SMART-TD, BLET rail unions initiate steps to strike BNSF properties

Yesterday, members of the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation union (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) who work for the BNSF Railway initiated steps to go on strike following the railroad’s announcement of its so-called “Hi-Viz” attendance policy, which SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and BLET National President Dennis Pierce called “the worst and most egregious attendance policy ever adopted by any rail carrier.”

Presidents Ferguson and Pierce said the impending policy, which BNSF plans to implement on February 1, repudiates numerous collectively bargained agreements currently in place throughout the BNSF system. It is so restrictive that employees would be penalized for missing work to attend the funeral of an immediate family member.

We are already having supply chain issues. If railway workers strike BNSF, it could cause even more pain. Here's an image showing BNSF's coverage across the US.

And in other train news, here's a Twitter link with a number of videos and information about increasing train burglaries in Los Angeles. This shows tons of packages originally destined for you, the consumer, pillaged and lying by the side of the train tracks. The person who made these videos looked up tracking numbers and they're listed as "delayed." So if you're missing a package in transit...