Possible burls forming on trees?

[openbook]

This question might be better on tree site but here goes.

At my work we have to make sure there are no suckers growing on trees and some of the trees get these dime size wart like growths covered in buds. If you just snip off the sucker growth they still make more buds. So what I have had success with is snipping off the wart like growth.
I'm not sure what these growths are and think they might possibly grow into burls. I tried to look up what causes them but not much is known.

I'm kind of concerned if it's a disease I might spread it to other trees. As we don't have any kind of sterilization policy at work. Maybe I should just go and spend a dollar on some alcohol wet wipes to clean my pruners with.

Mainly we deal with commercial clients who spend zero dollars maintaining trees. I see so many trees with problems. I tell my ops manager whenever I see something but nothing ever gets done.

[Think Green]

You may want to go to your place of employment and advocate a sterilization policy of using rubbing alcohol or bleach cleaning of the tools. Verticillium, DED,Bacterial Blight,Fire Blight, is spread by branch-limb and shoot pruning--not to mention air-water-and insect transport.
What you are describing is from the trees normal process of callusing after trimming. I see these types of regrowths on RedBud, Crepe Myrtle, Willow,to name a few. The tree will send out growth hormones to restart the budding and or branching process for survival. The only real times of concern are when these cut sites are weeping, oozing, and or not callusing after a couple of months.
If I am not dead on with this topic, please post a photo of the lesions you are describing. It is hard to diagnose from nothing!!! It is like giving an estimate over-the-phone!!!