Norfolk Southern, engineers union agree on paid sick leave

It’s first railroad with such an agreement for engineers.

Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern has reached an agreement with a key union to offer paid sick leave for engineers, signaling the resolution of a lengthy dispute over working conditions for the rail workers.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, one of the two largest rail unions, reached an agreement with Norfolk Southern for up to seven paid sick days for engineers. That includes five new paid sick days and the ability to use two additional days of paid time off as sick leave.

Norfolk Southern is the first railroad to reach such an agreement on paid sick leave for engineers. The deal is subject to ratification by union members of quality-of-life work terms in a related agreement.

When ratified, it will mean added benefits for more than 3,300 Norfolk Southern engineers represented by BLET, making up nearly a quarter of the unionized workforce at the company.

It follows agreements with 11 other unions at Norfolk Southern on paid sick leave struck in recent months, including unions representing conductors, signal workers and others. Now, nearly 98% of the railroad’s unionized workforce has paid sick leave deals.

Sick leave for rail workers arose as a key issue last year in rail labor talks and a threatened strike. President Joe Biden signed legislation in December to block a national railroad strike, while at the same time pushing for railroads to offer paid sick leave to workers.

The deal announced last week means Norfolk Southern engineers “finally have access to the time they need and deserve to manage their personal wellbeing,” said Dewayne Dehart, a general chairman at BLET, in a written statement.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw in a statement said the agreement continues the company’s “industry-leading effort to enhance quality of life.”

In the wake of the Norfolk Southern’s toxic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in February, Scott Bunten, a BLET general chairman, said he believes the railroad is eager to be seen as a “better, kinder, gentler railroad.” Political pressure has also come to bear on railroads, he said, after many people around the country learned last year that rail workers did not get paid sick leave.

The union said it is working to secure similar sick leave agreements with other railroads. “I hope this settlement will help bring those negotiations to a positive conclusion,” said BLET National President Eddie Hall in a written statement.

GENE J. PUSKAR/AP 2018 The union that represents railroad engineers finally secured its first deal for paid sick time with Norfolk Southern several months after other rail unions began reaching similar agreements with the major freight railroads.