NS becomes first Class I railroad
to negotiate paid sick leave for all craft railroaders
ATLANTA, and INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, June 5, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and the
International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and
Transportation Workers — Transportation Division (SMART-TD)
announced today that they have reached an agreement with
representatives for their final group of craft employees –
yardmasters – to provide up to seven paid sick days per year.
The agreement will immediately provide nearly 300 Norfolk
Southern yardmasters with four new days of paid sick leave per year
while also offering them the flexibility to use up to three
additional days of existing paid time off as sick leave.
With this agreement, Norfolk Southern is the first Class I
railroad to have negotiated paid sick leave agreements for 100
percent of its craft workforce.
"This agreement will provide our hardworking yardmasters the
time they need and deserve to take care of their personal
wellbeing," said Jeremy Ferguson,
President of SMART-TD. "I want to thank Norfolk Southern for their
partnership on this deal, and for leading the industry as the first
railroad to sign sick leave agreements for every one of our
dedicated union members. And most importantly, I want to thank our
SMART-TD general chairmen, Joe
Borders and Dan Weir, for
negotiating this important new benefit for Norfolk Southern
yardmasters."
This final paid sick leave agreement for yardmasters builds on
the momentum from the comprehensive quality-of-life package that
Norfolk Southern and SMART-TD negotiated last month for another
group of SMART-TD members – conductors and trainmen. The conductor
and trainmen agreement, which included paid sick leave, was
ratified by union membership last Friday.
"Following national labor negotiations, we committed to address
quality of life issues for our craft railroaders. With today's
agreement, we make good on that promise," said Norfolk Southern
President and CEO Alan Shaw. "I am
proud of our team for working collaboratively with union leadership
over the last four months to reach agreements that benefit all of
our craft colleagues."
Although this agreement is an important milestone for paid sick
leave, Norfolk Southern remains actively engaged with all its labor
partners to further explore and negotiate the quality-of-life
benefits that will have the greatest positive impact for its
employees and position Norfolk Southern as an industry leader and
employer of choice.
About Norfolk Southern
Since 1827, Norfolk Southern
Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its predecessor companies have moved
the goods and materials that drive the U.S. economy. Today, it
operates a customer-centric and operations-driven freight
transportation network. Committed to furthering sustainability,
Norfolk Southern helps its customers avoid 15 million tons of
yearly carbon emissions by shipping via rail. Its dedicated team
members deliver more than 7 million carloads annually, from
agriculture to consumer goods, and is the largest rail shipper of
auto products and metals in North
America. Norfolk Southern also has the most extensive
intermodal network in the eastern U.S., serving a majority of the
country's population and manufacturing base, with connections to
every major container port on the Atlantic coast as well as the
Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes.
Learn more by visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com.
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SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation