(The following report appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune on November 7.)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Union Pacific Corp. and other U.S. railroads won approval Thursday of a plan under which members of their largest union will start paying part of health-care premiums, saving the companies about $60 million a year.
The agreement, reached last month, was ratified by about 60 percent of United Transportation Union members who voted, union spokesman Frank Wilner said. The 43,000 members, who work on train crews and in freight switching yards, begin paying $119 a month in January, dropping to $100 in July, the union said.
U.S. railroads earlier this year estimated that annual health-care costs were about $10,500 per employee and were rising about 20 percent a year. The agreement covers major railroads including Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp., as well as smaller companies.