By Ross Kerber
(Reuters) - Investors have proposed shareholder resolutions at two U.S. railroads calling for paid sick leave for workers, an issue that nearly caused a national rail strike, and they could go to an advisory vote at shareholder meetings in the spring.
On Friday President Joe Biden signed legislation to block a rail shutdown that could have devastated the American economy. But the deal he approved did not include paid sick days for workers, a key sticking point for unions in contract talks with five major U.S. railroads.
Proposals seen by Reuters filed by activist investors ask Norfolk Southern Corp (NYSE:NSC) and Union Pacific Corp (NYSE:UNP) to offer "a reasonable amount" of paid sick time, determined by company directors. If accepted each resolution would appear as a ballot item at the railroads' springtime shareholder meetings.
Kate Monahan, a director at Trillium Asset Management, the socially minded investor that filed the resolution at Union Pacific, said more flexible sick time would have broader benefits like reducing workforce turnover.
"There’s a clear business case that makes sense to us as investors," she said.
A Union Pacific representative did not comment on the resolution, but referred to a trade group statement that industry employees already receive substantial time and leave for longer-term illnesses.
A Norfolk Southern representative declined to comment.
Resolutions about worker welfare have drawn more support at corporate annual meetings in recent years amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Voting on the resolutions would not be binding.
Railroads worry implementing paid sick leave would require more employees at a time when many have cut their workforces dramatically. Had sick time been included in recent federal legislation it would cut U.S. rail earnings 1.5% to 2%, Susquehanna analyst Bascome Majors wrote in a Nov. 30 investor note.