Sean O'Brien's role in the railroad deal

[Whither]

If you haven't already read it: Teamsters Statement on Tentative Rail Agreement

If you've been expecting O'Brien to deliver on his rhetoric, this is a warning sign. The tentative agreement, which O'Brien helped broker and our Teamster brothers and sisters in the BMWED have already voted down, is celebrated in the article. But the issues of understaffing and time-off, by all accounts, have not been addressed.

And here you have the National Association of Chemical Distributors, a group of companies mostly just upset by service failures, taking a more "militant" approach than O'Brien. Railroads should give workers the benefits they seek

 

[Whither]

@Thebrownblob Curious to hear your thoughts

 

[Thebrownblob]

Railroad contract is completely different than ours. The Teamsters are one of many unions involved. I’m not going to make a bunch of accusations or even try to explain but I use just one word.


“POLITiCS”

I hope the union brothers and sisters unanimously vote it down if they’re unhappy.
Unfortunately for them the President of the United States and congress has the power to make them work. I do not believe they will stand behind working people for long. For many years unions have been asking for the help of the government. Unfortunately when you ask for help from the government there’s always strings attached.

 

[DELACROIX]

Railroad contract is completely different than ours. The Teamsters are one of many unions involved. I’m not going to make a bunch of accusations or even try to explain but I use just one word.


“POLITiCS”

I hope the union brothers and sisters unanimously vote it down if they’re unhappy.
Unfortunately for them the President of the United States and congress has the power to make them work. I do not believe they will stand behind working people for long. For many years unions have been asking for the help of the government. Unfortunately when you ask for help from the government there’s always strings attached.

We can only imagine the strings attached to this federal pension bail out... 87.1 Billion.

For the Union and the Company...

What we don’t know about that deal...

 

[Thebrownblob]

We can only imagine the strings attached to this federal pension bail out... 87.1 Billion.

For the Union and the Company...

What we don’t know about that deal...

A lot

 

[Pullman Brown]

Crony Capitalism exists along with crony Unionism!

 

[Whither]

Railroad contract is completely different than ours. The Teamsters are one of many unions involved. I’m not going to make a bunch of accusations or even try to explain but I use just one word.


“POLITiCS”

I hope the union brothers and sisters unanimously vote it down if they’re unhappy.
Unfortunately for them the President of the United States and congress has the power to make them work. I do not believe they will stand behind working people for long. For many years unions have been asking for the help of the government. Unfortunately when you ask for help from the government there’s always strings attached.

I understand the RR deal is complicated and the basic contours of the Railway Labor Act. But I'm not impressed w O'Brien's involvement at all.

I also know this Teamsters union has a proud tradition of defying injunctions to return to work. A broken tradition, yes, but one worth reviving. One we need as much as ever.

We should know better by now than to hope the federal gov't can become our ally. That's foolish. We need rank and file organization and the courage of our ancestors. Collectively we have tremendous power, but we'll never harness it if we play by the rules of a rigged game. We can't afford to keep sticking our tails between our legs.

 

[Thebrownblob]

I understand the RR deal is complicated and the basic contours of the Railway Labor Act. But I'm not impressed w O'Brien's involvement at all.

I also know this Teamsters union has a proud tradition of defying injunctions to return to work. A broken tradition, yes, but one worth reviving. One we need as much as ever.

We should know better by now than to hope the federal gov't can become our ally. That's foolish. We need rank and file organization and the courage of our ancestors. Collectively we have tremendous power, but we'll never harness it if we play by the rules of a rigged game. We can't afford to keep sticking our tails between our legs.

Which is the problem when you put your hand out for help with the government, too many strings attached, we should only be putting the power of the membership front and center.

Sean is still new, he’s doing a very good job so far I will not judge him only on the railroad contract because it is quite complicated. The Teamsters are the smallest fish in that fishbowl. I do believe Sean will support the members if they vote it down.

As with everything with me it would be trust but verify. Shawn‘s legacy has not even begun so we will find out.

 

[Whither]

Crony Capitalism exists along with crony Unionism!

That's why a savvy union would use events like the railroad and UPS negotiations as a moment to reach out to workers in general. These are opportunities to motivate and inspire others to seek better working conditions, wages, the whole 9 yards.

