this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2024
1243 points (98.2% liked)

News

36943 readers
2442 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious biased sources will be removed at the mods’ discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted separately but not to the post body. Sources may be checked for reliability using Wikipedia, MBFC, AdFontes, GroundNews, etc.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source. Clickbait titles may be removed.


Posts which titles don’t match the source may be removed. If the site changed their headline, we may ask you to update the post title. Clickbait titles use hyperbolic language and do not accurately describe the article content. When necessary, post titles may be edited, clearly marked with [brackets], but may never be used to editorialize or comment on the content.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials, videos, blogs, press releases, or celebrity gossip will be allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Mods may use discretion to pre-approve videos or press releases from highly credible sources that provide unique, newsworthy content not available or possible in another format.


7. No duplicate posts.


If an article has already been posted, it will be removed. Different articles reporting on the same subject are permitted. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners or news aggregators.


All posts must link to original article sources. You may include archival links in the post description. News aggregators such as Yahoo, Google, Hacker News, etc. should be avoided in favor of the original source link. Newswire services such as AP, Reuters, or AFP, are frequently republished and may be shared from other credible sources.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

In an interview with the Guardian from his home base in Burlington, Vermont, Sanders urged the Democratic president to inject more urgency into his bid for re-election. He said that unless the president was more direct in recognising the many crises faced by working-class families his Republican rival would win.

“We’ve got to see the White House move more aggressively on healthcare, on housing, on tax reform, on the high cost of prescription drugs,” Sanders said. “If we can get the president to move in that direction, he will win; if not, he’s going to lose.”

The US senator from Vermont added that he was in contact with the White House pressing that point. “We hope to make clear to the president and his team that they are not going to win this election unless they come up with a progressive agenda that speaks to the needs of the working class of this country.”

Sanders’ warning comes at a critical time in American politics. On Monday, Republicans in Iowa will gather for caucuses that mark the official start of the 2024 presidential election.

Biden faces no serious challenger in the Democratic primaries. But concern is mounting over how he would fare against Trump given a likely rematch between them in November.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] DarkGamer@kbin.social -5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

He then went on to apply pressure to the railroads in order to get them everything they wanted without striking.

The IBEW sums up his many accomplishments for unions:

Throughout his first term, President Biden has been a steadfast ally of unions and American workers. I am confident that support will continue in his second term. The Biden-Harris administration has consistently advanced policies that empower workers, created opportunities for everyday people, and promoted the well-being of working families. As a direct result of these efforts, the Biden-Harris administration has overseen robust economic growth, increased worker wages and the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years.

President Biden's dedication to unionism has spurred tangible wins for IBEW that will lead to good union jobs and stronger communities for decades. Without President Biden and Vice President Harris, we simply would not have the pro-union, pro-worker policies included in the American Recovery Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act. Significantly, President Biden’s strong leadership saved IBEW pensions – a benefit every worker should enjoy – through the enactment of the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act.

Within the first week of taking office, President Biden and Vice President Harris began appointing into the administration union officials who have dedicated their lives to advancing the labor movement's core principles and worker’s rights, including a card-carrying union member for Secretary of Labor and a chief counsel for the NLRB who supports collective bargaining.

President Biden has issued executive orders to reverse policies that have eroded unionists' strength for decades, including industry-recognized apprenticeship programs (IRAPs) and rules that gutted federal employees’ collective bargaining rights. And then the Biden-Harris Administration went on the offense: mandating project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal construction projects, establishing the first-ever White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, and ensuring that skilled American workers benefit from historic federal investments.

President Biden has a proven record of fighting to strengthen labor laws and protecting workers' rights to organize and collectively bargain, which has led to a resurgence in union membership and power of the labor movement.

https://www.ibew.org/media-center/Articles/23Daily/2304/230425_IBEWEndorses

[–] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 15 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

ALL of a union's power is in striking/the threat of striking, and it needs to be demonstrated regularly. Biden not letting the nation feel the pain of a railroad strike was a disservice to the union movement.

Not winning those concessions through a strike was a blow to the union movement. Daddy came and took away their privilege to fight back, spoke to the railroad, and got their ice cream for them... this time.

They need to have their own power 24/7/365 under any President, or they have no power at all.

How you win is just as important as winning. They need to be a peer that can stand up to the railroad with consequences at any time, or they're on borrowed time before the next encroachment.

[–] TheSanSabaSongbird 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Nope. You aren't looking at the bigger picture. The unions that were holding out were doing so to the detriment of the rest of organized labor. Had they continued to be allowed to do so, the economic consequences would have been a devastating PR blow to organized labor, as would the political consequences.

I have to wonder how many of you naysayers are actually involved in organized labor activism, given how out of touch you appear to be with how unions are actually thinking about the railroad strike. We, meaning organized labor, aren't on the same page as you at all, and while we don't doubt that you have the best intentions, at this point you're basically making yourself the enemy by elevating the odds that Trump wins reelection, which would be devastating to organized labor.

I fully expect to be downvoted by Lemmy's purist zealots, as frequently happens when I don't toe their extremist line or pretend to be who they think I should be as a union organizer and activist. But I'm the one down here on the front lines, not you fucking privileged cry-babies who are going to flip the table over if you don't have everything your way.

It's bullshit. With friends like you, working people don't even need enemies.

[–] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Go see how supportive of a union's right to strike for better pay and working conditions your enemies are, then.

Spoilers... nah I wont ruin it for you.

[–] DarkGamer@kbin.social -5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Remember what happened when the air traffic controllers tried to strike and shut down the country's airports? Anti-union sentiment, Federal Unions outlawed, a wound they still haven't recovered from. Biden was trying to avoid an outcome like this, quite astutely. If they had shut down the nations economy with a railroad strike he would have gotten the blame and unions would have been set back decades.

[–] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Either unions have the power to strike or they are begging beggars subject to the whims of capital.

You can't have both, and it isn't a Grey area. Biden chose capital in the case of the railroad.

I'll vote for the feckless crime bill passing, union busting piece of garbage to stave off Jerry Lewis Hitler, but he's part of the longer term problem with this country, and one of the OG neoliberals that surrendered the Democrat party to Reagan the oligarchs economically into today.

[–] DarkGamer@kbin.social -1 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

It matters if they're enshrined in law because in the grey area, under the right wrong administration, the means of state violence will start cracking illegal striker's skulls and calling it "rule of law."

[–] go_go_gadget@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Yes we know the Boomers are pieces of shit.