Regarding the railroad strike: I’m here to defend the men and women who move the goods and commodities that keep this country running and put the food on your table. I spent 32 years living that life and know exactly what they are holding out for: It certainly is not the money. That doesn’t compensate for the days and hours they spend away from their families, the lost sleep and long hours.
Seniority is all you have on the railroad. The people with none work what is called the extra board: They are on call 24/7, 365, with no scheduled days off, no vacation time, nothing. The people who have seniority also have no set days off, but they have vacation and personal leave days (at the company’s discretion, and often denied during busy periods).
When I was young and had no seniority, I worked 27 shifts in 15 days with no time off. Sometimes I had eight hours off between shifts. Call time was an hour and a half before you need to be at work; that means you had 6½ hours to eat, sleep and spend time with your family.
I hope you get the point: These people need scheduled time off.
