7 sick days a year & a fair schedule. That is all the Railroad workers of the United States have asked for.

Despite this, President Biden and Congress have seen fit to force a contract on the railroaders. Both the Senate and House voted for the contract. However, 52 senators (all of which have unlimited sick time and make $174,000) saw fit to vote down the sick time amendment to the contract. This left all the rail workers stuck with a hellish scheduling system (Precision Scheduled Railroading) and a contract that the rank and file have resoundingly rejected over and over.

To really understand this battle, we needed to call in support. Luckily, friend-of-the-show Dr. Andrea Haverkamp came in clutch. Andrea takes us all the way back to some of the earliest railroad strikes in US history to help us get the whole perspective of the incredibly nuanced topic.

Dr. Andrea Haverkamp

Labor organizer, the American Federation of Teachers, professor of Climate justice, queer student experiences in STEM, and engineering ethics at the University of San Diago

Dr. Haverkamp is a Labor organizer for the American Federation of Teachers as well as a professor of Climate justice, queer student experiences in STEM, and engineering ethics at the University of San Diago. She has extensive experience in workplace organizing in higher education and healthcare, as well as coalition political organizing for environmental and social justice in the Pacific Northwest. Her research and teaching centers intersectional queer, trans, and feminist frameworks and an organizing approach towards social transformation. Her primary topics of research and teaching are climate justice, trans and gender nonconforming student experiences in STEM, and engineering ethics.

Her engineering experience prior to academia and the labor movement includes environmental engineering positions in the federal government, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She has also served as a chemistry and phyics high school teacher in Kolahun, Liberia in the Peace Corps.

Dr. Haverkamp holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering with a doctoral minor in Queer Studies, a graduate certificate in College and University Teaching, and a Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering from Oregon State University. She also holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kansas.