He barred the workers from striking and gambled with their well being. He had no guarantee of succeeding in getting sick days (which they did not even get as much as they demanded), and if it didn't happen to work out the way it did, the workers would've been fucked with no legal recourse.

"but there is choice involved in how long your commute is"

I can choose to live half an hour away, or I can choose to be homeless because wages are shit and rents are high.