'Most pro-union president' runs into doubts in labor ranks.
A freight rail yard in Atlanta, Ga. on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022.
“Whether this group of workers has sick days or not on some level was not the issue,” said Kim Phillips-Fein, a historian at Columbia University who studies labor. “It was: What can people ask for and expect to win through collective action?” Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO, who was the labor federation’s second-ranking official during Barack Obama’s presidency, said Biden’s administration had been far more solicitous of labor than the previous Democratic president, whom labor leaders sometimes criticized for backing free trade deals and contentious changes in education policy.
They say that like his predecessors, Biden effectively seeks to manage the long-term decline of labor in a relatively humane way — by making favorable appointments and enacting measures that help at the margins — but has yet to take the sorts of risks that would restore power to workers. But to critics, these risks were in some sense the point: They provided workers with a rare moment of leverage. They say Biden could have simply refused to sign any legislation that didn’t include paid sick days, then made clear that rail carriers were to blame for any disruption if they refused.
The letter cited the government’s move to grant rail workers an eight-hour workday to avoid a strike during World War I, which paved the way for similar gains by other workers in the 1930s. By contrast, the letter said, President Ronald Reagan’s firing of striking air traffic controllers in the early 1980s helped undermine the leverage of workers across the economy for decades.
“Everyone understands the significance of the president getting involved,” said Christian Smalls, the president of the Amazon Labor Union, which won an election to represent workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, in April. “To claim you’re the most pro-union president in history and do something like this contradicts everything.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Most pro-union president’ runs into doubts among labor ranksJoe Biden vowed to be “the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen.” But after Biden helped impose a contract on railroad workers that four unions had rejected, many labor activists and scholars have begun to ask: How supportive is the president, really?
Read more »
The Union Drip Account Knows Workers’ Rights Are in StyleOrganizing, but make it fashion!
Read more »
Meet Pam Kragen, the Union-Tribune's new Arts & Entertainment EditorIn her new role, the longtime arts journalist will oversee the arts and entertainment coverage both in print and online
Read more »
Houston has Christmas Eve firetruck shortage, firefighters union saysMore than a dozen Houston fire trucks were sitting idle on Christmas Eve due to staffing shortages or mechanical issues, according to the firefighters' union.
Read more »
Tunisia union threatens to 'occupy the streets,' rejects 2023 budgetTunisia's powerful UGTT union will hold mass protests and 'occupy the streets' soon to show its rejection of next year's austerity budget, the leader of the union said on Monday, in its strongest challenge to the government of President Kais Saied yet.
Read more »
White House Wishes Black Families A Happy Kwanzaa On Holiday's First DayPresident Joe Biden commemorated the seven-day holiday honoring African heritage and Black American culture.
Read more »