INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — BNSF Railway has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing 500 of regional Montana Rail Link’s 1,200 employees.
MRL announced on Jan. 10 that it was terminating its lease with BNSF and that the Class I railroad would resume operations and maintenance of the former Northern Pacific main line [see “Montana rail Link to end operations …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 10, 2022]. The railroads aim to negotiate labor agreements with MRL employees before seeking Surface Transportation Board approval for the deal.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen says it will be sending ballots to eligible members this week regarding the tentative BNSF-MRL agreement. The implementing agreement governs BNSF’s hiring of the BLET-represented MRL employees, their seniority, work rules, pay, benefits, and integration into the BNSF system. The implementing agreement and Oregon Short Line Protective Agreement govern approximately 500 BLET members who work for the MRL, the union says.
Ballots are due on Sept. 30.
BNSF has pledged to retain all MRL employees when it brings MRL back into the fold.
Montana Rail Link began operations on Oct. 31, 1987, under a 60-year lease from Burlington Northern. BN had excess capacity across Montana, favored the parallel former Great Northern main line, and was saddled with antiquated labor contracts and a poisonous union-management relationship. So BN unloaded the 590-mile former Northern Pacific between Jones Junction, Mont., and Sandpoint, Idaho.
BNSF paid MRL owner The Washington Cos. around $2 billion to end the lease prior to its scheduled expiration date of 2047.
How many ex Burlington Northern employees are still working for Montana Rail Link? And now will be working for BNSF?
Probably?
Will they be working under the terrible “ HiViz” attendance policy?
The BN people who signed this debacle are long gone and don’t care now. One person I worked with at Northtown said the BN was sorry they signed the agreement were sorry they did that before the ink was dry on said agreement.
Ed Burns
Clerk Retired NP BN BNSF from Northtown.