BLET News
Judge rules “Hi-Viz” attendance policy court case as a “minor” dispute
The following is a joint statement from Dennis Pierce, National President, BLET and Jeremy Ferguson, President, SMART Transportation Division: Today the judge considering the case between BNSF and the SMART-TD and BLET unions over the carrier’s new “Hi-Viz” attendance policy ruled that the dispute was “minor” under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act (RLA). What does this mean? It…
Read MoreHow America’s supply chains got railroaded
(Source: The American Prospect, February 4, 2022) NEW YORK — When the Union Pacific Railroad closed its Global 3 Intermodal Ramp outside of Chicago in 2019, Union Pacific marketing executive Kenny Rocker promised that closing the facility would bring “more consistent, reliable and predictable service” to shippers who depend on rail. Union Pacific was cutting costs by…
Read MoreRail unions are bargaining over a good job made miserable
(Source: Labor Notes, February 2, 2022) Contract negotiations covering 115,000 rail workers in the U.S. are expected to heat up in 2022. In the flurry of reporting on what’s slowing down the supply chain, little has been said about one contributing factor — the years-long squeeze that major railroads have put on their operations and…
Read MoreBLET and SMART-TD seek immediate federal government investigation of carrier attendance policies
https://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=13523 CLEVELAND, Ohio, (February 1, 2022) – By letter dated January 31, 2022, BLET and SMART-TD are seeking review by both the Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Transportation of all Class I attendance policies. In a joint letter to Labor Secretary Martin Walsh and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson…
Read MoreRail Labor’s largest coalition reaches dead end on path to voluntary agreement
https://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=13519The Coordinated Bargaining Coalition (CBC) released the following statement on January 24, 2022: After more than two years of bargaining with the major U.S. Class 1 railroads, discussions completely stalled last week. Accordingly, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Railway Labor Act, top leaders of 10 rail unions applied to the National Mediation…
Read More