 

[Thebrownblob]

That's why a savvy union would use events like the railroad and UPS negotiations as a moment to reach out to workers in general. These are opportunities to motivate and inspire others to seek better working conditions, wages, the whole 9 yards.

I hate to say it but there’s a lot of big players involved in that railroad strike, perhaps Sean is a little overwhelmed. Pissing off a president is a gamble.

When it comes to our contract I don’t believe he will hold back. But we will see.

 

[Whither]

The Teamsters are the smallest fish in that fishbowl.

If I'm not mistaken, the news has been reporting about 115,000 workers are involved. That means about 1/2 are Teamsters! BMWED has been called the 3rd largest union involved, and BLET (IBT) and SMART-TD the 2 largest. So what the IBT does here is huge.

 

[Thebrownblob]

View attachment 405280
If I'm not mistaken, the news has been reporting about 115,000 workers are involved. That means about 1/2 are Teamsters! BMWED has been called the 3rd largest union involved, and BLET (IBT) and SMART-TD the 2 largest. So what the IBT does here is huge.

Yes I’m talking about politically. I know for a fact,there was tons of meetings between these people what was said I don’t know obviously. The final meeting when everyone thought they had a tentative agreement was an all night affair.

 

[Whither]

Pissing off a president is a gamble.

It wouldn't be the first time this union has done it.

 

[Thebrownblob]

It wouldn't be the first time this union has done it.

Well let’s wait and see if he still might lol. Sean is more blue-collar than most of the guys negotiating these contracts right now. My guess is he’s about to piss a lot of people off. Personally I hope he does

 

[Whither]

Yes I’m talking about politically.

Ah, I follow. Well, that's what I'm getting at re: O'Brien. There's no use talking militantly if he's not prepared to act the part. And doing that he will make formidable enemies, e.g., see the fate of Ron Carey.

But there will be no turning this union around, or improving the situation of workers, without many sacrifices. I sometimes wonder if my own efforts are worth it. Who knows? But it comes to self-respect. We must take on "the schoolyard bully" wherever we find him, and refuse pathetic deals.

 

[Thebrownblob]

Ah, I follow. Well, that's what I'm getting at re: O'Brien. There's no use talking militantly if he's not prepared to act the part. And doing that he will make formidable enemies, e.g., see the fate of Ron Carey.

But there will be no turning this union around, or improving the situation of workers, without many sacrifices. I sometimes wonder if my own efforts are worth it. Who knows? But it comes to self-respect. We must take on "the schoolyard bully" wherever we find him, and refuse pathetic deals.

I would like to think I would walk in that room and tell those ers what I think. But this is A huge deal with a lot of politically connected people involved. And Shawn has only been in office for a few months. Let’s not throw him to the wolves just yet. Everyone is human. He’s still new and I don’t know every detail but I believe he will end up doing the right thing.

 

[Whither]

Well let’s wait and see if he still might lol. Sean is more blue-collar than most of the guys negotiating these contracts right now. My guess is he’s about to piss a lot of people off. Personally I hope he does

Oh I hope the same brother. I hope the railroaders defy the gov't. It will be painful for everyone, of course, but it could also be a referendum on this entire society. Getting worked to death for corporate profits -- there's a lot of this country in that position.

 

[Thebrownblob]

Oh I hope the same brother. I hope the railroaders defy the gov't. It will be painful for everyone, of course, but it could also be a referendum on this entire society. Getting worked to death for corporate profits -- there's a lot of this country in that position.

Many people on here try to pigeonhole me as left or right I am neither. Neither one of these parties care about working people. At best they want us just to shut up and get back to work. While they pretend we got a great deal.

 

[Whither]

I would like to think I would walk in that room and tell those ers what I think.

You know that's exactly what happened in 97, yes? And UPS negotiators hated having to treat rank and file negotiators as peers. To me it's no different than refusing to kow-tow to any member of management at any time. The labor manager here kicked me out of my own grievance hearing. Did I yell? No. Did I curse at him? No. Did I make threats? No. He simply couldn't stand that I held my own with him, and that I insisted he treat me with respect.

 

[Whither]

Many people on here try to pigeonhole me as left or right I am neither. Neither one of these parties care about working people. At best they want us just to shut up and get back to work. While they pretend we got a great deal.

My brother from another mother! I love it.