NS, BLET agree to paid sick leave; NS unveils emissions report tool

Norfolk Southern Railway and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) yesterday announced they’ve reached an agreement to provide up to seven paid sick days per year to BLET members.

The agreement will provide NS engineers with five new days of paid sick leave per year while also offering the flexibility to use up to two additional days of existing paid time off as sick leave, NS and BLET officials said in a press release.

The agreement will provide new paid sick leave benefits to over 3,300 engineers, representing almost 25% of the NS craft workforce. With this latest agreement, 98% of the railroad’s craft employees have entered into paid sick leave deals, NS officials said.

"This trailblazing new deal ensures that engineers finally have access to the time they need and deserve to manage their personal well-being," said Dewayne Dehart, BLET general chairman (NS-Northern Lines GCA).

The paid sick leave agreement is accompanied by a second quality-of-life agreement that needs to be ratified under BLET's bylaws. This second agreement offers additional preservation of earnings unique to NS engineers when they use paid sick leave, as well as greater protection for vacation time, further enhancing the paid sick leave deal. The paid sick leave agreement will be effective upon ratification of the second agreement.

Meanwhile, NS yesterday announced it launched a tailored "Rail Emissions Report" tool for customers. The report will provide customers insight into the full life cycle and carbon footprint of moving a shipment across the 22-state NS network.

The information will help customers make "informed decisions about transporting their goods and develop strategies to both reduce their emissions and meet decarbonization goals," NS officials said in a press release.

More than 25% of NS customers have publicly announced goals for carbon reduction, they said.