Grainnet

Norfolk Southern and Locomotive Engineers Union Reach New Contract Agreement

This article is reprinted from the USDA's September 25 Grain Transportation Report.

On September 15, the Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), reached a new agreement.

BLET is a union representing roughly 59,000 railroad employees, of whom approximately 5,000 are locomotive engineers.

The agreement lasts through 2014, and links train engineer’s compensation to company performance.

The goal of this new agreement is to increase operating efficiency, customer service, and railroad safety by providing annual bonus payments based on NS financial and service performance metrics and, for the first time, engineers’ work availability over the past year.

For more information, call Surajudeen (Deen) Olowolayemo, USDA, at 202-690-1328.