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Senator Bernie Sanders has pledged his support to Pennsylvania workers who began strikes Tuesday after the creation of a General Electric unit.
The senator has built a political audience partly because of its broad sides against companies and business leaders such as Amazon and its CEO, Jeff Bezos. He has frequently urged American companies such as McDonald's and Walmart to increase minimum wages and offer better benefits.
His involvement in the Wabtec fight brings more political intrigue than usual.
Sanders recently launched a 2020 presidential campaign as a democrat. The strike is being held in a state led by President Donald Trump in 2016 and Democrats may have to win to win back the White House. By slamming free trade agreements and trying to revise them, Trump tried to appeal to disillusioned manufacturing workers in similar areas in Erie, a town in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Read more: Bernie Sanders strategists separate from 2020 campaign for creative differences
Sanders' support for the strikers has "absolutely" nothing to do with his presidential ambitions, said his spokesman, Josh Miller-Lewis. The senator "has defended all his life against the greed of big profitable companies," he added.
The union, known as the EU, has a history with Sanders. He approved the senator in 2016 in his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the presidency. Last week, Sanders wrote a letter to Wabtec CEO Raymond Betler, in which he explained in part that Wabtec was "not a poor company" and "did not go bankrupt".
EU says that he was "not able to convince [Wabtec] to negotiate an acceptable short-term agreement preserving wages, benefits and working conditions negotiated with GE "after the merger became official on Monday." The plant had employed GE workers for about 80 years before the redesign of the industrial giant.
EU has several grievances to make with the new employer of Erie's factory. According to the union, Wabtec's terms "include the introduction of mandatory overtime and arbitrary schedules, wage reductions of up to 38% for recalled and newly hired workers, as well as the right to to use temporary workers for up to 20% of the work done in the factory. " "
In response to criticism, Wabtec referred to an article of opinion written by the executive Greg Sbrocco. He wrote that Wabtec's proposal would maintain current wages at $ 35 per hour, a rate that he says goes "beyond anything in the region".
He wrote that the company would continue to offer competitive advantages. Mr. Sbrocco also stated that the proposal was in accordance with the conditions and benefits found at a facility in Wilmerding, a district near Pittsburgh where his head office is located. He also noted that Wabtec had completed negotiations with four separate unions, with the exception of the EU.
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