Norfolk Southern shareholder Ancora issues letter to Board

Norfolk Southern Ohio-based shareholder Ancora Holdings issued a letter to the Board of Directors of Norfolk Southern focusing on topics that include recent public statements from CEO Alan Shaw, Board Chair Amy Miles and Corporate Governance Committee Chairperson Jennifer Scanlon about the firm’s engagement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters – the BLET – and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters – the BMWED -. Highlights of the letter include: “…we’re writing to publicly address the false and misleading claims that a subset of you have been making on behalf of the company. We ask that the Board ensures no further misrepresentations are disseminated about our appropriate engagement with Teamsters affiliates and other topics that are relevant to the outcome of the Annual Meeting of Shareholders…The BLET and the BMWED – which collectively represent 41.5% of Norfolk Southern’s unionized workforce – issued public statements of support for Ancora’s nominees and not the current leadership…Norfolk Southern affirmatively stated that Ancora (i) entered into agreements on behalf of the Company, (ii) violated the Railway Labor Act, (iii) committed a crime and (iv) gave away shareholder value via purported backroom deals. These statements are simply unsupported by facts…In light of the foregoing points, we hope the several members of the Board who are credible, effectively experienced and open-minded guide the Company to accommodate our multiple requests to cease making false and unsupported claims. Our unaffiliated nominees look forward to moving past this contest and partnering with those of you who continue to serve to do what is best for Norfolk Southern over the near-term and long-term. A lot needs to be fixed in order to drive shareholder-friendly governance and enhanced service, safety and value.”