Monday, December 5: Praying for an Illegal Strike
All my homies want to see America brought to its knees
The history of rail worker abuse in the US is as long and ruthless as American history itself. As long as railroads have existed in this country, they’ve always employed ruthless techniques to keep a lid on costs while benefitting investors. Way back in the 19th century, railroads were run by financiers/barons who operated them as financial assets, usually to the detriment of service. Union Pacific, one of the companies that built the Transcontinental Railroad, prioritized securing land from the federal government instead of actually creating efficient routes. Another company pressed Chinese laborers into service to build the tracks in order to drive down wages.
Recently, rail companies laid off nearly a third of their work force before the pandemic, worsening freight service while increasing profits and handing out handsome stock dividends to executives. It’s great news for shareholders. and investors certainly aren’t complaining, but the laborers, the people doing the heavy lifting day after day, have suffered. It’s miserable for workers because there are fewer people to do the same amount of work.
The Railway Labor Act, which gives politicians the power to preemptively break a worker strike, traces its origins all the way back to labor strikes in 1877 that shut down rail service and prompted the president to send in troops. Imagine telling workers they’re not allowed to bargain for their own benefit. Every day I learn something new about the problematic history of labor relations in the US.
Side Items
This week, Georgia will finally hold its runoff election for Senate between the incumbent Reverend Raphael Warnock and his challenger, the smooth-brained Herschel Walker. It’s a sad sign of the times that Walker is even considered a serious option for Georgia voters, but it’ll be far sadder if he winds up somehow representing the Peach State
The supreme court will hear arguments this week in a case about whether a Colorado web designer can refuse working with same-sex couples. It seems like every year or so they do this same song and dance, resulting in further political polarization while completely ignoring the growing consequences of a polarized society
One consequence of the growing polarization is that we occasionally wind up with a former president calling for the termination of the constitution. This is part of Trump’s continued efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and reinstate him to power. At this point it’s like listening to a drunk uncle brag about his glory days as a middle school quarterback, truly cringe behavior
World Cup Recap
The French defending champs really took the wok to Poland, winning 3-1 in a game that didn’t feel nearly as close as the scoreline would suggest. Kylian Mbappe (or Muh-bappe if you’re Barles Charkley) staked his claim as the best player in the world, scoring twice and setting the stage for the ultimate colonizer showdown on Saturday, France vs. England
Speaking of England, the Three Lions ran riot on poor Senegal, dispatching them 3-0 in another one-sided match. Senegal will be left wondering what could’ve been had Sadio Mane remained healthy, but hopefully this English side will continue the long tradition of underperforming and exiting early
Tonight Japan takes on Croatia and Brazil play South Korea for a place in the quarterfinals. Neymar is expected to make his return to action, which should swing the momentum in Brazil’s favor, but as someone who’s enjoyed supporting this Korean team, I just hope all these teams have fun