WASHINGTON – Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, the President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, issued this statement in response to Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway’s adjustments to its “Hi Viz” attendance policy, which has increased employee turnover since taking effect on February 1st:
“BNSF’s proposed changes to its Hi Viz attendance policy are unimpressive. These changes do nothing to address the policy’s fundamental flaws. For example, allowing a worker to bank a few extra points will not offset the massive 15 point cost of a worker missing one high-impact day. In addition, it is appalling that BNSF’s response to widespread reports of worker fatigue is to incentivize this exhaustion. Yet, BNSF’s proposal to reward the ‘top performers’, or those who have the top 10% of work hours, is a clear attempt to incentivize these fatigued workers to double down. This will not stand.”
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