FILE - A BNSF railroad bid hauling carloads of ember from the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming is seen eastbound of Hardin, Mont., connected July 15, 2020. BNSF Railway has gone to tribunal to find whether it has the authorization to necessitate each its employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. BNSF filed a suit Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, against its large unions implicit its mandate. It joins Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific, which some filed akin lawsuits against the unions past month. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown File) (Matt Brown,Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

OMAHA, Neb. – Another large railroad has gone to tribunal to find whether it has the authorization to necessitate each its employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

BNSF railroad filed a suit Sunday against its large unions implicit its mandate. It joins Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific, which some filed akin lawsuits against the unions past month. The unions, which person filed immoderate of their ain lawsuits successful response, reason that the railroads should person negotiated with them earlier imposing their mandates.

The railroads that person imposed vaccine mandates accidental they are complying with President Joe Biden's enforcement bid requiring each national contractors to person their employees vaccinated. The railroads are not unsocial successful facing absorption to vaccine mandates. Similar rules person generated disputes successful a assortment of workplaces.

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BNSF said successful its suit that it regularly updates its requirements for workers erstwhile national regulations change, truthful the vaccine mandate should beryllium nary different. BNSF said the unions don't quality erstwhile it changes cause investigating rules, and they didn't combat it earlier this twelvemonth erstwhile the railroad imposed a disguise mandate aft the Federal Railroad Administration ordered it.

“BNSF has a long-standing and well-settled past signifier of unilaterally changing its rules and policies governing presumption requirements, aesculapian standards, and information successful effect to lawful national authorities directives,” the railroad said successful its lawsuit.

The railroads person said that employees volition beryllium disciplined if they neglect to comply with the vaccine mandate.

The unions didn't instantly respond successful tribunal to BNSF's suit Monday, but successful the different lawsuits they person argued the railroads were violating the presumption of their declaration by requiring vaccines and by offering bonuses to workers if they bash get vaccinated. Both Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are offering employees $300 if they get the shots.

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“The non-negotiated bonuses and unilateral determination to subject employees who are not vaccinated functioned to undermine the collectedly-bargained agreements and trim Norfolk Southern’s obligations nether those agreements,” the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers — Transportation Division, oregon SMART-TD, national said successful its effect to Norfolk Southern.

Leaders of the SMART-TD national and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen person said they mostly enactment workers getting vaccinated, but they don't deliberation the railroads should necessitate it without negotiating first.

Federal judges person yet to regularisation connected immoderate of these lawsuits related to the railroads' vaccine requirements.

BNSF, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific are 3 of the largest U.S. railroads. Spokeswomen for 2 different large major U.S. railroads, CSX and Kansas City Southern, said officials astatine those railroads are inactive considering whether to enforce vaccine mandates successful effect to the enforcement order, but some railroads are encouraging employees to get the shots.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.