WORT 89.9FM Madison · Railroad Workers Regroup After Feds Intervene

On December 1, 2022, the U.S. Senate invoked the 1926 Railway Labor Act by voting 80-15 to force a contract on railroad workers that the unions had rejected, averting a nationwide railway strike.  Earlier in the day, the Senate had voted 52-43 to amend the contract to add 7 days of paid sick leave, but that measure failed, because it’s the bizzarro world of the U.S. Senate where you need 60 votes to get anything done.  As a result, railroad workers – statistically one of the most dangerous jobs in America – still get no paid time off if they fall ill or are injured off the job.  J.P. Johnson is a 5th generation railroader, a member of the Sheet Metal and Rail Transportation, or SMART-TD, union and a member of the steering committee for Railroad Workers United.  He currently works as a locomotive fireman for Amtrak out of Milwaukee.  J.P. Johnson joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on December 19, 2022.

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