FOCUS ON SERVICE
“The entire Union Pacific team recognizes that 2022 did not meet expectations,” Union Pacific (UP) CEO Lance Fritz said during the company’s recent fourth-quarter earnings call. The lengthy labor negotiations in 2022 strained UP’s workforce leading to customer service issues. For example, UP’s Intermodal trains fell short of the 76 to 83 percent on-time goals promised to the US Surface Transportation Board in 2022. UP is dedicating resources and staffing to improve UP’s service and consistency for shippers in 2023.
FOCUS ON EMPLOYEES
Despite falling volumes and suffering a dismal fourth quarter, UP is focusing on hiring more employees to provide frontline workers at critical service locations. UP hopes to increase worker recruitment and retention through a new approach to scheduled work. Many of UP’s craft employees do not have predictable work schedules. Currently, UP requires many of its craft employees to follow an unpredictable, on-call work schedule. “We’re actively in…discussions because there is a path forward…to create more predictability,” Fritz said. UP will also focus on improving the quality of life for its workforce in 2023.
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