Union Pacific and two unions, the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers (NCFO) and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, reached sick leave agreements over the weekend (BRC).
The agreements will take effect on April 1, according to UP. They demand that the two unions be granted up to seven paid days for sick leave. The railroad stated that it will continue to collaborate with other unions to find sick leave solutions.
“Union Pacific remains committed to addressing our employees’ concerns,” said UP (NYSE: UNP) in a statement on Monday. The sick leave is in addition to the paid personal days off that UP employees are entitled to.
The NFCO provided additional information about its agreement, stating that each union member would be allowed to use paid sick time in half-day or one-day increments.
“I applaud Union Pacific for coming to the bargaining table and righting this wrong,” NCFO President Dean Devita said in a statement released Monday.
“It is time for all railroads to stop avoiding this issue and follow Union Pacific’s lead and join the NCFO at the bargaining table to do what is right for their employees and NCFO Members,” Devita continued. If they continue to refuse, we will take this fight to Congress and expose any railroad that refuses to negotiate a sick leave agreement.”
UP has followed in the footsteps of eastern U.S. railroad CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) in reaching sick leave agreements with some railroad unions. CSX recently announced that it had reached such agreements with six organizations, including BRC and NCFO.
