It makes for very bad train handling. If you arent fully vaccinated by November 8, you should still share your status and update your record later. There have also been periods such as 2015-16 when manufacturing, trucking and rail suffer, but the rest of the economy keeps growing. Our training requirements could not be sustained due to COVID restrictions, says Michael Urena, Manager, Transportation Training, Training and Development, CN. The unionsthe Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET)reported on Oct. 29 that they have filed counterclaims challenging NS actions in implementing the vaccine policy without the bargaining mandated by the Railway Labor Act. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. Central District of California | Justice Department Announces When you go to work now, its like going into a funeral home, Hollandsworth said. Our emphasis on superior service will continue to drive our long-term growth strategy. The railroad will also have to reimburse the Environmental Protection Agency for its oversight of the cleanup. Norfolk Southerns history spans nearly two centuries to the earliest days of American railroading. click here. Yetthose who livenear the derailment site close to the Ohio-Pennsylvania border are fearful ofpossible long term health impactseven though officials say that repeated testing hasnt shown harmful levels of chemicals in the air or drinking water. That work is expected to wrap up in early June, which will boost traffic in the area. Prior to Covid, Norfolk Southern said it has already spent about $55 million to dig up and remove nearly 34,000 tons of contaminated soil and trucked away another 13.2 million gallons of tainted water. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP Announces Investor By continuing to execute our strategic plan and provide superior service to our customers, we will move through this period successfully and be ready to capture opportunities as the economy recovers. But theyre not likely to totally abandon the lean operating model adopted over the past six years that labor unions say has made the industry riskier because so many jobs have been cut. Learn more by visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com. For some, this news will require a difficult individual choice. With at least two workers (conductor and engineer) occupying the same space (locomotive cab) for 8 to 12 hours, and oftentimes with a different person every day, one trip with an infected co-worker can lead to the rapid erosion of workforce availability, delaying trains and terminal operations significantly. As the call for sustainability grows, impacts will be assessed by every industry. You can apply at the same place you share your vaccination status by choosing Personal Information on SuccessFactors. Norfolk Southern