Yahoo Finance Norfolk Southern (NSC) Signs Paid Sick Leave Deal With BLET
Norfolk Southern CorporationNSC announced that it entered an agreement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen ("BLET"), aimed at offering up to seven paid sick days per year to BLET members. This deal will offer five new days of paid sick leaves per year to Norfolk Southern engineers. Further, it will provide them with the flexibility to use up to two additional days of existing paid time-off as sick leaves.
The deal covers more than 3,300 Norfolk Southern engineers, representing almost 25% of the NS craft workforce. With this agreement, almost all the company's craft employees (approximately 98%) entered paid sick leave deals.
This new paid sick leave deal comes with a second quality-of-life agreement, which requires it to be ratified under BLET's bylaws. This second agreement provides additional preservation of earnings specific to Norfolk Southern engineers when they use paid sick leave and better 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.
Such deals reflect NSC’s employee-friendly attitude through which it tries to maintain cordial relations with its employees and the unions representing them, thereby providing a healthy work atmosphere.
Alan H. Shaw, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern, stated, "I deeply appreciate the contributions of our Norfolk Southern engineers and the longstanding partnership we've had with the BLET." He further added, "This agreement builds on that relationship and continues our industry-leading effort to enhance quality of life as we become the first railroad to reach an engineer sick leave deal."
Wai Wong, vice president, labor relations at Norfolk Southern, stated, "This agreement is yet another important milestone in our ongoing efforts to enhance quality of life for our craft employees." He further added, "I want to thank our BLET general chairmen for their partnership as we worked to negotiate this important benefit for their members."
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Norfolk Southern currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors interested in better-ranked stocks from the Zacks Transportation sector can consider Copa Holdings, S.A. CPA, United Airlines UAL and Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK. Copa Holdings and United Airlines sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and Alaska Air carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Copa Holdings has an expected earnings growth rate of 52.54% for the current year. CPA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 33.35%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPA’s current-year earnings has improved 14.6% over the past 90 days. Shares of CPA have gained 39.9% over the past six months.
United Airlines has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. UAL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.14%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UAL’s current-year earnings has improved 14.6% over the past 90 days. Shares of UAL have gained 4.2% over the past six months.
Alaska Air has an expected earnings growth rate of 44.83% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALK’s current-year earnings has improved 9.1% over the past 90 days. ALK has a long-term expected growth rate of 24.23%.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
