That really doesn’t seem like a huge problem to work out.
Well, a paid sick day counts roughly as a 0.5% pay increase, and they’re asking for 15 days. So that’s basically asking for a 7.5% pay increase right off the top, plus all the other pay increases. So it’s a pretty big deal.
Freight railroads schedule their trains more precisely than ever. If a locomotive engineer calls out sick, the train doesn’t leave on time and the whole system is in disarray.
If these workers have lots of sick time available, the railroads will have to keep standby staff on duty at all times … and for every train.