Derailed train sparks molten sulphur fire in Kentucky

Lee Duna@lemmy.nz to News@lemmy.world – 288 points –
Derailed train sparks molten sulphur fire in Kentucky
theguardian.com
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So, from the outside, or based on what is shown in movies and TV, when a group wants to strike, it seems like they all secretly pass notes to each other in the lunchroom, and then magically come together in a rainbow picket line a few days later.

Wow, thanks for condescending to me like I'm a child that doesn't know how voting works. Very cool and good.

Biden sat down with the leadership, and said, “Hey, I hear there’s going to be a strike. What can I do to prevent it.” And the leaders said, “We want these things…” Biden said, “Well, here’s what I can agree to,” and passed over the list of what he was able to get other lawmakers to agree to. 75% of the Unions leadership in the room agreed to the proposal, and decided that their particular union would not strike.

This is historical revisionism.

The tentative deal that Biden helped them reach when he sat down with leadership was a deal that got voted down by the workers. I can not stress this enough. The unions voted, the majority of workers voted "no", and so a strike was going to happen. That's why Biden had to go above them to Congress and rammed the deal through against the wishes of the workers. That's why it required signing a bill!

And what do you think that bill did?

Once that bill was signed, a strike would have been illegal. That's why they decided not to strike. Biden and Congress forced the workers to accept a contract that they didn't want and said "if you strike anyway you can be fired, sued, or even arrested". The union leadership bowed to pressure coming from Biden and the legal threats stacked up against them. I do somewhat resent them for that, but I can't really blame them - things aren't bad enough for unions to start illegally striking and making an enemy of America's government.

And so derailments keep happening and the safety concerns behind the original intent to strike have not been solved.

Des that clear this whole mess up for you? Can we stop arguing this now?

We can stop arguing, but I won't vote for Biden again. Between this betrayal and the genocide in Israel it's clear there's no point.

Ok. This is my last reply. Say whatever you want afterward, I'm not responding.

Biden created a bill and presents it to union leadership based on what lawmakers are willing to pass into law. The leadership presents the bill to the workers. The workers vote. The leadership tells Biden they agree. Biden signs the bill. That's it. That's the fucking flow of events. Biden didn't go against the will of a vote he didn't call for. He presented a fucking solution, and the solution was agreed to. It doesn't matter to Biden what the workers voted for. He didn't ask for a vote. He asked the leadership what their decision was. By your own logic, the leadership betrayed the workers by not giving proper representation of their will.

So you're just lying? The workers voted against it and then he presented a bill to Congress, and they signed it. The union had zero power.

If your explanation of events was true, Biden wouldn't have needed an act of Congress in the first place! Why do you think he had to do that?