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\u00a0Union Pacific<\/a> is holding back on its promises to make schedules more predictable for train crews to address the\u00a0quality of life concerns<\/a>\u00a0that nearly caused a\u00a0nationwide rail strike<\/a>\u00a0two years ago, according to the union that represents engineers.<\/p>\n The nation\u2019s largest railroad has told the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union that Union Pacific isn\u2019t getting enough work out of its engineers anymore under the new schedules and had to hire more workers than it planned, so the company wants to change the schedule improvement agreement it signed and\u00a0touted last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Where they have been implemented, the\u00a0new schedules<\/a>\u00a0make it possible for engineers to attend doctor\u2019s appointments and keep important promises to show up for their kids\u2019 activities or family gatherings, union members say.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a game changer,\u201d said Mark Ganong, who has worked for Union Pacific in Texas for 22 years. \u201cI think it\u2019s improved my quality of life \u2014 well, I know it has. I think it\u2019s improved my overall health, my attitude and my ability to schedule things.\u201d<\/p>\n The railroad says it still plans to live up to the schedule agreement it signed, but CEO Jim Vena said Union Pacific needs to tweak the deal that forced it to hire additional engineers to cover the shifts of workers getting regular time off.<\/p>\n \u201cThe amount of work we\u2019re getting \u2014 the starts per the 11 days that they\u2019re available \u2014 is not anywhere near where both us or the union thought it was going to be,\u201d Vena said. \u201cSo we\u2019re just trying to figure out how we can fix or tweak it. But at the end of the day, we\u2019ve committed to people. We signed an 11-and-four deal and we\u2019ll live up to our commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n The basic concept of the new schedule is that after engineers remain available to drive trains for 11 days in a row they get four days off in a row that they can plan on ahead of time. Within those 11 days, there has to be at least one break between shifts because federal rules require 24 hours off after engineers work four straight days, but it\u2019s hard to predict where that time off will fall. The promised four days off are scheduled out for the entire year ahead.<\/p>\n This represents a dramatic shift for engineers who have essentially been on-call 24-7 for years, with only a couple hours notice before reporting to work. In recent years, they also got penalized for missing any time off under a strict points system.<\/p>\n\n