As we have for years, this committee continues to track the number of investigations scheduled and the discipline assessed to our members. It is our hope that bringing a heightened awareness to the number of incidents and the scenarios involved will serve to help reduce such occurrences in the future.  After experiencing several years of reduced discipline, 2024 has proved to be a very challenging year where discipline has skyrocketed. Not since 2020 have we had such a high number of members (142) issued investigation notices in a year.  Worse yet, 17 cases resulted in dismissal in 2024, which is the highest number since the anomalous year of 2017.  Of those dismissed in 2024, the committee is progressing appeals to the Third Division for 10 cases.  If there is any positive news to be gleaned from this data, it is the fact that our expedited dismissal handling agreement with BNSF will result in final and binding resolutions to those cases in far less time than before.  And all but 1 of the dismissals issued in 2024 was on the BNSF (1 on CPKC). 

One additional data point that is cause for optimism involves the usage of the Risk Reduction and Education process (RRE) on the BNSF.  This alternative to formal discipline was created in 2017 and more BRS members were afforded the opportunity to utilize it in 2024 than in nearly any other year since its inception.  Roughly 25% of all discipline cases for the year resulted in RRE.

As for the rest of the 142 investigation notices issued through 12/10/24, there are some other concerning trends to be mindful of, including the following:

•           20 Conduct violations in 2024 – 6 in 2023 = 233% increase

•           27 Authority violations in 2024 – 12 in 2023 =  125% increase

•           10 Falsifications of hours of service/payroll in 2024 - 1 in 2023 = 1000% increase

The numbers above are a stark reminder of why we have seen such a dramatic increase in dismissals and level S (serious) discipline this year.  All three categories above represent some of the most serious violations and those, combined, tripled in 2024 as compared to 2023. As we look ahead to 2025, it is our hope that we can wipe the slate clean from what has undoubtedly been a difficult year and get back to the positive trends we experienced in the previous few years.