Thread regarding Norfolk Southern Corp. layoffs

This is the pretend game. The Unions pretend that they fought hard for the men. The Democrats of whom the Dems say vote for pretend that they are pro union and would fight the corporations for a good deal. Bernie came out to pretend that he stood for the strike he knew wouldn’t come. The Unions decided to pretend to the men that they were willing to strike for a good deal. The basic facts is that the Unions originally proposed 40 something % raise over the life of the contract. Then it was cut down in the offer to the PEB. The Dem majority PEB cut those raises even more and then proposed to eliminate the cap on the insurance and also told the unions to rescind the paid sick day proposal. The unions about two months prior sent out letters stating what would be required if a strike came about and instructions to locals on how to go about it. They ALSO said that strike signs would be sent to the locals for distribution if need be. Then countdown T-minus 5 days sent out letters saying that IF a strike was to happen how the locals could MAKE signs and would be told what to write on them. Then when other questions were asked about the impending strike as the days got even closer they had NO answers for the men. It was all a SHAM vote blue, they’ll take care of you, and so will we even though it’s not true. The pretend game, we were all a part of it but too few saw it as it unfolded. It’s time to stop “voting for your wallet” because it’s going to be the same no matter where the X goes. It was just proven to you if you let it in.

I vote NO!

Wait till the unions raise their dues to get their cut or the 24%.

It's 2022 and the union won't even try to get night shift diff.or a week worth of sick leave.They will take uour 100 dollars a month union dues for doing much of nothing.If you get a bonus it will be cut in half before you see it.The union is a joke

it's slap in the face, palms were greased in that 20 hour negotiation session. the uncapped insurance premiums will be frozen until next round of barging is completed at the end of this contract. all that means is when a new contract is reached the members will owe medical insurance arrears( we will owe the company back pay out of our back pay next contract in two years when we are out of contract again). The status quo on co pays and out of pocket doesn't make this a good deal. It isn't good enough any one who has been a railroader over the last decade or longer knows this. I for one will take my back pay check and start looking for a new job if this passes. Unacceptable is to say the least

So what changed? How bout attendance policy, sick days, and insurance? What did the agree to?

Me too = insurance cap

So what have the “me too” clause unions gained from what the big transportation unions have now agreed to ? Anybody know ?

Just wait for three years from now when again you will be working with no contract and the health insurance will eat up your historic raise and inflation will cause you to lose money. Last contract our deductibles doubled and so did some out of pocket money. Let’s put it in perspective: last contract we got a combined 13 % raise. Our health insurance out of pocket and the deductibles increased a combined 17%. We basically lost 4% last contract. This one will be even worse when you factor in the inflation and health care out of your pocket. Do not fall into this shady contract people. Carriers pay people big bucks to figure these contracts out, and believe me the RR never loses. Once again: raises will not offset inflation and rising health, food, and energy costs. No paid sick days or any incentives at all. Same old same old. Do not vote yes and if your international reps tell you it’s good, then vote their a**es out. You will regret this contract in three or four years from now. Remember I told you this.

Washington, DC (CNN Business)Unions and management reached a tentative deal early Thursday, averting a freight railroad strike that had threatened to cripple US supply chains and push prices higher for many goods.
The deal with unions representing more than 50,000 engineers and conductors was announced just after 5 a.m. ET in a statement from the White House, which called it "an important win for our economy and the American people."
It came after 20 hours of talks between the unions' leadership and the railroads' labor negotiators hosted by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. They began their meeting Wednesday morning with the clock ticking down to a strike that had been set to start at 12:01 am ET on Friday.

President Joe Biden called in personally to talk to negotiators around 9 pm ET Wednesday, according to a person familiar with negotiations. Biden stressed that catastrophic harm could come to families, businesses and communities if the rail system shut down.

The agreement does not mean the threat of a strike has gone away entirely. The deal needs to be ratified by union members. But it's good news for a wide range of businesses that depend upon the freight railroads to continue to operate, and for the wider US economy. About 30% of the nation's freight moves by rail.
A win for workers, railroads and the economy
The deal gives the union members an immediate 14% raise with back pay dating back to 2020, and raises totaling 24% during the five-year life of the contract, that runs from 2020 through 2024. It also gives them cash bonuses of $1,000 a year.

Few other details of the deal have so far been made public. But the statement from Biden indicated that the major issue that had brought the country within a day of its first national rail strike in 30 years had been addressed in the unions' favor.
"It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America's families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years," said Biden in a statement. "These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned."
The dispute was about staffing shortages and scheduling rules that union leaders said had brought their membership to a breaking point. The unions say the railroads have been requiring their members to be "on call" and ready to report to work on short notice as often as seven days a week. Leadership of the two unions had said their members would not accept a contract without changes to those work rules.
Biden described the deal as "also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come."
It is an important victory for Biden, who faced nothing but bad choices if a deal had not been reached. Backing Congressional action sought by the business community to impose a contract on workers would have angered his supporters among the unions. Letting the work stoppage play out risked massive economic consequences just ahead of the midterm elections.
How we got here
Railroad workers are governed by a different labor law than most workers, one that limits their freedom to strike and allows for more governmental intervention. In July, Biden issued an order that prevented a strike at that time and created a panel, known as a Presidential Emergency Board, to try to find a solution to the dispute.
It also imposed a 60-day cooling off period during which the unions could not strike and management could not lock out workers. That cooling off period was due to end early Friday.
Biden could not have ordered the railroads to keep operating once the cooling off period ended Friday. Only Congress could have acted to get the unions back to work if a strike had begun.
With a wide range of business groups calling on Congress to act, Republicans had prepared legislation that would have given railroad management the deal they wanted. But Democrats were opposed to taking such action.
A union source said that Democrats' refusal to side with management had been a key to the talks.
"Senate leaderership not acting gave space for these negotiations," said the union source. He said that Walsh had "hung in" with the union during the negotiations.
"it was a slog yesterday," he said, with lots of back and forth.
"Our people were not going to give up," said the source. "Our people would have gone on strike" if a deal was not reached by the Friday deadline.
The Association of American Railroads also praised the deal and thanked the Biden administration, as well as the unions themselves, for their role in reaching an agreement.
The pay raises and bonuses had been recommended by a presidential panel charged with trying to find a solution to the impasse in negotiations at that time.

Those terms were lucrative enough for most of the rail unions to agree to tentative deals in recent weeks, the engineers and conductors, who were faced with work and scheduling rules that did not apply to others, refused to sign on without relief on the scheduling issue.
Shares of the major freight railroads -- Union Pacific (UNP), CSX (CSX) and Norfolk Southern (NSC) -- were between 1% and 3% higher in premarket trading on the news. Shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), which owns the fourth national freight railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, was narrowly higher as well.