Originally Posted by sailingfun

I know it was not about pay. They agreed to 4% a year in times of high inflation. Basically the overall deal was the PEB recommendations. Will you accept that? Delta will sign tomorrow on that deal. As far as a strike we’re you reading the news? The workers had one friend, Bernie Sanders and I doubt he will be our friend.

Pelosi, with a net worth of $135 million, is one of the richest individuals in a Congress composed largely of millionaires. When Pelosi declares that the agreement is “good for our economy,” she really means it is good for Wall Street. When she adds that it is good “for our security,” she means that blocking a strike of railroad workers is a necessary part of American war planning.
After her words about “justice for workers,” Pelosi proceeded to threaten workers that if they don’t accept this “justice,” then other measures will be necessary.

In her statement, Pelosi acknowledged that the Democrats would have sided with the carriers and barred any strike:
With hope for an agreement but concern for the challenges that a strike would present, Congress stood ready to take action. Congress under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution has the authority and responsibility to ensure the uninterrupted operation of essential transportation services and has in the past enacted legislation for such purposes. Led by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the House prepared and had reviewed legislation, so that we would be ready to act, pursuant to Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act.
That is, Pelosi and the entire political establishment (Democrats and Republicans alike) stood ready to bar a strike and force through an agreement that workers rejected.

Lest anyone think that this threat applies only to the past, Pelosi added: “Thankfully this action may not be necessary. We congratulate the unions and railroads for coming to an agreement, because it is in the national interest that essential transportation services be maintained” (emphasis added).
The implications are clear enough. Accept this “justice,” Pelosi is declaring to workers, or else we’ll force you to.

Originally Posted by boog123

I think gave away quietly without anyone knowing is more accurate. I certainly don’t remember it ever being mentioned before it was gone, nor the consequences to the group.

Originally Posted by boog123

I think gave away quietly without anyone knowing is more accurate. I certainly don’t remember it ever being mentioned before it was gone, nor the consequences to the group.

Originally Posted by notEnuf

The RLA ends with the PEB. Congress can act per the commerce clause but it is a separate action and not part of the RLA. The "statements" were just that, statements made to influence the process so members would not have to make hard choices before an election. The timing and real world vote would have been an entirely different issue. This would have forced the railroads to implement a plan for a partial shutdown at a minimum creating a huge expense that would not be recoverable and exceed any gains made by negotiation. The talking heads talk, that's what they do.

Originally Posted by Scout262

What notEnuf said. Sailing, the PEB does end and absent a vote in congress to force a contract the rail workers would have struck. The final result was WAY above what the rail companies were offering, hence the negotiations went all night long. The rail workers got a raise near inflation and they did not combine two contracts into one. Work rule improvements were huge. We need to get into position, we need to prepare to strike. The free loan to the company needs to come to an end. Enough is enough.

Originally Posted by sailingfun

“Lawmakers are under pressure to avert a rail worker strike as soon as this week that would batter the nation’s economy just before November’s midterm elections.

Republican senators introduced a resolution to impose a new contract if negotiations between railroads and unions collapse, while Democrats say they would pass legislation to block a rail shutdown if necessary.

More than 115,000 rail workers will be legally allowed to strike on Friday.”

Originally Posted by notEnuf

Exactly, Rs and Ds were not on the same page. "introduced" so all it would have taken was a single legislator to move to a floor debate and they would have lined up to pontificate. The actual vote would have to be constructed and introduced as a bipartisan proposal so they could all get credit. Tic...tic...tic...tic...tic... Tock is when they are seen as heros at the moment the crisis is sufficient to garner accolades. This would have been an immediate strike and the companies would have lost.