Railway Workers Fight Shows Need for Paid Sick and Family Leave + More Updates

“It staggers the imagination that in September 2022 the workers who keep the trains running did not have even one sick day to care for themselves.”

Railway Workers Fight Shows Need for Paid Sick and Family Leave, Says Economist

Related:

“30 Years in the Making”: U.S. Rail Strike Averted by Tentative Deal as Workers Decry Grueling Conditions

Live updates: Railroad workers livid over deal brokered by Biden and unions to prevent strike

What’s wrong with the USA?

China has been, variously described as a rising power, a sleeping dragon and a collapsing economy. Most of the rhetoric is driven from the US. Inside their government, both the Senate and Congress have anti-China hawks, their State Department seems to see a threat at every turning point and their military seems to believe that a defensive People’s liberation Army is a bad thing as it threatens US interests. Books reports and documentaries are created about mass dissatisfaction which extended academic research seems unable to identify.

What’s wrong with the USA? (archived)

During Both Obama and Trump Administrations, the Justice Department Has Looked the Other Way at Crimes by the Powerful (and nothing will change with Biden)

Last Thursday evening, Justice Department Attorney General, Merrick Garland, held a brief press conference to announce that he had asked a federal court to unseal the search warrant and inventory receipts filed in connection with the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Palm Beach oceanfront home and beach resort, Mar-a- Lago. As part of his statement to the press, Garland said this:

“Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and of our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the rule of law evenly, without fear or favor.”

During Both Obama and Trump Administrations, the Justice Department Has Looked the Other Way at Crimes by the Powerful

Related:

Vowing Not to ‘Demonize’ the Rich, Biden Tells Billionaires ‘Nothing Would Fundamentally Change’ If He Was Elected

“No one’s standard of living will change,” said Biden. “Nothing would fundamentally change.”

On this day, 24 July 2009, 3,000 steel workers in Tonghua, China rioted and beat an executive to death when threatened with privatization and job losses.

Jianlong Steel Holding Company official Chen Guojun, who earned over 3 million yuan the previous year, planned to take over the majority state-owned Tonghua Iron and Steel Group. He announced plans to cut the number of workers from 30,000 down to around 5,000, with those made redundant receiving around 200 yuan in compensation. The firm was still profitable, but the planned restructuring was aimed at increasing profits further amidst a global economic downturn.

Outraged, the workers shut down production and rioted, beating Chen, blocking roads and smashing police cars to prevent police and ambulances from reaching him.

The sale was subsequently scrapped.

On this day, 24 July 2009, 3,000 steel workers in Tonghua, China rioted and beat an executive to death when threatened with privatisation and job losses.

More:

China, rising wages and worker militancy