BNSF workers say “harsh” new policy forces them to work sick, exhausted

Thousands of railroad workers in Colorado can’t strike over a new attendance policy that two unions say is so punitive it could lead employees to clock in while sick or exhausted, potentially leading to accidents. 

The unions said in late March they would enter arbitration, after a judge ruled in February that union workers can’t pursue any “self-help” against BNSF Railway, one of the largest freight railroads in the U.S., including calling for work stoppages or picketing. 

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, in Fort Worth, described the attendance policy as harsh. A strike could exacerbate supply chain disruptions, Pittman…