BMWED-IBT Suing CSX Railroad for Payroll Errors Published: Mar 16 2021 10:53AM
BMWED-IBT Suing CSX Railroad for Payroll Errors
CSX must fix payroll problems; rectify issues causing shortage in paychecks
(Hendersonville, Tenn.) – For several months, after unilaterally implementing the “TimeTrax” program, CSX Transportation continues to short and/or mistakenly pay its rail employees, occasionally by thousands of dollars, while not effectively addressing the problems. Earlier this year the BMWE Allied Federation filed suit in federal court in Kentucky challenging CSX’s unilateral implementation of the TimeTrax program. In the lawsuit, BMWE Allied Federation is seeking a court order directing CSX to stop using the TimeTrax program until the bargaining parties have negotiated and reached agreement on how the program would work. BMWE Allied Federation is also seeking an order directing CSX to fix the payroll mess that it and its botched TimeTrax program have created.
CSX implemented TimeTrax on Nov. 14, 2020. Aside from providing non-specific and cursory information about the program, CSX never engaged the union regarding the implementation of the new payroll system. We maintain that CSX’s unilateral implementation of TimeTrax violates the RLA, which requires the carrier to bargain with and reach agreement with the union before implementing changes in rates, terms and working conditions and before implementing any changes in our rates, terms and conditions of employment.
Shortly after filing the lawsuit, we reached out to CSX attempting to settle the lawsuit by sitting down and working out a mutually acceptable agreement regarding TimeTrax, one that would ensure that implementation problems such as payroll shortages would be quickly identified and just as quickly fixed. While we were engaged in this out-of-court process, it effectively put the lawsuit on hold. Those settlement discussions have failed, however, and CSX has now left us with no choice other than to aggressively seek justice from the federal court.
TimeTrax has been nothing short of a failure. Since implementation, TimeTrax has failed to accurately and equitably pay employees. BMWED members have seen their paychecks shorted by thousands of dollars. Many of these shortages occurred during the hardest months, when some members were facing the potential of furlough and other COVID-19 related service issues.
A large amount of the pay shortages occurred to members on “floating teams” and commonly involved meal allowance pay, which remains a common shortage to this day. However, TimeTrax has involved payroll errors in all manners of ways, not just allowance pay. Time worked for straight time has been inaccurately calculated, as well as overtime pay and differential payments. Payroll errors are widespread and continue to be a huge problem for employees across the board. BMWED members on CSX continue to see their paychecks mishandled by CSX, causing economic hardship, stress and problems for thousands of our members.
It is no secret to anyone, including CSX management, that the TimeTrax program is deeply flawed and caused undue hardship to thousands of CSX employees including BMWED members. We are concerned, however, that CSX management does not recognize the gravity and severity of the problems its TimeTrax program has created and continues to make. The Allied Federation, working with our sister federations across the CSX system, remain firmly committed to making sure that these problems are addressed and fixed once and for all.
“The Allied Federation has attempted time-and-again to work with CSX to rectify and fix this ongoing and completely unacceptable payroll problem with TimeTrax,” BMWED Allied Federation General Chairman Dennis Albers said. “We filed this lawsuit to obtain a reset of the TimeTrax rollout. We have done everything to convince management that the TimeTrax problems require priority attention from management and immediate resolution. We have asked that all the problems be resolved, but management still does not appear to recognize that TimeTrax is a serious problem, let alone one that should have been fixed already. CSX employees work hard for this railroad and they have a legitimate expectation that they will be fairly paid for their work and that their paychecks will be accurate. CSX is not fulfilling its contractual obligation. We hope the judge will agree with us and that he will order CSX to do what it should have done in the first place, to negotiate with the Union to develop a time keeping and payroll system that works fairly and works right, so that our members receive the proper pay they deserve when it is due, not weeks or even months later.”Press Contact:
Clark Ballew, Communications Dir.
248-205-8327
cballew@bmwe.org