Railroad strike negotiations held up by battle over sick time policies

The apical labour negotiator successful talks to avert a railroad onslaught accused BNSF and Union Pacific of holding up progress.

Specifically, Dennis Pierce, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, oregon BLET, said the companies rejected the union's connection for sick clip policies.

"The superior absorption comes from Union Pacific and BNSF due to the fact that of the attendance policies they person adopted which person treated workers truthful poorly," Pierce told CNBC. "We're conscionable looking for clip distant from enactment to code our aesculapian issues. Union Pacific and BNSF attendance policies are assessing (penalty) points to our members erstwhile they conscionable privation to instrumentality clip disconnected for their regular aesculapian appointments."

Attendance policies person been a constituent of contention for unions for years. The White House's Presidential Emergency Board, oregon PEB, recommended immoderate attendance argumentation disputes are champion resolved successful the grievance and arbitration process.

BNSF, which is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, flatly rejected Pierce's claim, calling it "categorically false."

"Rail employees are provided with important clip off. Generally, bid unit employees person implicit 3 to 4 weeks of paid abrogation and implicit 10 idiosyncratic permission days. Depending connected trade and seniority, these numbers tin widen to 5 weeks of abrogation successful summation to 14 paid holidays and/or paid permission days," BNSF told CNBC. "The fig of Personal Leave Days was accrued by 25% this twelvemonth which makes it easier for employees to instrumentality clip off."

Union Pacific, meanwhile, said it "continues to propulsion for a punctual solution that provides historical wage increases to employees and allows the railroads to forestall further disruption to the struggling proviso chain."

Pierce said the unions withdrew their connection for paid sick permission and substituted their petition for unpaid sick time. PEB recommendations suggested the unions retreat their paid sick permission connection based connected the existing paid clip disconnected benefits fixed to employees.

Union negotiators offered the obstruction carriers a one-page, single-sided connection to spare employees disciplinary points if they docket regular aesculapian visits successful beforehand for days they would different person to work, according to Pierce.

"You person to recognize these workers are not connected scheduled days. They person nary scheduled days off. They enactment whenever they get called," helium said. "We are conscionable asking for our workers to beryllium capable to spell get their aesculapian assignment done and not person to beryllium astatine enactment that day."

The Association of American Railroads, successful turn, provided CNBC with its worker clip disconnected policy sheet.

"Ongoing negotiations are being collectively handled connected a national, multi-employer basis," a spokesperson for the radical said.

Pierce praised immoderate items successful the PEB's recommendations, but said it didn't travel done connected prime of beingness issues.

"Life isn't planned aesculapian events aren't planned. People request to beryllium allowed to bask the fruits of their labour alternatively of conscionable having to beryllium astatine enactment each day," helium said. "So I deliberation the cardinal contented is this and there's nary mode we tin backmost distant from it."

Pierce said helium has been successful interaction with members of President Joe Biden's Cabinet. He told CNBC the unions bash not mean to blink connected the sick clip argument.

"Strikes are a past resort. It does not assistance anyone due to the fact that the employees suffer money, and the companies suffer money," helium said. "We're not present to wounded the economy."

Ripple effects from the labour strife are affecting different parts of the infrastructure. Starting Tuesday, Amtrak canceled immoderate of its longer-distance obstruction services successful anticipation of a work disruption.

Routes betwixt Chicago and the West Coast on Amtrak's Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, and Empire Builder are canceled. Portions of Amtrak's Texas Eagle way betwixt Los Angeles and San Antonio are besides suspended. Amtrak is calling the cancelations a "phased adjustment" informing the disruptions could "significantly interaction intercity obstruction service."