(Source: VICE, April 5, 2022)
On January 10, BNSF announced a new attendance policy called the “Hi Viz” program that was supposed to improve upon the old system. Hi Viz is intended to “provide more predictability for our train crews while also providing more reliable crew availability,” according to a BNSF statement. But workers, their families, and the unions that represent them not only disagree but speak of Hi Viz in apocalyptic terms. They regard it as a draconian measure that makes no sense except as an effort to get every BNSF employee to quit out of rage, depression, or ill health. It glues workers to their phones waiting for a call to go into work, provides little leeway for emergencies, and virtually assures workers will see their families for just a few hours a week. Dennis Pierce, the national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), called Hi Viz “the worst and most egregious attendance policy ever adopted by any rail carrier.”
Full story: www.vice.com