Warren Buffett, the ninth richest man in the world, said it was not his job to settle the 450 steelworkers’ strike for the company he owns.
US Senator Bernie Sanders wrote a letter to the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway asking him to intervene in the three-month Special Metals strike. The company is part of Precision Castparts and is owned by Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway.
“When a company is doing so well, there is no reason for the employees you hire to worry about being fed Do they know a “Their children or whether they can receive health care,” Bernie Sanders wrote.
The senator described the case as “outrageous and insulting,” according to his letter, when the employees were only offered a signing bonus of $2,000, but no salary increase was offered in the first year contract. A 1 percent wage increase was recorded in the second year and a 2 percent wage increase in the next three years.
Warren Buffett said in a later response that the management of different companies is entrusted to separate CEOs, whose companies handle workforce decisions individually. He added that although the senator would pass the message on to the appropriate commander, he had not suggested any action.
The case has received particular attention because, unlike many other billionaires in the country, Warren Buffett has always spoken concerned about income inequality in the country: He advocated a higher tax on the rich and promised to donate much of his fortune.
By the way, Precision Castparts was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 2016 for $37.2 billion. Berkshire reported that Precision Castparts closed with revenue of $1.6 billion in the third quarter and earnings that rose $217 million in the third quarter of 2020.
Precision Castparts’ communications division released a statement saying the company wants to re-establish a respectful and productive relationship with its employees, and they’ve done so before. The company would continue to bargain with the union, but the company did not want to answer questions about the offer to the union and comment on the consequences of the ongoing strikes.
(via CNN)
(Cover Photo: Bernie Sanders, December 17, 2021. Photo: SETH HERALD/AFP)
