News and Media

Reported by Justin Franz for Montana Free Press. 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 said BNSF Railway’s new policies could lead to unsafe working conditions on the railroad. Railroaders already…

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Reported by Marybeth Luczak for Railway Age. BNSF now plans changes to Hi-Viz. In a recent video on the BNSF YouTube channel, VP Transportation Matt Garland discussed them. He first thanked employees by saying, “I know we’ve had a tough start to the year, and I know we’re all feeling that. We all have a lot…

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America’s Workforce Union Podcast. TTD Secretary Treasurer Shari Semelsberger discussed the new wave of worker empowerment during the pandemic and the path forward for working people in America.

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Reported by Eleanor Mueller for Politico. In the scramble to bring prices back down, one obstacle is slowly garnering more attention: a decimated railroad workforce, which agency officials say is impeding efforts to transport goods and, in doing so, further hobbling an already-delicate supply chain. Over the last six years, Class I freight railroads —…

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Reported by Justin Franz for Railfan and Railroad Magazine. BNSF Railway will make adjustments to its new attendance policy that has been heavily criticized by union officials and railroaders alike. Under the “Hi-Viz” attendance policy that went into effect on February 1, railroaders had a bank of 30 points. If they missed a call or…

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Reported by Bill Stephens for Trains. BNSF Railway has modified its controversial Hi-Viz train crew attendance policy in response to employee feedback, but officials at two unions say the changes fall far short of what is needed. The changes, which take effect June 1, were announced in a video released on Friday. BNSF launched the policy…

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Reported by Josh Funk for AP. BNSF railroad is tweaking its strict new attendance policy that upset workers, but the unions that challenged the rules since they took effect in February say the changes don’t go far enough. The railroad has told employees that starting next month it will make several small changes in the…

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Reported by David Sparkman for Material Handling and Logistics. The service deterioration on the nation’s Class 1 railroads is approaching the point of becoming a national security issue, shippers informed the Surface Transportation Board (STB) at hearings held April 26-27, where they described how it already has added to the supply chain crisis, inflation and…

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Reported by Justin Franz for the Montana Free Press. 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 have spent years moving freight over the mountains of northwest Montana.  “It’s a family affair [and] I knew what I…

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