“Workers Say Railroads’ Efficiency Push Became Too Much” points to labor reductions resulting from the industry shift to precision scheduled railroading (PSR) as a major cause of the unpredictable work hours railroad staff face. But extremely lean staffing is only part of the problem.
Counterintuitively, PSR requires fixed train schedules but has led to an on-call staffing approach. Wouldn’t we expect fixed, or at least structured, work schedules to support deterministic train timetables? This would ensure staff like Mr. Christenson have more advanced notice to schedule doctor’s appointments.
Taking inspiration from New York City’s Fair Workweek law and regulations on medical resident duty hours, I believe the following could be applied to scheduling railroad crews:
Required notice period for shifts worked
Minimum rest hours between shifts
Maximum hours worked per day and per week
Maximum number of days worked in a row
Provisions like these would enhance the quality of life of our nation’s railroad staff, without impeding freight operations.