TD GO-386 gets arbitration win over attempted BNSF pool consolidation, other work-rule changes

An arbitrator’s recent decision in a Public Law Board case brought by the SMART Transportation Division against BNSF resulted in a victory over the carrier.

In September 2017, BNSF tried to unilaterally alter working conditions for SMART-TD members in GO-386, who serve in and around Superior, Wis. The changes included consolidating many Thru-Freight Service Pools into a single one as well as altering rules regarding scheduling and Interdivisional Service operations.

An amicable agreement with the carrier over these imposed alterations, done under the guise of Article IX of the 1985 UTU National Agreement, could not be reached, and GO-386’s General Chairperson Larry Miller initiated a Section 3 arbitration with the assistance of SMART-TD Vice Presidents John Whitaker and Jamie Modesitt. The union argued that the changes made by the carrier were not consistent with the 1985 agreement and other agreements that covered the property.

After hearing the case Dec. 14, 2021, arbiter Joshua M. Javits issued his decision April 14, 2022. He found:

• that BNSF utilized the Article IX process to make efficiency changes, even though there was no new Interdivisional Service established;
• that all of the evidence presented at the hearing suggested that BNSF was attempting to alter existing rules and agreements between the parties in a manner not intended by Article IX; and
• that BNSF’s unilateral changes to employees’ negotiated working conditions were unreasonable, or justified under the Article IX process, and that the BNSF’s actions had improperly altered the work conditions of previous collective bargaining agreements.

Javits directed BNSF to reinstate the rules and working conditions that were in effect prior to the carrier’s imposition of the changes in October 2017.

“GC Miller and the rest of GO-386, as well as Vice Presidents Modesitt and Whitaker, should hold their heads high and be proud of this win,” SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson said. “These types of victories are the building blocks for labor’s future success. These battles surely are not glamorous and they take time. We need to remain focused, persistent and maintain our determination that we all will hold carriers accountable while battling as a unit against their unjust impositions such as these. This is a huge success for SMART-TD once again and shows we are defending the agreements and protecting members rights to a fair and reasonable interpretation of agreements, especially as we start down the same path of arbitration for the Hi-Viz attendance policy.”

The full case, Public Law Board 7986, Award No. 1, is available to view below in PDF form.

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