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.

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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.

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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.

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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 threadBCDodgemeNov 29, 2022
@juddlegum wait - so this potential billion-dollar-a-day loss and bringing commerce to a dead stop is mainly over 4 paid sick days a year??
Show threadMaryPot

@bcdodgeme @juddlegum

As I understand it, they have NO sick days a year at present.

Nov 29, 2022 at 11:58pmWeb
Show threadBCDodgemeNov 30, 2022
@MaryPot @juddlegum yeah, I saw a Washington Post TikTok where they broke it down. How can you not offer sick days??? That seems, like, straight forward.