Those unions say they're not rejecting the wage offer. Rather, it's the work rules, staffing and scheduling proposals they object to, which require them to be on call, and ready to report to work, seven days a week for much of the year. If it were just a question of wages, a deal between the two sides would likely already be in place.

"We're not going to sit here and argue about [wages] or health care. We're beyond that," said Jeremy Ferguson, president of the union that represents conductors, one of the two workers on freight trains along with the engineer.

The unions say conditions on the job are driving thousands of workers to quit jobs that they previously would have kept for their entire careers, creating untenable conditions for the remaining workers. Changing those work rules, including the on-call requirement, is the main demand.

"The word has gotten out these are not attractive jobs the way they treat workers," said Dennis Pierce, president of the union representing engineers. "Employees have said 'I've had enough.'"

[...]

And it's not just the railroad workers who have reached this breaking point.

Monday about 15,000 nurses started a 3-day strike against 13 hospitals in Minnesota, saying that they needed improved staffing levels and more control over scheduling in order to provide the patients with the care they deserved, and keep the nurses they need on the job.

"We are not on strike for our wages. We're fighting for the ability to have some say over our profession and the work life balance," said Mary Turner, a Covid ICU nurse and president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, the union waging the strike.

More than 2,000 mental health professionals are on strike against Kaiser Permanente in California and Hawaii. The union members there say inadequate staffing is depriving patients of care and preventing them from doing their jobs effectively.

[...]

Teachers in Columbus, Ohio, went on strike at the start of the school year complaining about large class sizes and dilapidated schools where a lack of heating and air conditioning has created miserable classroom environments. The school district, the largest in Ohio, quickly settled.

The complaints about working conditions, safety, and quality of life issues aren't just prompting strikes. They're also driving a surge in organizing efforts.

The successful unionization effort at an Amazon distribution center in Staten Island, New York, started with concerns over worker safety in the early days of the pandemic. It was the first successful union vote at an Amazon (AMZN) facility.

Worker safety protocols and the desire to have a voice in the way stores are run are major reasons why baristas at more than 200 Starbucks nationwide have voted to join a union in the last nine months.