INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, June 5 — Earlier today, the BLET announced that it has reached a paid sick leave agreement with the Union Pacific Railroad. The General Chairmen involved in negotiating the new deal have prepared the following Fact Sheet to address potential membership questions:
Paid Sick Days
- Effective August 1, 2023 – Three (3) Paid Sick Days (paid at the basic daily rate of last service performed)
- Effective January 1, 2024 – Five (5) Paid Sick Days (paid at the basic daily rate of last service performed)
- Effective January 1, 2024 – Ability to convert two (2) single day vacations to Paid Sick Days (These days will be paid at the 1/52nd vacation rate of pay)
- Can be used at any time on any day of the week. Cannot be denied.
- Does NOT count against attendance points.
- Does NOT forfeit guarantees.
- Applies to ALL engineers (Assigned and Unassigned).
Questions and Answers Regarding Paid Sick Leave for Engineers
Q1: Can personal leave (PL) and vacation days (LV) days be converted to paid sick (PS) days?
A1: As of the effective date of the Agreement, Engineers may only convert single LV days to PS days. However, should technology become available in the future that will permit the conversion of PL days to PS days, the Parties will amend the agreement to reflect that option.
Q2: Is PS considered when evaluating Engineer’s compliance with Union Pacific’s Attendance Policy?
A2: Under the current attendance policy, PS absences will not generate points. A PS absence will break the applicable credit period.
Additional Information
Under the terms of the agreement, about 5,600 BLET members who work at Union Pacific will now have up to seven days of paid sick leave. The General Chairmen who negotiated the agreement are: Ronnie Rhodes, UP-Central Region; Chad Lambert, UP-Eastern District; Dick Crow, UP-Northern Region; James Logan, UP-Southern Region; Brian Carr, UP-Western Lines; and Steve Leyshon, UP-Western Region.