{"id":520989,"date":"2022-12-04T16:30:53","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T13:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/rail-workers-say-deal-wont-resolve-quality-of-life-concerns\/"},"modified":"2022-12-04T16:30:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T13:30:53","slug":"rail-workers-say-deal-wont-resolve-quality-of-life-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/rail-workers-say-deal-wont-resolve-quality-of-life-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"#Rail workers say deal won&#8217;t resolve quality-of-life concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a413bd275dce\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a413bd275dce\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/rail-workers-say-deal-wont-resolve-quality-of-life-concerns\/#Rail_workers_say_deal_wont_resolve_quality-of-life_concerns\" >Rail workers say deal won&#8217;t resolve quality-of-life concerns<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Rail_workers_say_deal_wont_resolve_quality-of-life_concerns\"><\/span>Rail workers say deal won&#8217;t resolve quality-of-life concerns<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) \u2014 When BNSF railroad conductor Justin Schaaf needed to take time off from work this summer, he had to make a choice: go to the dentist to get a cavity in his molar filled or attend a party for his son&#8217;s 7th birthday.<\/p>\n<p>He chose his son.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ultimately I decided to take the day off for my kid\u2019s birthday party,\u201d Schaaf said. \u201cThen when I am finally able to get into the dentist four, five, six months later, the tooth is too bad to repair at that point, so I have to get the tooth pulled out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those are the kind of tradeoffs that railroad workers worry they might still have to make after Congress voted this week to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-politics-pete-buttigieg-strikes-congress-c95510555dcd4cdc2d839e61d1195b06\" data-ylk=\"slk:impose a contract\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">impose a contract<\/a> on them to avoid the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/business-economy-strikes-climate-and-environment-government-politics-92ea7632a29f807ccc0e2658c50d731e\" data-ylk=\"slk:economic disaster\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">economic disaster<\/a> that would accompany a railroad strike. Workers and their unions say the deal didn\u2019t do enough to address their <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/business-economy-government-and-politics-207229bcd558b6a6c1d58f3f85e2d804\" data-ylk=\"slk:quality-of-life concerns\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">quality-of-life concerns<\/a> and didn\u2019t add any sick days.<\/p>\n<p>President Joe Biden <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-business-economy-government-and-politics-fe5f657b036b2b612d072368584e00cd\" data-ylk=\"slk:signed a bill\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">signed a bill<\/a> Friday to block a strike and force workers to accept the agreements union leaders made in September, even though four of the 12 unions \u2014 which include a majority of rail workers \u2014 voted to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/technology-business-congress-government-and-politics-79d2e2c2779598b0a14396464ee4f7e9\" data-ylk=\"slk:reject them.\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">reject them.<\/a> Business groups had been <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-business-economy-congress-government-and-politics-6b60d53fefc7b85f301b0a3e7011715b\" data-ylk=\"slk:urging\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">urging<\/a> Biden to intervene for weeks.<\/p>\n<p>For Schaaf, he&#8217;s not sure if the new contract will make it any easier to find another day off sometime next year to pay to have a fake tooth implanted in his mouth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I had the option of taking a sick day &#8230; I would have never been in that situation,\u201d he said from his home in Glasgow, Montana.<\/p>\n<p>Schaaf said it was discouraging, but not surprising, to see Congress step in to settle the contract dispute ahead of next Friday&#8217;s strike deadline. Lawmakers have made a habit of stepping in to impose contracts when railroads and their unions reach the brink of a strike \u2014 18 times since the passage of the 1926 Railway Labor Act, by the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamber.com\/security\/supply-chain\/fact-sheet-congress-has-intervened-18-times-in-railroad-labor-negotiations\" data-ylk=\"slk:U.S. Chamber of Commerce's count\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">U.S. Chamber of Commerce&#8217;s count<\/a> \u2014 because of the potential economic consequences.<\/p>\n<p>Many businesses rely on railroads to deliver raw materials and ship their final products, so a rail strike would send a catastrophic ripple through the economy. Passenger railroads also would be disrupted because so many use tracks owned by the freight railroads.<\/p>\n<p>The five-year deals that rail workers wound up with include 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses. But concerns about the lack of paid sick time and the demanding schedules that unions say make it hard for workers to ever take a day off dominated the contract talks. The rail unions say they weren\u2019t able to get more concessions out of the railroads because the big companies knew Congress would intervene.<\/p>\n<p>The railroads <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/government-and-politics-business-strikes-940da8fc519f8c526ca614e201d01216\" data-ylk=\"slk:refused\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">refused<\/a> to add paid sick days to the deal at the end of three years of negotiations because they didn\u2019t want to pay much more than a special board of arbitrators <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ointed by Biden <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-strikes-a83dffef79d38e36dc25588b19bf54b4\" data-ylk=\"slk:recommended\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">recommended<\/a> this summer. Plus, the railroads say the unions have agreed over the years to forego paid sick leave in favor of higher wages and strong short-term disability benefits that kick in after as little as four days.<\/p>\n<p>The railroads agreed to offer <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/business-government-and-politics-6172442e20ccf3295b39c2f3184e03cf\" data-ylk=\"slk:three unpaid days\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">three unpaid days<\/a> for engineers and conductors to tend to medical needs as long as they are scheduled at least 30 days in advance. They also promised to negotiate further to improve the way regular days off are scheduled to help workers better know when they will be off.<\/p>\n<p>But to retired engineer Jeff Kurtz, there is still a lot of work to be done to restore the quality of life he enjoyed before he left the railroad eight years ago. He doubts rail workers today would be able to get time off for key family events on short notice the way he did when he found out his son was getting his doctorate right before Christmas in 2009.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou hear when you hire out on the railroad you\u2019re going to miss some things. But you\u2019re not supposed to miss everything,\u201d said Kurtz, who remains active even in retirement with the Railroad Workers United coalition that includes workers from every union. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t miss your kids growing up. You shouldn\u2019t miss the seminal moments in your family\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Over the past six years, the major railroads have eliminated nearly one-third of their jobs as they <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/business-aab7d3084a8d17d8d721d2cb750be323\" data-ylk=\"slk:overhauled operations\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">overhauled operations<\/a>, making the work more demanding for those who remain.<\/p>\n<p>The unions say they won\u2019t stop fighting for more paid sick leave, but now they may have to wait for negotiations on the next contract beginning in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The head of the Association of American Railroads trade group, Ian Jefferies, acknowledged \u201cthere is more to be done to further address our employees\u2019 work-life balance concerns\u201d but he said the compromise deals that Congress voted to impose should help make schedules more predictable while delivering the biggest raises rail workers have seen in more than four decades.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aol.com\/finance\/rail-workers-say-deal-wont-resolve-quality-of-life-concerns-133053559.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rail workers say deal won&#8217;t resolve quality-of-life concerns OMAHA, Neb. (AP) \u2014 When BNSF railroad conductor Justin Schaaf needed to take time off from work this summer, he had to make a choice: go to the dentist to get a cavity in his molar filled or attend a party for his son&#8217;s 7th birthday. He&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":520990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/i7xLustVwoqhaNEZv8Q9GQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD04MDA-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ap.org\/776d41e60d3802d12ccc9a205f50a2dd","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-520989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}