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Belt Railway seeks paid sick leave pacts with labor unions

8/22/2024
Through new agreements, the short line's unionized employees receive four paid sick days per year. Belt Railway Co. of Chicago

By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor 

Many of the Class Is recently hammered out agreements with rail labor unions that include paid sick days for workers. 

In the past, unionized railroad workers didn’t receive any pay for shifts they missed due to illness. But the rail industry now is embracing paid sick days as a quality-of-life benefit to bolster worker recruitment and retention efforts. 

And that includes railroads beyond Class Is. The Belt Railway Co. of Chicago (BRC) is one of the first short lines to negotiate paid sick leave (PSL) agreements with unions, said Chris Steinway, the BRC’s general counsel, secretary and director of human resources, in an email. 

Through the new pacts, the BRC’s unionized employees receive four PSL days per year in addition to one day that was granted to all U.S. rail workers as part of the last national bargaining round. 

As of mid-August, the BRC had reached PSL agreements with the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division-International Brotherhood of Teamsters; International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART)-Mechanical Department; National Conference of Firemen & Oilers; and Brotherhood of Railway Carmen. 

Negotiations continue with the American Railway and Airway Supervisors Association; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; and SMART-Transportation Division. 

“We are currently in the process of negotiating PSL agreements with all of our crafts,” said Steinway, who serves as the BRC’s lead negotiator. 

However, such pacts aren’t needed with the American Train Dispatchers Association and Transportation Communications Union because members of those organizations have traditionally had PSL days as part of legacy agreements. 

BRC The BRC’s workforce includes 365 unionized and 38 management employees. Belt Railway Co. of Chicago

The largest intermediate switching terminal railroad in the United States, the BRC operates 28 miles of mainline track, more than 300 miles of switching tracks and the 5.5-acre Clearing Yards, and interchanges with every railroad that operates in Chicago. 

The short line’s workforce includes 365 unionized and 38 management employees. The agreements currently in place cover about 200 craft employees, with another 165 to be governed by yet-to-be-negotiated pacts. 

The BRC began bargaining with various unions last year via in-person and remote meetings.  

The short line is pursuing the PSL agreements to address employees’ enhanced emphasis on their quality of life and to distance the railroad from past notions about workers’ work-life balance, said Steinway. 

“The BRC recognizes that our employees’ lives outside of work can conflict with our scheduling requirements,” he said. “Negotiating for additional paid sick leave days shows [our] commitment to supporting our employees’ need for unexpected days off throughout the year.” 

The railroad aims to wrap up PSL negotiations with the other unions by the end of the year. 

BRC The agreements reached as of mid-August cover about 200 of the short line’s craft employees, with another 165 to be governed by yet-to-be-negotiated pacts. Belt Railway Co. of Chicago

Ultimately, BRC leaders decided to be on the leading edge of what’s emerged as a brewing workforce benefit change in the rail industry. 

 “We think it’s the right thing to do for our employees, which is why we’ve decided to keep pushing on this initiative until it’s completed,” said Steinway. 

Becoming one of the first short lines to negotiate PSL agreements was a good fit for the BRC, adds Percy Fields, the short line’s president and general manager. But the BRC isn’t attempting to sway other small railroads to do likewise, he stressed. 

“While this may spark conversation among other short lines and their respective union leadership, I believe it’s important for those teams to organically come to the best decision that fits them versus having to follow the path of someone else,” Fields said. 


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