Union Pacific reaches sick leave agreements with 2 unions

Union Pacific reached sick leave agreements over the weekend with two unions, the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers (NCFO) and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC).

UP said the agreements will be effective April 1. They call for the two unions to receive access to up to seven paid days to use for sick leave. The railroad said it would continue to work with other unions to find sick time solutions.

“Union Pacific remains committed to addressing our employees’ concerns,” UP (NYSE: UNP) said in a Monday statement. The sick leave is in addition to paid personal days off offered to UP employees.

NFCO provided further details on its agreement, saying that each union member would be permitted to use paid sick time in half-day or one-day increments.

“I applaud Union Pacific for coming to the bargaining table and adjusting this wrong and making it right,” NCFO President Dean Devita said in a statement Monday.

Devita continued, “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. If they continue to refuse, we will take this fight back to Congress and expose any railroad that won’t enter into a sick leave agreement.”

UP follows eastern U.S. railroad CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) in reaching sick leave agreements with some of the railroad unions. CSX announced recently that it reached such agreements with six groups, including BRC and NCFO.

Subscribe to FreightWaves’ e-newsletters and get the latest insights on freight right in your inbox.

Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Joanna Marsh.