Union Pacific has not yet fulfilled its agreement to give all its engineers predictable schedules

OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific is delaying its promises to make schedules more predictable for train crews to address the concerns about quality of life which almost caused a national rail strike two years ago, according to the union that represents engineers.

The nation’s largest railroad told the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Coaches union that Union Pacific is no longer getting enough work from its engineers under the new schedules and has had to hire more workers than planned, so the company wants to change the improvement agreement schedule that he signed and praised last year.

Where implemented, the new schedules enable engineers to attend medical appointments and keep important promises to attend their children’s activities or family gatherings, union leaders say.

“It was a game changer,” said Mark Ganong, who has worked for Union Pacific in Texas for 22 years. “I think it has improved my quality of life – well, I know it has. I think it has improved my overall health, my attitude, and my ability to schedule things.”

The railroad says it still plans to comply with the signed scheduling agreement, but CEO Jim Vena said Union Pacific needs to adjust the agreement that forced it to hire additional engineers to cover shifts for workers who have regular time off.

“The amount of work we’re getting — the starts in the 11 days they’re available — is nowhere near where we or the union thought it would be,” Vena said. “So we’re just trying to figure out how we can fix or adjust that. But at the end of the day, we commit to people. We signed an 11-four agreement and we will fulfill our commitments.”

The basic concept of the new schedule is that after engineers have been available to drive trains for 11 consecutive days, they will have four consecutive days off, which they can plan in advance. Within those 11 days, there must be at least one break between shifts because federal rules require 24 hours off after engineers work four consecutive days, but it is difficult to predict where that time off will occur. The promised four days off are scheduled for the entire following year.

This represents a dramatic change for engineers who have been on call 24/7 for years with just hours’ notice before reporting to work. In recent years, they have also been penalized for missing any slack under a strict points system.

Winning paid sick days for the first time last year it helped make the attendance system more manageable, but not being able to plan your days off still hurts engineers. Conductors, who belong to a separate union, face similar struggles and still have no agreement to improve their schedules.

One of the initial changes the railroad is trying is for engineers returning from their scheduled time off to now be placed at the top of the list for the next train, but this has the consequence of knocking other engineers down and making their lives more difficult. less predictable.

The BLET union went to court this summer to try to force Union Pacific to comply after missing a schedule agreement deadline, but was unable to resolve the dispute and get the new schedules for about 60 percent of UP’s engineers. which is still missing. They also want to make sure engineers who are resting go to the bottom of the call list.

Nathan Rouse said he ultimately missed so many birthdays, holidays, school events and other “things you can’t get back” that he quit the railroad nearly three years ago. Rouse said his daughter, now 13, has gotten used to him not attending dance recitals.

“She kind of got used to my absence. It was like she expected me to go more than just home,” Rouse said. He may still have long days at the chemical plant where he works now, but at least he’s home every night and knows when he’ll be off.

Engineer Travis Dye said he also almost left the railroad, despite having worked for the UP in Kansas City, Missouri, for nearly two decades before getting the new schedule. He said it appeared the railroad was finally addressing workers’ concerns after the strike was averted, but now he worries the issues are not getting as much public attention.

“I think they feel like they can get away with it now because it’s not talked about anymore,” Dye said.