Railroaders place to shoot the shit.

OSHA hits home run for rail workers




http://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=5398

CLEVELAND, January 15 The U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) announced today that the agency has
signed an accord with BNSF Railway Co. (BNSF), under which the railroad
has agreed to voluntarily revise several personnel policies that OSHA
alleged violated the whistleblower protection provisions of the Federal
Railroad Safety Act (FRSA) and discouraged workers from reporting
on-the-job injuries.

Protecting Americas railroad workers who report on-the-job injuries from
retaliation is an essential element in OSHAs mission. This accord makes
significant progress toward ensuring that BNSF employees who report
injuries do not suffer any adverse consequences for doing so, said
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David
Michaels in speaking for the agency. It also sets the tone for other
railroad employers throughout the U.S. to take steps to ensure that their
workers are not harassed, intimidated or terminated, in whole or part, for
reporting workplace injuries.

The major terms of the accord include:

Changing BNSFs Policy for Employee Performance Accountability (PEPA)
so that injuries no longer play a role in determining the length of an
employees probation period following a record suspension for a serious
rule violation; this has led to reductions in probation periods for at
least 136 employees who had been injured on-the-job.

Eliminating the railroads Personal Performance Index (PPI), which was
used to assigned points to employees who sustained on-the-job injuries.

Revising the Carriers Employee Review Process (ERP) so that
work-related injuries no longer will be the basis for enrolling employees
in the program, leading to the removal of 400 workers from the ERP.

Instituting a higher level review by the railroads upper management and
legal department for cases in which an employee reports an on-duty
personal injury and also is assessed discipline related to the incident.

Implementing a program to teach BNSF managers and labor relations and
human resources professionals about their responsibilities under the FRSA
as part of their annual supervisor certification.

The railroad also has agreed to make settlement offers in three dozen
cases in which an employee filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA
claiming harm from one or more of the above policies.

Ensuring that employees can report injuries or illnesses without fear of
retaliation is crucial to protecting worker safety and health, added Dr.
Michaels. If employees do not feel free to report injuries or illnesses,
the employers entire workforce is put at risk because employers do not
learn of and correct dangerous conditions that have resulted in injuries.

BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce hailed the accord as a
significant victory for BLET members and all rail workers. We have worked
closely with Dr. Michaels on problems involving this Carrier and others,
Pierce said. Dr. Michaels and his team have distinguished themselves with
this accord, and are to be congratulated. This is a home run for all
railroad workers.

It is also noteworthy that the Carrier stepped up to the plate and agreed
to these long-overdue reforms, Pierce added. The National Division will
continue to work with OSHA so that we can leverage todays accord from
property to property for the benefit of each BLET member.

OSHA reports that it has received over 1,200 whistleblower complaints by
railroad workers between August 2007 and September 2012, which is higher
than for all other whistleblower protection statutes enforced by the
agency, except one. In addition, the agency says that over 60% of rail
worker whistleblower complaints allege retaliation for reporting an
on-the-job injury.