![“We’re proud to be recognized by the Texas Veterans Commission [TVC] with its ‘Large Employer of the Year’ award!” BNSF reported Aug. 16 via social media. Pictured, from left to right: TVC District Manager Jo Ikard, TVC Veteran Employee Liaison Jay Zimmerman, BNSF Director of Talent Acquisition Kelly Jimenez and TVC Division Director Charlie Catoe at the TVC awards ceremony Aug. 9 in Humble, Tex. (BNSF Photograph)](https://www.v2.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BNSFaward-1024x576.png)
BNSF
BNSF operating teams are generating “improved performance” and building on “positive momentum,” the Class I reported in an Aug. 16 online customer notification. It said average car velocity has improved “significantly,” by more than 6%, and is running more than 5% higher than the average level reported last month; terminal dwell has decreased from the previous week and is improved from the July average; and the local service compliance measure, which measures efficiency in handling carload freight, has also improved from the previous week and month (see above).
Additionally, BNSF reminded its customers that Canadian railroads CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City have begun issuing embargoes ahead of a potential lockout, as the Aug. 22 deadline for them to reach a new labor agreement with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference approaches. BNSF said it will “continue to monitor the situation closely” and keep customers updated as the situation evolves.
BNSF on Aug. 14 told customers that “[w]hile the potential Canadian lockout does not impact BNSF operations, shipments moving to and from Canada through interchange with the Canadian railroads will not be moved during a work stoppage.” Should a work stoppage occur, BNSF said it “will continue to work closely with the Canadian railroads and be prepared to get shipments moving safely and quickly when normal interchange operations are able to resume.”
BNSF teams will also continue to monitor track and infrastructure for any “heat-related impacts and take the appropriate precautions to operate safely,” BNSF reported, as excessive heat advisories would remain in place through Aug. 18-19 in parts of the Southwest and across much of the South-Central states. “More seasonable conditions are expected across the rest of the network during the next several days, and no significant service interruptions due to weather are anticipated at this time,” it noted.
Meanwhile, BNSF reported receiving an award Aug. 9 for its dedication to hiring veterans (see photograph, top). Each year, Texas businesses and organizations that demonstrate “effective veteran employment initiatives and have embraced veterans into its workforce” are nominated by the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC), which assists veterans with receiving their benefits, provides funding to agencies that offer direct services to veterans, and administers the Hazlewood Act education benefits, according to the railroad. TVC selected BNSF as “Large Employer of the Year.” With a workforce of more than 36,000 people, the railroad said that one in five of its employees have served in a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and almost 30% of its new hires are veterans.
“We believe military veterans have a unique set of skills and experiences that are highly valuable to our organization,” said BNSF Vice President of Safety Training and Operations Support Mark Schulze, who also serves as an executive sponsor of BNSF’s BRAVE Business Resource Group (BRG). “We hold in high esteem the sacrifices they’ve made in serving our nation and are deeply committed to helping them achieve their career goals within our company.”
According to BNSF, more than 500 of its team members are involved in the BRAVE BRG, which supports veterans, reservists, and first responders.
UP
“For more than five years, a UP Engineering team in Nampa, Idaho, has worked injury free, exemplifying the railroad’s goal of becoming the safest in North America,” UP reported Aug. 16 on the Inside Track section of its website.
The Track Maintenance team’s milestone symbolizes a “strong foundation of unity and trust built over the course of several years,” according to UP Manager-Track Maintenance Anthony Reddick Jr. “Knowing and trusting the workers around you is paramount,” he said. “We’re constantly learning and growing as a team.”
The 15-member team, which maintains, inspects, and strengthens the region’s rail infrastructure, credits constant communication for driving its safety record, according to UP. “The achievement also comes down to their Courage to Care for each other—a front-line motto expressing employees’ commitments to personal and team safety,” the railroad reported.
“When we come to work, we are family,” Reddick Jr. said. “Everyone here wants the person next to them to go home to their families the same way they came to work.”
Also this year, UP’s Engineering team in Wichita, Kans., and Maintenance-of-Way team in Roseville, Calf., marked a 12-year safety record and surpassed 10 years injury-free, respectively, the railroad reported.
