After hundreds of railroaders quit, BNSF has modified its new attendance policy effective June 1. Union detractors remain unmoved. by Justin Franz for montanafreepress.org Montana’s largest railroad company is making changes to a controversial new employee attendance policy after receiving pushback from railroaders and unions. But even with the changes, labor officials remain unimpressed and […]
By Bill Stephens for trains.com Railroads would have to report local service data as well as locomotive and crew availability Class I railroads operating in Canada would be required to report additional performance and staffing metrics under a proposal Canadian regulators unveiled on Friday. Transport Canada’s move was announced on the same day that the Surface Transportation […]
By Justin Franz for railfan.com The U.S. Surface Transportation Board announced Friday that all seven Class I railroads will have to submit reports on rail service, performance and employment, and four of them will need to provide plans on how they will get service back on track. The request for more information and transparency comes […]
By Justin Franz for railfan.com After a fiery two-day hearing in Washington D.C., about the ongoing Class I service crisis, many in and out of the rail industry are asking “What’s next?” After receiving an avalanche of complaints from shippers and railroaders about the state of rail service, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board demanded that […]
Union officials say hundreds of people have left the railroad in the last three months, adding to BNSF’s struggles to move freight through Montana. by Justin Franz for montanafreepress.com Brady Wassam knew what to expect when he took a job on the railroad. Wassam, 30, of Columbia Falls, came from a family of railroaders who […]
Workers have had to choose between work and attending funerals for loved ones, parenting their kids, and going to the doctor, 45 BNSF employees told Motherboard. By Aaron Gordon for vice.com Two weeks ago, a BNSF freight train conductor, who asked not to be named so he could speak freely about his experience, fell asleep […]
Workers are under intense strain amid grueling schedules, union contract negotiations and an arcane attendance policy system By Michael Sainato for theguardian.com American railroad workers are criticizing a new restrictive attendance policy at one of the largest railroad freight networks in the US, as they experience grueling schedules and labor cuts in the midst of […]
Major U.S. railroad companies have been raising fees for freight stuck in supply chain bottlenecks while lowering costs, according to a new analysis from a liberal watchdog group. By Teaganne Finn for nbcnews.com WASHINGTON — Several of the largest railroad companies in the U.S. have benefited from the supply chain crisis by raising fees and lowering costs, […]
BY HARRISON MANTAS for star-telegram.com A U.S. District Court judge on Tuesday again blocked two railroad unions from striking over a new availability policy Fort Worth-based rail company BNSF says it needs to ensure proper staffing of its trains. District Court Judge Mark Pittman granted BNSF’s request for a preliminary injunction, saying the company is […]
By Tom Hall, Claude Delphian for wsws.com The World Socialist Web Site urges railroad workers to contact us with your comments. All submissions will be kept anonymous. On January 31, the presidents of two of the main unions at BNSF sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg over the new […]