January 1, Rail Workers Call Out Biden: “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing”

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY…
1955: Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to move to the back of a bus and give her seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama.

Railroad workers are calling out President Joe Biden — who has declared himself the “most pro-union president in American history” — for attempting to prevent them from going on strike.

On Monday, Biden urged Congress “to pass legislation immediately to adopt the Tentative Agreement between railroad workers and operators – without any modifications or delay – to avert a potentially crippling national rail shutdown.”

The White House helped broker the tentative railway labor agreement in September. However, multiple unions have rejected the agreement because it failed to address their most significant concerns: paid time off and sick leave. Four out of 12 rail unions have rejected the contract — including the largest union, the SMART Transportation Division, which represents about 28,000 conductors.

All 12 unions have agreed to not cross picket lines, meaning that all 12 would have to agree to the contract in order to avoid a strike. Rail workers will begin their strike on Dec. 9 if an agreement is not reached by then, or if Congress doesn’t intervene.

After Biden called on Congress to prevent rail workers from striking, unions have accused Biden of betrayal.

“The Tentative Agreements that the majority of union members had voted down are now being touted by President Biden, despite that none of them contain any sick time whatsoever,” said Gabe Christenson of Railroad Workers United.

“The ‘most labor-friendly President in history’ has proven that he and the Democratic Party are not the friends of labor they have touted themselves to be,” he continued. “These wolves in sheep’s clothing have for decades been in bed with corporate America and have allowed them to continue chipping away at the American middle class and organized labor.”

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division issued a statement saying: “It is not enough to ‘share workers’ concerns.’  A call to Congress to act immediately to pass legislation that adopts tentative agreements that exclude paid sick leave ignores the Railroad Workers’ concerns. It both denies Railroad Workers their right to strike while also denying them of the benefit they would likely otherwise obtain if they were not denied their right to strike.”

The Biden administration doubled down on its stance on Tuesday, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre telling reporters that “a rail strike would be unacceptable.”

Source: The Blaze