So Much for the Deal

After a "Deal" was cut to stop a potential nationwide rail strike, we now have a second railroad union rejecting the contract.

I'm not sure if this qualifies as a failure, in any case it means that any rail strike is pushed beyond the mid-terms, and the cynic in me believes that was the real goal of the Biden Administration's intervention in the strike:

A second railroad union voted on Wednesday against ratifying the tentative agreement brokered between the railroad managers, unions and members of President Joe Biden's administration. The move increases the possibility of a strike in November that would endanger the national supply chain if a deal is not reached.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, which represents over 6,000 workers in the United States, announced that its members voted to reject the tentative agreement, sending the union back to the bargaining table with management.

In a statement, union president Michael Baldwin notes that it's the first time the union has voted against ratifying an agreement.

Sick leave policies continue to be at the center of talks. Unions argue current policies don't allow workers to take personal or sick time off. While the presidential emergency board (PEB) appointed by President Biden negotiated increases in wages, it did not address the leave policies.

………

BRS, which represents workers who install and maintain signal systems, is not the only one. The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, the third largest railroad union, voted earlier this month to also reject the agreement. All 12 unions would need to independently accept a deal in order to avoid a potential strike.

The railroads will not negotiate in good faith unless Joe Biden explicitly states that he will veto any legislation, whether under Taft-Hartley or any other law, to force the railroad employees back to work. 

The Railroads, and the increased power that they wield through regional monopolies, are the source of this problem, and turning the antitrust cannon on them would help as well.