What are your thoughts?
20 replies (most recent on top)
Not sure why they are crying...they get 2 more points than we do. I'm just really surprised how the unions , BLET AND THE SMART went to bat for BNSF and just allowed the policy get rammed down our throats. Unions suck. We have no power anymore. The people don't matter. Railroaders have no rights to strike unless a federal judge says it's ok. Only if our union executives grew some balzz and said fk it....wildcat. What a day that would be.
I guess some people need to talk about the other foreign RR issues, instead of focusing on the issues about the RR that they work for. Don't you dare disregard what's going on at the other places, or you'll hurt their feelings! What good does it do to talk about what's going on at the BNSF? If you're one of the few that really cares about them, then you should exchange phone numbers or switch over to the BNSF chat board on this site and gossip about it privately. Sorry, but there's just not too many UP people that give a damn about what the BNSF or what they do. The UP attendance policy is harsher, and no one seems to be talking about that!
Why are we talking about the BNSF and their attendance policy?
Just laid off fmla after call. God bless us everyone
Who cares?? That's my thought of the BNSF attendance policy! The UP has their own BS attendance policy to deal with.
A union that needs permission to strike is worthless and the railroad knows it.
"FLMA use the fed or state paper work not the company."
Thanks, could you please expand upon this? I presume with UP provided paperwork is more invasive than the .gov provided paperwork?
Not sure where you are getting this information from. When you say “word is” are you hearing this from the crew room or from a reliable source? I would not bet my job on rumors or hearsay.
I haven’t seen anyone get permanently fired at my location. Lots of guys fired then brought back with back pay. Word is arbitrators are tired of petty cases like attendance when one is working full time yet company doesn’t think 160 hrs a month is enough.
The first 18, 24 months UP won the law boards, then have lost 99% of them. They got rid of the drunks and the ones that didn't want to work or move to the yard. Now it's all most impossible to get rid of a road employee. 200 plus hours a month. No law board will go against that. FLMA use the fed or state paper work not the company.
BNSF won their case. They are following along with the other railroads in how they operate. When PSR started, quite a few UP employees said BN would never go that route, they took care of their employees, etc. The fact is all large companies are pretty much the same, they don’t care personally about anyone.
The post about UP losing every attendance policy firing at the board is BS. That’s someone talking that doesn’t know the facts.
UPRR has lost every attendance policy firing at law board. So much so that now they aren't even waiting for it to go to law board. They are offering people their jobs back with back pay.
UP won in the courts so the BNSF will too. They will trim the non workers and after a couple years the unions will start winning law boards as the workers they are firing for attendance are meeting all miles, hours, and all vacation requirements. Thats how it worked here. Sucks that UP abused the system to cut the boards so short by creating this attendance policy.
Surprise surprise the court ruled in favor of the giant company over the unions right to strike.
Just go to damn work when your supposed to, 15 years in railroad not one attendance issue. Is it that difficult.
Umm……….it’s in the courts. I think you should pay attention to it. If the courts rule their dispute Minor, then it opens the door at UP to follow there lead. I’m sorry but most TE&Y are really ignorant people. I’m guessing those that have replied have no idea what’s in BNSF new attendance policy. How would you like attendance points for attending jury duty? Or using your legally protected FMLA? That’s all in there.
I think the BNSF should steer very clear of any new or revised policy associated with PSR. I agree with others about why we should care what they do. I don't care what they do, but I just doon't want to see the UP lose their #1 worst employer spot. That would be heartbreaking to see!
My thoughts are: who cares what BNSF does. I don’t work for BNSF so what they do doesn’t affect me one way or another. What good does it do to waste time thinking about another company? None of this helps our situation so why worry about what policies BNSF has?
The BNSF policy isn't even as harsh as the UPRR policy. Maybe our unions should have put up a fight. BNSF is claiming their employee availability is 50% at any time while their competitors railroads are 90%. Sounds about right. BNSF employees will get FMLA and still lay off whenever they want like the rest of our railroad coworkers. There are several people I work with that use all 16 weeks and get 4 weeks of vacation and are able to lay off 3 weeks throughout the year under our policy. They only have to work 29 out of the 52 weeks in a year. 56% availability.