BNSF Railway and Norfolk Southern Reach 5-Year Agreements with Additional Unions

BNSF Railroad and Norfolk Southern (NS) announced on Friday that they have reached tentative five-year contract agreements with additional unions four months before the opening round of national collective bargaining, FreightWaves reported (8-30-24).

The Norfolk Southern agreements with five unions comes on the heels of four tentative agreements announced last week, covering approximately 55% of the railroad’s unionized workforce.

The most recent agreements, which NS reached in partnership with BNSF Railway and are subject to ratification, include the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Blacksmiths and the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers.

Norfolk Southern also separately reached tentative agreements with the American Train Dispatchers Association, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division, and the SMART-TD Yardmasters.

BNSF previously had reached agreements with four other unions, including the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division/TCU, SMART-Mechanical Division, the Transportation Communications Union/IAM, and the American Train Dispatchers Association.

CSX was the first railroad to reach early tentative agreements with some of its unions, and the railroad currently has tentative contract deals with seven unions which collectively represent more than half of its unionized workers.

FreightWaves points out that The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has been absent from any of the tentative contract deals.