UP, two unions OK agreements for paid sick leave

Union Pacific Railroad has reached voluntary agreements calling for paid sick leave benefits for its employees who are members of the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division/TCU and the National Conference of Fireman and Oilers, the unions and railroad announced yesterday.

Effective April 1, employees represented by the two unions will receive access to up to seven paid days to use for sickness. UP employees currently receive paid personal days off, and the company will continue working with other unions to address paid sick time, said Kristen South, UP's senior director of corporate communications and media relations, in an email.

The number of hours of paid days for sick time off accrued for each NCFO member will be prorated to 24 hours in 2023. In 2024, each NCFO member will accrue 32 hours of paid sick time. Each NCFO member also will be permitted to use paid sick time in a minimum of half day or one-day increments, NCFO officials said in a press release.

"It is time for all the railroads to stop avoiding this issue and follow the lead of Union Pacific and join the NCFO at the bargaining table to do what is right for their employees and the NCFO members," said NCFO President Dean Devita.

BRC officials said its agreement with UP provides up to four days of paid sick leave to be paid at 100% of the employees' rate of pay. In addition, members have the opportunity to designate the use of their personal leave days for sick leave.

"Union Pacific did the right thing by coming to the bargaining table and reaching a fair agreement. We look forward to continuing to work with the other carriers to reach similar agreements for all our members," said BRC General President Don Grissom in a press release.

UP is the second Class I to negotiate paid sick leave benefits with rail unions. Earlier this month, CSX announced it had reached voluntary agreements with a number of unions, including NCFO and BRC.