US railroad corporations are squeezing their workers amid record profits
Labor cuts, restrictive attendance policies, chronic fatigue, and stalled new union contract negotiations
Railroad corporates are currently experiencing record profits, but workers and union organizers say the companies are trying to continue cuts and concessions onto their workforce.
For years, the industry has been pushing a new operating system model aimed at reducing operating costs, eliminating two person run trains to one person, which has already reduced workforces by over 20 percent through the industry.
Recently, BNSF Railway, one of the largest railway networks in North America and owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, unilaterally implemented a regressive new attendance policy that workers say makes it impossible to manage work schedules that were already grueling and contributed to chronic fatigue throughout the industry.
One worker explained as they are always on call for work, workers are never able to sleep normal, healthy sleep schedules, often piecing together naps in between 10-12 hour shifts, and spending the majority of their time away from home. With the new attendance policy, workers aren’t able to take time off for urgent medical appointments and are forced to spend even more time away from their families.
Read more at The Guardian