GILLETTE — A group of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway workers demonstrated in Gillette on Tuesday in opposition to a time-off policy change enacted earlier this year that they said created unfair and unsafe working conditions.

The group took to the railroad itself that morning, lining up on the fenced walkway above the tracks while some executives from BNSF were expected to travel by train through Gillette that day. That afternoon, the group reconvened on South Douglas Highway near Boxelder Road to voice their concerns to the public.

“I’ve been here for 43 years, I’ve never seen it this bad,” said Kevin Knutson, a BNSF employee and chairman of the local union for about 30 years.

“The biggest thing that affects me, as the chairman, is safety,” he said. “Because this policy will make people believe that they have to go to work sick, fatigued, miss their kids’ graduations, even funerals. It makes them believe that.

“We have people out there that are in that state of mind running trains. So it doesn’t (just) affect our safety, it actually affects the public safety too.”

The policy in question, known as “Hi-Viz,” is an attendance-based points system that went into effect Feb. 1.

The system starts off BNSF employees with 30 points and docks them points for each absence or day-off.

A day off taken Monday through Thursday costs 2 points. Friday and Saturdays cost 4 points, Sundays are worth 3 points and certain “high impact days,” such as holidays or the Super Bowl, deduct 7 points.

Employees gain 4 points for being available for work 14 consecutive days.

An employee can be suspended or fired for running out of points.

The “Hi-Viz” policy limits employees to about two days off each month with little room for emergencies or unexpected leave from work, Knutson said. The former policy gave employees five weekdays and two weekend days off each month.

In January, before the policy went into effect, a federal judge blocked unionized BNSF employees from striking over the time-off change. The company argued the policy was necessary to ensure crew availability and keep its rail services reliable.

Rail issues have played a role in the broader supply chain struggles throughout the nation and world. In Campbell County, those rail problems have limited the amount of coal that mines have been able to ship amid the ongoing demand for thermal coal from the Powder River Basin.

On a national level, the country’s Class 1 railroad companies took heat in recent U.S. Surface Transportation Board hearings held in Washington D.C. as the major rail companies have struggled to keep up with shipping demands.

“I don’t think I’ve met an employee out here that didn’t like their railroad job,” said Robert Goodson Sr., a retired BNSF employee who attended the demonstration. “These are people who respect the company and want to serve the company and the customers.”

Knutson said the policy could enter mediation in the future but that it’s unclear if or how it might change.

“I would like to see the policy completely taken away,” he said.