Railroads fight with unions in court over vaccine mandates

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By JOSH FUNK

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Another major railroad has gone to court to determine whether it has the authority to require all its employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

BNSF railroad filed a lawsuit Sunday against its major unions over its mandate. It joins Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific, which both filed similar lawsuits against the unions last month. The unions, which have filed some of their own lawsuits in response, argue that the railroads should have negotiated with them before imposing their mandates.

The railroads that have imposed vaccine mandates say they are complying with President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring all federal contractors to have their employees vaccinated. The railroads are not alone in facing resistance to vaccine mandates. Similar rules have generated disputes in a variety of workplaces.

BNSF said in its lawsuit that it regularly updates its requirements for workers when federal regulations change, so the vaccine mandate should be no different. BNSF said the unions don’t dispute when it changes drug testing rules, and they didn’t fight it earlier this year when the railroad imposed a mask mandate after the Federal Railroad Administration ordered it.



FILE - A BNSF railroad train hauling carloads of coal from the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming is seen east of Hardin, Mont., on July 15, 2020. BNSF Railway has gone to court to determine whether it has the authority to require all its employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. BNSF filed a lawsuit Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, against its major unions over its mandate. It joins Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific, which both filed similar lawsuits against the unions last month. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-business-health-lawsuits-f812e239a69591972213d78748cc6add

[Duncanpup]

1. Same with teamster union

Members crying about forced vaccine

[Wingus Dingus]

2. Not the hill to die on, unions.

Or maybe it is, if you're unlucky or have pre-existing conditions. Pick a more worthy fight.

[LiberalFighter]

3. Federal and state laws are not negotiable terms in contracts.

That applies to federal rules.

Making it stricter is negotiable.

Teamsters for their truckers don't have power to negotiate more working hours driving trucks.

Unions don't have power to negotiate overtime hours above a required number if law says otherwise. They can negotiate eight or fewer hours daily for overtime pay. Or less than forty hours weekly.

[PatSeg]

4. Good point

[nycbos]

5. Siri show me how to alienate my allies.

[MarcA]

6. Thought Unions were for Worker Safety, like no Vaccines no Work.

Sad what spite and stubbornness can lead people to do.

[monkeyman1]

7. safety -no , union dues - yes !