Republicans vs Democrats
Republicans vs Democrats
Democrats and Republicans came together in a super rare and bipartisans endeavour to shut down the rights of hard working railroad workers trying to strike for sick days and time off in December 2022. The final senate vote was 85 vs 15.
That should be a pretty clear indication that at least when it comes to helping working class people where it counts (money and basic human rights), both parties are identical.
Did you know the Biden administration continued working behind the scenes to get those workers their sick days without the major financial impacts the strike would’ve had on Americans already struggling with high inflation, and that they ultimately got them?
Straight from the union:
I actually did know that, but it doesn’t invalidate my point whatsoever.
If Democrats were truly supportive of working class people they wouldn’t be voting to remove their collective bargaining rights via an act of Congress. Think about that for a second – they would rather vote to send those workers to jail than allow them to exercise a core right of workers everywhere.
Doesn’t matter that Biden stepped in months later, Biden is the president and I’m talking about the general party in Congress, e.g. Democrats en masse.
My point is that strikes are predicated on the bet that the striking workers have a higher pain tolerance than the capitalists and their investors for the pain caused by a strike.
If UAW workers strike, GM makes fewer cars, people buy from competitors, and the capitalist suffers. If Kellogg’s workers strike, the same thing happens: capitalist suffers, competitors benefit.
Rail strikes spread that pain to everyone. It’s not the rail workers’ fault, but a strike would’ve led to millions of layoffs, a likely recession, and severe food and medicine insecurity. The wealthy would be perfectly happy with this outcome, while millions of Americans suddenly have no income with high inflation. There is some line where the needs of those millions outweigh the needs of the thousands of rail workers. I don’t know where that line is, but it exists, and I’m glad I’m not the one who has to decide where it is.
It’s not the rail workers’ fault, but a strike would’ve led to millions of layoffs, a likely recession, and severe food and medicine insecurity.
The stick to beat the billionaires with, trick and? If anything, this would’ve mobilized a MASS of people who otherwise never would’ve had skin in the game. Quite possibly the greatest movement of labor this century would have ever seen-- until the Honorary Pinkerton scrawled his Hancock to ratfuck the strike. You hide “fuck 'em, they should slave rather than get their needs as laborers met” behind fake concern for “the millions”; get fucked.
So a small group of workers should suffer because the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?
Those rail workers weren’t striking for higher pay, they wanted the basic human dignity of having paid time off and paid sick days.
It’s not the rail workers’ fault, but a strike would’ve led to millions of layoffs, a likely recession, and severe food and medicine insecurity.
Even if that was true, dems (and you) just said that it’s ok for haute bourgeoisie to hold entire society hostage instead of doing something with this. Obligatory reminder that nothing of sorts would happen if the workers basic demands were fulfilled, but it seems that again the entire US political establishment coming from the stance of no compromise with the workers.