While Joe Biden describes himself as the ‘most pro-labour president in American history,’ his deeds show him to be a typical representative of the capitalist ruling class. In December 2022, when Democrats still had a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives, the US government rushed through legislation to impose a settlement and stop rail workers from going on strike.
Rail workers’ unions and the private freight rail companies (including Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX and Kansas City Southern) had been in negotiations for the past three years. Before the deal imposed by Biden, rail workers had no paid sick leave allowance and were on call 24/7 due to the companies cutting back the workforce (by almost a quarter in the last five years), while the amount of freight being transported has increased. Workers face strict disciplinary procedures for failing to meet tough scheduling demands. The main points of dispute were the unions’ demands for 15 days paid sick leave and reasonable time off to rest and be with their families.
Due to the longevity of the negotiations, President Biden stepped in to appoint a Presidential Emergency Board in July 2022 in order to reach an agreement between the companies and unions. The deal reached was rejected by four rail unions in September when workers were balloted, with all other unions stating they would not cross picket lines. SMART-TD, one of the unions which voted to reject the deal, has 30,000 members. With the legally mandated ‘cooling off period,’ no strikes could begin until 9 December. Hence, when the mid-term elections were over and with the deadline approaching, the state went into overdrive to stop the strike.
The capitalists stepped up their propaganda as President Biden asked the House of Representatives and the Senate to pass the legislation quickly. The public were told that a rail strike would cost the economy $2bn a day, push up inflation and cause shortages. To frighten the public and speed up the legislation process, it was announced that trains carrying chemicals to make water safe would have to be stopped in advance of any strike or else risk being stranded. President Biden said a strike would ‘devastate our economy’ and that he wanted paid sick leave for every worker, so it would not have to be negotiated in employment contracts, but that the Republicans had blocked it. Chuck Schumer, Democrat leader of the Senate, said the strike would be ‘devastating for the American people, to the American economy and so many workers across the country,’ whilst Nancy Pelosi, then Democrat leader in the House, stated ‘I don’t like going against the ability of unions to strike, but weighing the equities, we must avoid a strike. Jobs will be lost, even union jobs will be lost, water will not be safe, product will not be going to market.’ They went all out to pass this awful deal on the rail workers quickly. The deal includes a 24% raise over five years (well below the current rate of inflation), a $1,000 a year lump sum, one paid sick day per year and allows for time for three visits to a doctor per year.
It is no surprise that the deal was passed by those people who get elected after receiving millions of dollars from Wall Street and wealthy donors, who know where their privileges come from. However, it was a bit awkward for those who claim to be ‘left’ and are affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush all voted in favour of the bill, then tried to ease their consciences by putting forward a separate bill for seven days paid sick leave, which they knew would be defeated and would not stop the deal going through. Only Rashida Tlaib did vote against the bill. In the Senate, it required all 100 senators to consent to expedite the procedure for it to be signed into law by President Biden days in advance of the 9 December deadline. Therefore, ‘left wing’ Senator Bernie Sanders could have stopped it going through there and then, but instead he played his role in this political theatre, agreeing to expedite the procedure before adding a fig leaf amendment for seven paid sick days and casting a vote against the bill. It was passed 80 for and 15 against, with the amendment being defeated.
It is no surprise that these capitalist politicians sided with the rail companies, who have paid out $196bn in share buybacks and dividends since 2010, rather than give pay rises that keep up with inflation, provide sick pay and take on more workers to ease the burden of tight scheduling. Days after the bill was signed, rail companies escalated their campaign for one man train crews. Increasing profits over allowing decent working-class living standards and proper safety conditions is what we all face unless we have a fighting working class movement to take on the capitalists and their opportunist allies.
David Hetfield
