![]() ![]() Strikes are effective because they stop this flow. Workers generate the flow of money that we all depend on. Unions are effective because of collective bargaining. Without that flow, business stops, jobs are lost. The system we live in depends on consumption and the flow of money. They had the opportunity to put significant pressure on rail companies to help fight for the rights of workers, but decided against it. Rather than supporting those who prop us up, our government opts to side against workers. Both Democrats and Republicans have failed to acknowledge the underlying issue. The expressed purpose of their strike was to get more paid sick days. Recall in 2022 how the bourgeois Biden administration, with the bipartisan support of Congress, trampled over rail workers who wanted to strike. ![]() This isn’t new, since we’ve had laws in place to stop rail workers from striking for years, because if a strike were to happen it would impair the economy. 243 fails to do is allow transit employees to strike, essentially declawing transit unions. It stops those with a conflicting interest from unionizing. 243 redefines who can unionize in the Utah public transit. “It’s making sure that it’s a level playing field and that they’re not treated differently because it’s a labor union,” Teuscher said. Teuscher, “The bill is trying to say you can’t treat a labor union any differently than you would treat any other organization.” It allows equity between public employers and unions - such that they are unable to involve themselves with union funds. 241 amends some language in the pre-existing Utah labor laws - namely, it redefines how funds can be used with unions that are in the public sector by specifically not allowing employers to treat unions unequally from other organizations. Fixing our failures regarding the working class should be our top priority. 241 and 243 are just stepping stones towards helping the working class. Union participation has been in decline since the ’80s, and Utah specifically has an extremely low union participation rate. 243 seek to remove loopholes and include specific language that protects the working class. Nevertheless, collective bargaining is the working class’s most effective tool. Unions are a band-aid on the gunshot wound that is capitalism. ![]()
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