FORT WORTH, Texas — A U.S. District Court Judge has again prohibited unions from striking BNSF Railway over new attendance policies, granting an injunction and saying the railroad is likely to prevail in arbitration, and that the strike would cause irreparable harm to the railroad. The heads of the unions involved in the dispute say they will consider whether to appeal or take the policies to arbitration.
The Fort Worth Star Telegram reports Tuesday’s ruling by Judge Mark Pittman follows a temporary injunction granted by the same judge in January [see “Judge blocks strike …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 25, 2022]. That ruling was originally set to expire Feb. 8 but was extended to Tuesday to allow Pittman to rule on the permanent injunction.
The unions representing about 17,000 BNSF employees — the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) — had threatened to strike over the railroad’s new “Hi-Viz” attendance policy. They contend the rules penalize employees who miss work for almost any reason and should be subject to collective bargaining.
A post on the SMART-TD website said Pittman ruled Tuesday that the dispute was “minor” under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, meaning any strike would be illegal.
The presidents of the two unions said the unions are considering their next course of action.
“Rest assured that we are all infuriated,” SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and BLET National President Dennis Pierce said in their statement. “One of the largest and richest corporations in America has been given a free pass to continue forcing its employees to work even when they or their families are sick, and when they are fatigued beyond the point of being able to work safely. … SMART-TD and BLET are considering all legal possibilities to continue to challenge BNSF and its anti-worker, anti-family, and unsafe attendance policy.”
BNSF said in a statement to the Star-Telegram that the ruling “upholds our ability to continue working with our employees to do what we do best — providing service that is essential to our customers and the American economy.”
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