about

"No one wants to work" we see all the time. Left out are things like wages, benefits, sick time, and so on.

[Deuxcents]

2. A game plan for the r's. Don't let em away w/ it.

Support the workers in solidarity as they work hard and want a fair shake for a day’s work. ✅ might get ugly n of course, it’s all Biden’s fault for supporting unions. Don’t let em get away wit it.

[CentralMass]

3. I was just listening to Progressive Voices radio online and they had a story on it

and interviewed a railroad worker.
Fir those of you tired of right leaning news listening to Oiy might help lower your blood pressure

I hope that this doesn't get flagged as spam.
I an just sharing thd link yo a Progressive news source.

I'm listening to Background Briefing on @progvoice with @TuneIn. #NowPlaying http://tun.in/se6hl

[yonder]

4. Standard BS management line:

"investment and risk are the reasons for their profits, not any contributions by labor.”

How many thousand times has anyone heard that before?

[neverforget]

5. All the time unfortunately

Corporations are greedy

[Hermit-The-Prog]

6. Railroads fought against safety couplings, air brakes, and paying blacks as much as whites.

It's the original robber baron industry.