Judd LegumNov 29, 2022

1. The nation's 100K+ rail workers get ZERO paid sick days

They want FOUR

And are threatening to strike December 9

In response, corporate America is demanding Congress intervene and force them to continue working without any paid sick days

https://popular.info/p/railroading-workers

Railroading workers

Railroad workers across the country are threatening to go on strike on December 9, delivering a potentially crippling blow to the American economy. According to the Association of American Railroads, a nationwide rail shutdown could cost more than $2 billion per day. There are 140,000 miles of rail in the United States, which are operated by about 115,000 rail workers. This network serves "nearly every agricultural, industrial, wholesale, retail and resource-based sector of our economy." Passenger rail would also stop, disrupting hundreds of thousands of commuters.

Popular Information
Show threadJudd LegumNov 29, 2022

2. The argument advanced by corporate lobbying groups is that rail workers are ESSENTIAL and a strike would be an ECONOMIC CATASTROPHE

But if these workers are so essential, shouldn't they get a few paid sick days?

https://popular.info/p/railroading-workers

Railroading workers

Railroad workers across the country are threatening to go on strike on December 9, delivering a potentially crippling blow to the American economy. According to the Association of American Railroads, a nationwide rail shutdown could cost more than $2 billion per day. There are 140,000 miles of rail in the United States, which are operated by about 115,000 rail workers. This network serves "nearly every agricultural, industrial, wholesale, retail and resource-based sector of our economy." Passenger rail would also stop, disrupting hundreds of thousands of commuters.

Popular Information
Show threadJudd LegumNov 29, 2022

3. The railroad companies can certainly afford it.

Providing 15 days of paid sick leave would cost the industry roughly $688 million per year

Last year, railroad companies generated over $23 BILLION in profit

https://popular.info/p/railroading-workers

Railroading workers

Railroad workers across the country are threatening to go on strike on December 9, delivering a potentially crippling blow to the American economy. According to the Association of American Railroads, a nationwide rail shutdown could cost more than $2 billion per day. There are 140,000 miles of rail in the United States, which are operated by about 115,000 rail workers. This network serves "nearly every agricultural, industrial, wholesale, retail and resource-based sector of our economy." Passenger rail would also stop, disrupting hundreds of thousands of commuters.

Popular Information
Show threadJudd LegumNov 29, 2022

4. To put this in perspective, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns BNSF, one of the nation's largest rail companies

One day last week, Buffett's net worth increased by $1.38 BILLION. That's enough to pay for 15 DAYS of paid sick leave for the entire workforce for two years

Show threadBrian DearNov 29, 2022
@juddlegum And then there are days when BRKA stock falls, and on those days you and Robert Reich are strangely quiet about billionaires’ net worths plunging. It’s a tired, ineffective populist argument. As a journalist you should be able to come up with something more compelling and convincing.
Show threadJacob MNov 29, 2022
@brianstorms @juddlegum I'm confused are you suggesting that we should strictly celebrate when stocks drop that hurt billionaires? It's fine to have some shaddenfreude, but to publicly celebrate that seems to fall a bit outside the professional duties of a journalist, don't ya think?
Show threadBrian DearNov 29, 2022
@jjm3x3 @juddlegum Nothing of the sort. I'm suggesting that attempting to make an advocacy argument in support of potentially striking railroad workers by pointing out the net worth du jour of a billionaire is specious. Same arguments have been made by Robert Reich and others on Musk's net worth, and then they all go quiet when the net worth plummets by billions due to market volatility. It just simply does not work as an argument. It's rabble-rousing, but empty. Journalists should know better.
Show threadsu_liamNov 29, 2022
@brianstorms @jjm3x3 @juddlegum Bring this up next time Elon or Warren are reduced to eating off-brand caviar, because their net worth dropped. Sorry, if even an impossibly precipitous decline, like 40 billion to 300 million just doesn’t evoke the sympathy of a guy living on his paycheck who can’t take a week’s vacation because he’s on call 24/7/365.🤷‍♂️
Show threadBrian DearNov 29, 2022
@su_liam @jjm3x3 @juddlegum Once again, jumping to conclusions. Who is trying to evoke sympathy?
Show threadJacob M
@brianstorms @su_liam @juddlegum just to be clear this entire conversation stemmed from a bit of the reporting that started "to put this into perspective..." It wasn't meant to highlight anyone's wealth just for the sake of highlighting wealth, it was using wealth to demonstrate the gap between the have and the have-nots.
Nov 29, 2022 at 6:03pmWeb