Industry observers had wondered why the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen — which had vehemently opposed an activist investor’s plans to oust Norfolk Southern’s management team — flip-flopped on Friday and decided to support Ancora Holdings’ calls for change at the railroad.
The reason became apparent on Sunday, when the SMART-TD union that represents conductors released a memorandum of understanding that Ancora and BLET leaders signed last week.
If Ancora’s proxy battle is successful, the BLET would win a number of concessions — including taking over remote-control switching operations currently handled by conductors. Engineers also would no longer be required to work as conductors, and NS and BLET would end a related federal lawsuit that the union brought in 2021.
The deal between Ancora and the union also contains provisions regarding bonuses, gives BLET veto power over changes to seniority zones, and will allow the union to select three home and away terminals that will test advertising of call windows.
It also would change the definition of road service, allow the union to give input on operational changes, and permit BLET-chosen representatives to participate in the training of new hires and locomotive engineer trainees. The railroad and union also would explore expanding the confidential close-call reporting system to all locations.
The agreement was signed by Ancora Alternatives President James Chadwick and the BLET’s three general chairmen on NS.
SMART-TD, in a statement on its website, said the BLET was trying to get from Ancora what its leaders had not been able to negotiate with NS or achieve through national negotiations. SMART-TD, along with 10 other labor unions representing NS workers, remains opposed to Ancora’s plans to mount a full-blown implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading at NS, with former UPS executive Jim Barber Jr. as CEO and former CSX operations boss Jamie Boychuk as chief operating officer.
“BLET is playing Judas and has chosen to sell out workers so they can get a do-over on past negotiations their organization fell short on with NS,” the SMART-TD statement said. “[BLET National President] Eddie Hall and everyone associated with BLET’s decision should be ashamed. They were willing to hand over everything our movement has done to defend our men and women against PSR at NS.”
“For the record, less than one day before BLET announced they were backing Ancora, they had given their word to the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department that they were standing with us,” SMART-TD claimed. “Apparently, the attached agreement was an effective sweetener. Eddie Hall and his NS general chairpersons have turned on us.”
The BLET’s general chairmen on Norfolk Southern in February firmly backed the railroad’s current management team. And they were highly critical of Ancora’s plans.
But Hall said on Friday that after careful review the union has determined that management change was in the best interest of the union’s members and the railroad.
“BLET’s three elected General Chairmen representing locomotive engineers and trainmen at Norfolk Southern met with Ancora’s leadership team yesterday and determined that they are the right leaders for Norfolk Southern moving forward,” Hall said in a statement. “After the railroad’s CEO Alan Shaw hired COO John Orr and following the public comments of both those executives on their strategy for NS, our General Chairmen determined that a change at the top is needed. Although this decision was not easy, the General Chairmen believe it is necessary.”
The union representing NS maintenance of way workers also switched its support to Ancora last week.
Representatives from Ancora and the BLET did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on Sunday evening.
Ancora announced on Sunday that steelmaker Cleveland Cliffs, a major Norfolk Southern customer, said it now supports the activist investor.
The proxy battle is heading toward a shareholder vote at the May 9 NS annual meeting.
Any customer or union that backs this take over is buying and believing a bunch of lies. I’ve seen it at CSX they will ripe up tracks to sell the rail for scrapes even went as far as cutting down the timber to sale. The heads of the blet need to be voted out immediately the agreement the reached with Ancora is a backwoods spit handshake. An agreement that was done without and members consent or vote. Ancora will take far more than they give they have one goal and one goal only strip, cut and sale
It’s simple, look at Hunter Harrisons history with every railroad he ever ran.
Bug gains for the associated investment group and once they slip quietly away, the individual shareholders are left with the ruins.
PS they can’t schedule freight trains.
Just when NS has made better relations with their unions here comes Ancora Stirring up trouble and pitting one union against another. What will it be like if Ancora wins the proxy fight. I can just imagine.
PSR runs counter to some of the inflexibility and inefficiency promised in the MoU. Either one side or the other doesn’t know what PSR means, or somebody in charge is going to make bank before everyone else gets screwed.
Short term gain–long term loss.
Like Ancora, Will reap the profits in short term, bail out, then NS will be on life support.
Concurring with a most insightful remark Charles Landey posted to a previous article on this Ancora / Norfolk Southern ‘Soap Opera’ debacle – “Workers are great. They are the heart and soul of America. Unions just plain suck …”
‘Nuff- said …..
Thomas Noyes stayed up late. I got up early.
I got out of bed this morning at 12:47 AM Central Time, unable to sleep. Read TRAINS NEWSWIRE. With this article, I came to know why I couldn’t sleep. It was actually 12:47 AM Central Time, April 29, 1974. I had been thrust backward half a century toward my own bum. The conductors union and the engineers union are battling each other over the spoils.
While their respective memberships just want to work and get paid.
If Ancora wins this proxy battle, any bets on how long it is before they tear up that “memorandum of understanding”?
And the union leadership selling out others continues.
honestly can’t just ancora leave norfolk southern alone