According to the Associated Press, railway companies across the country have been asking employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 while angering unions. On Sunday, another large railway company filed a lawsuit to determine its power to make health decisions for employees.
Railroad companies such as Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern provide $300 to vaccinated employees because these two companies and others are fighting unions that want employees to keep their jobs, even if they are not vaccinated.
BNSF Railroad filed a lawsuit against its main union on Sunday, joining the Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific lawsuit filed last month.
The union believes that the railway should negotiate with them before performing their tasks, and believes that the railway’s request for vaccinations and bonuses to vaccinated workers violated the terms of the contract.
BNSF stated in its lawsuit that when federal regulations change, it will regularly update the requirements of its employees, so the COVID-19 vaccine should be no different from previous changes that the union has not opposed, such as drug testing rules or mask requirements.
The railway company stated in its lawsuit: “BNSF has a long-term and stable practice in the past, which is to unilaterally change its management position requirements, medical standards, and safety rules and policies in accordance with legal federal government orders.”
The railway company stated that employees who refused to be vaccinated would be subject to disciplinary action. They only followed the president’s regulations. Joe BidenAn administrative order requiring federal contractors to require employees to be vaccinated.
For more reports from the Associated Press, please see below.
Matthew Brown/Associated Press
“The effect of unnegotiated bonuses and unilateral decisions on disciplinary actions against unvaccinated employees is to undermine collective bargaining agreements and reduce Norfolk Southern’s obligations under these agreements,” Sheet Metal, Aviation, Railway and Transportation The Workers’ Transport Department or SMART-TD, the union said in its response to Norfolk Southern.
Leaders of the SMART-TD union and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Train Attendants stated that they generally support workers’ vaccination, but they believe that railways should not require vaccination without prior consultation.
Federal judges have not yet ruled on any lawsuits related to railroad vaccine requirements.
BNSF, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific are the three major railroad companies in the United States. A spokesperson for CSX, the fourth-largest railroad company in the United States, said officials are still weighing whether to enforce vaccination under an executive order, but they are encouraging employees to get vaccinated.
