CSX, 2 Unions Reach Deal On Paid Sick Leave For Rail Workers

West Virginia’s largest rail carrier has reached an agreement to provide some workers with paid sick leave.

CSX and two rail unions struck a deal Tuesday that would extend paid sick leave to 5,000 of the company’s workers.

Those include the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen. 

CSX operates about 1,100 miles of track in West Virginia and a major maintenance base in Huntington. Much of the railroad’s network in the state is dedicated to transporting coal.

The agreement would provide four paid sick days a year, with the option to use three additional paid personal days for sick leave.

The issue nearly led to a nationwide rail strike last year before Congress ordered an agreement between railroads and workers some unions opposed.