There's a looming potential end-year strike by rail workers since the contract negotiated by a Biden-appointed Board was not ratified after some of the 12 voting unions rejected the contract--highlighting the grueling work schedules and that there is no current paid sick leave in their contracts and that no paid sick leave in the proposed contract either (There is only 1 personal day in the proposal). It is estimated by some that if this goes to a strike it could cost the US economy roughly $2 billion/day due to disruptions in the rail system. The US Chamber of Commerce is now calling on Congress to force the unions to accept the deal as currently negotiated, with President Biden also taking this perspective and thus generating massive ire from labor supporters. Despite some of the unions voting to ratify the proposed contract, they have agreed that if it goes to a strike that they will honor the picket lines.
Quote (Reuters)
Labor unions have criticized the railroads' sick leave and attendance policies and the lack of paid sick days for short-term illness. There are no paid sick days under the tentative deal. Unions asked for 15 paid sick days and the railroads settled on one personal day.
Railroads have slashed labor and other costs to bolster profits and are fiercely opposed to adding paid sick time that would require them to hire more staff. Those operators, which include Union Pacific (UNP.N), Berkshire Hathaway Inc's (BRKa.N) BNSF and CSX (CSX.O), say the contract deal has the most generous wage package in almost 50 years of national rail negotiations.
Quote (New York Times)
Negotiations in which the Biden administration took an active role produced a tentative contract deal announced early Thursday. The agreement included a significant pay increase for the workers, whose base wages typically start around $50,000 and top out around $100,000, excluding overtime and benefits. But scheduling was the sticking point.
Unions complained that to manage a shortfall of employees, the carriers effectively forced their members to remain on call for days and sometimes weeks at a time, partly through the use of strict attendance policies that could lead to disciplinary action or even firing. They said the policies pushed workers to the limits of their physical and mental health.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/two-largest-us-rail-unions-report-contract-vote-monday-2022-11-21/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/business/economy/railroad-workers-strike.htmlHere is an example of the dynamic that led to grueling schedules cited by the unions:
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This year, for example, BNSF Railway introduced a new point system for some employees, according to a February memo obtained by The New York Times. Under the policy, workers were awarded 30 points to start with and would lose points — from two to 10 — for scheduling a day off for a variety of reasons, including a family emergency, sickness or fatigue. They lose even more points for being unavailable at the last minute.
When workers run out of points, they face escalating penalties, starting with a 10-day suspension, followed by a 20-day suspension and ending with possible firing. Workers can earn back points by being available for two weeks straight.
BNSF said on Thursday that the policy was “designed to improve the consistency of crews being available for their shifts” and to give employees more “predictability and transparency” regarding their schedules. It said that the program was achieving those goals but that revisions had been made to give employees more flexibility.