Letters to the editor Dec. 22

Friends of ImagineIF

As members of the Friends of ImagineIf Libraries, our mission is to “work for the benefit, improvement, enhancement, and welfare of ImagineIF Libraries.”

We share a love of public libraries and believe that “libraries are the cornerstone of every healthy, vibrant community.”

As such, we stand in support of the ImagineIf Library Foundation’s op-ed (Foundation Stands With ImagineIF Libraries, Dec. 15) applauding them for their continued commitment and faith to the ImagineIF Libraries in the upcoming year. It takes a shared responsibility and dedication from all partners to support our public libraries.

The Friends of ImagineIf Libraries understands the importance of this endeavor and looks forward to a focused collaboration of the ImagineIf Library Foundation, ImagineIf Library Directory, and ImagineIf Library Board of Trustees in support of our public libraries in the Flathead County.

— Frances McAllister, President of Friends of ImagineIf Library

BNSF ready to negotiate

BNSF employees drive our success and we couldn’t deliver the nation’s goods without them.

BNSF implemented a new attendance system to improve service reliability for customers, while improving predictability and transparency for our crews around their work. BNSF made changes after the initial rollout and additional modifications after 90 days to provide flexibility to employees, based on union and employee input.

However, it is important to note that there has been no change in how much time off an employee receives. More than 50% of train crews work fewer than 40 hours a week. On average, train crews have 3-4+ weeks of paid vacation.

To be clear regarding sick leave, every employee receives paid sick leave. They receive as much as 10+ paid personal leave days that can be used for personal reasons, including sick leave. In fact, the number of personal leave days increased this year. In total, with vacation, personal leave days, and holidays, the average railroad employee receives 25-29 days of paid time off per year.

Additionally, all employees have statutory paid sick leave for longer-term illness under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Most crafts prioritized and negotiated Supplemental Sickness Benefits, which begin after 4 days of absence lasting up to 52 weeks with up to 70% income over short-term paid sick leave.

These benefits have been negotiated as part of the overall compensation package created through decades of collective bargaining. The recent Presidential Emergency Board considered the union asks for additional paid sick time and balanced the interest of the parties in other ways, indicating that there was no need for additional paid sick time based on the current agreement structure.

As always, BNSF stands ready to negotiate if priorities have changed and employees want to focus on additional leave opportunities in their overall compensation package.

— Zak Andersen, Fort Worth, Texas, is vice president of corporate relations at BNSF Railway.

It’s about control

I am writing in regards to the federal government’s confiscation of Montanan’s water rights under the guise of the CSKT water compact, and the urgent need for Montanans to file objections before Feb. 9, 2023.

The compact takes the water rights of multiple counties in Western Montana away from property owners and cedes them to the CSKT tribal government. Unfortunately, this is just a shell game though, because this will all be administered by Washington D.C. In fact, the Department of the Interior (via the BIA) will meter all water sources in these counties to collect revenues and taxation. But even better, enforcement will apparently be outsourced to the Department of Homeland Security.

This grotesque overreach was made possible via layers of deception in 2015 courtesy of the federal government’s enablers from both parties in the Montana Legislature and the Gov. Steve Bullock administration. The violations of both the Montana and U.S. constitutions by this compact are legion, not least of which include the 4th and 5th amendments.

Of course, this really isn’t about water rights. As with everything from Washington these days, it’s about control. Consider filing an objection. So, speak up now or forever hold your peace.

— Chris Weil, Kalispell