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You union has referred a Step 2 grievance to arbitration regarding a significant change the Company has made to the retirement travel privileges policy.
For more than 25 years, the policy has recognized time spent on medical, maternity, paternity, and other protected leaves of absence as credited service toward the eligibility requirement for lifetime retirement travel privileges. Recently, the Company unilaterally removed this recognition. Under the new policy, any time spent on these protected leaves no longer counts toward service accumulation, directly impacting members’ ability to qualify for lifetime travel benefits upon retirement.
This change represents a serious erosion of a long-standing benefit and disproportionately affects members who, through no fault of their own, must take protected leave. Not only does this undermine the principle of fairness, but it also penalizes members for taking necessary and legally protected time away from work.
The Union strongly disagrees with this unilateral change. At arbitration, we are seeking:
- Restoration of the previous policy and recognition of protected leaves toward retirement travel eligibility.
- Retroactive application to ensure that no member loses credited service because of this change.
- Make-whole relief for any members already affected, including the restoration of lost service time.
- A cease-and-desist order preventing the Company from unilaterally altering long-standing policies without negotiation.
We believe it is essential to defend this benefit—not just for those nearing retirement, but for every member who expects that their years of dedicated service will be honored fairly and consistently.
We will keep the membership updated as this grievance moves through the arbitration process. Thank you for your continued solidarity and support.