BMWED Finalizes Agreement with Belt Railway of Chicago; NS, ADTA Partner to Improve Quality-of-Life
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
Image Courtesy of NS
Members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Dvision’s (BMWED) Unified System Federation have finalized a paid sick leave agreement with The Belt Railway Co. of Chicago.
According to BMWED, membership on the Belt now have contractual language guaranteeing four paid sick leave days annually at the bid-in straight time wage.
In addition to paid sick leave, this new agreement, the union says, “simultaneously preserves a healthy working environment and shields members against strict attendance policies.”
“We congratulate all the Members of The Belt Railway Company of Chicago, and all involved who assisted in the process of achieving this agreement,” said USD General Chairman Brian Rumler. “We want to commend all the members who joined with us to obtain this important benefit. That solidarity led to this achievement and was vital to its success.”
Separately, Norfolk Southern (NS) and the American Train Dispatchers Association (ADTA) have partnered to provide a significant quality-of-life enhancement for guaranteed assigned dispatchers.
Under the new pilot agreement reached late last week, these dispatchers will receive a scheduled rest day that rotates on a weekly basis.
The collaboratively reached agreement, the Class I railroad said, “underscores NS’ and ATDA’s commitment to providing meaningful quality-of-life enhancements to dispatchers.” The pilot is scheduled to take effect by early March and run through the end of the year.
“We want everyone on our team to have access to predictable time off,” said NS VP Network Operations Rodney Moore. “This agreement provides a set rest day that our dispatchers can count on every week, allowing our craft colleagues to better plan time with their families and attend to personal needs.”
ATDA President Ed Dowell applauded the agreement stating, “Quality-of-life is vital to all of our members, and this is a first step in the right direction.” President Dowell thanked Vice President Brandon Denucci and General Chairman Nick Serrano for their work and commitment to their members. Vice President Denucci noted, “Although guaranteed assigned dispatchers observe time off each week, they don’t currently know when exactly that time off will occur. Providing a scheduled rest day that our members can count on provides significantly greater predictability.” General Chairman Nick Serrano added, “Having the scheduled rest day rotate every week is an added benefit. It gives equal access to the most desirable days off, such as on the weekend, while maintaining predictability for our members.”
