How will railroad workers vote after Biden and Congress blocked their strike? (w/ Hugh Sawyer, Mark Burrows, & Ron Kaminkow)

How will railroad workers vote after Biden and Congress blocked their strike? (w/ Hugh Sawyer, Mark Burrows, & Ron Kaminkow)

Author: Working People November 2, 2024 Duration: 1:20:34
Two years ago, the US was on the cusp of seeing its first national rail strike in decades. Then, President Joe Biden, at the urging of the rail companies, and with the help of both parties in Congress, preemptively blocked railroad workers from striking in December of 2022. Workers were forced to accept a contract that did not address the vast majority of issues that have been putting them, our communities, and our supply chain at hazard. How has this all shaped railroad workers' attitudes and approaches to the upcoming elections? In this urgent panel discussion, we pose this question directly to three veteran railroaders, and we have an honest discussion about how working people should act strategically within and outside the electoral system to advance their interests. 

Panelists include: Hugh Sawyer, a veteran locomotive engineer with 36 years of experience, a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Division 316, and a founding member and acting treasurer of Railroad Workers United; Mark Burrows, a retired locomotive engineer with 37 of experience, who has served as co-chair and organizer for Railroad Workers United, where he still edits RWU's quarterly newsletter "The Highball"; Ron Kaminkow, a recently retired former brakeman, conductor, and engineer who worked for many years in freight rail before working 20 years as a passenger engineer at Amtrak, a founding member of RWU and delegate in the Northern Nevada Central Labor Council. 

Additional links/info below…
Permanent links below…

Featured Music...

  • Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song

There’s a conversation happening about the economy, politics, and culture, but too often the actual voices of the people who keep everything running are absent. Working People changes that. This is a place where the lived experience of the working class in modern America takes center stage. Produced in partnership with In These Times magazine and The Real News Network, each episode is built around a candid interview with someone from the vast and varied landscape of the American workforce. You’ll hear from teachers, factory workers, service industry employees, caregivers, and many others, each sharing the unvarnished details of their daily reality. Conversations naturally unfold to cover not just the specifics of their jobs, but the broader context of their lives-their personal histories, their political views, the dynamics within their families, and the unique blend of satisfaction and struggle that defines their world. The Working People podcast doesn’t offer abstract analysis; it provides a direct, human connection to the stories that collectively shape our society. It’s about understanding the hopes, the frustrations, and the resilience that are woven into the fabric of working-class life today. By listening, you get a genuine portrait of the people whose labor is so often discussed, yet whose own narratives are so rarely heard in such depth.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Working People
Podcast Episodes
Massive strike at Kaiser Permanente enters third week [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:53
An estimated 31,000 health care workers in California and Hawaii walked off the job on Jan. 26 in their ongoing battle with healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente to address workers' demands for safe staffing, more manageabl…
America's toxic future looks like East Palestine, OH, today [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:05
Feb. 3, 2026 marked the three-year anniversary of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical disaster in East Palestine, OH—one of the worst industrial disasters in US history. Over the last three years, resident…
"A hero": Nurses, federal workers honor Alex Pretti [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:49
Hundreds of union nurses, federal workers, and local residents gathered outside the Veterans Affairs central office building in Washington, DC, on Jan. 28, to hold a vigil for Alex Pretti and all who have been killed by…
Largest nurses union calls to abolish ICE after Alex Pretti killing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:53
On Friday, Jan. 23, around 50,000 people in Minneapolis, MN, engaged in a historic mass strike and day of protest to demand an end to ICE terror and President Trump's federal siege of Minnesota. Then, on Saturday, Jan. 2…
"Shut everything down": Minnesota calls for mass strike on Jan. 23 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:59
The state of Minnesota is under siege by our own federal government, and residents—immigrant and US-born alike—are living in fear. With the deployment of over 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota in recent weeks, this is th…
The longest-running strike in the US is over—and the workers won [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:47
On Monday, Nov. 24, after more than 1,100 days on strike, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members were cheered on by supporters at a rally in downtown Pittsburgh before returning to work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Eve…
What does it mean to be a union member in these dark times? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:11
Making ends meet in today's economy is difficult enough, but with so many societal crises affecting working people's lives on and off the shop floor—from mass layoffs to untenable costs of living, from an authoritarian f…