Judge says BNSF unions can’t strike over new attendance rule

By JOSH FUNK
AP Business Writer

BNSF railroad’s two biggest unions that represent 17,000 workers won’t be able to go on strike over a new attendance policy they say would penalize employees for missing work for any reason. A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a strike would likely violate federal law because railroad unions aren’t allowed to strike over minor disputes under their contracts. Instead, those must be settled through arbitration or negotiation. Judge Mark Pittman said a strike would hurt Texas-based BNSF and could cause significant damage to the economy because of the role the railroad plays in delivering all kinds of goods.