{"id":39274,"date":"2024-05-09T10:38:10","date_gmt":"2024-05-09T00:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=39274"},"modified":"2024-05-09T10:38:10","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T00:38:10","slug":"ns-v-ancora-proxy-battle-for-control-of-class-i-arrives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=39274","title":{"rendered":"NS v. Ancora: Proxy Battle For Control of Class I Arrives"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Railfan & Railroad\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After months of buildup, the battle for control of Norfolk Southern has arrived. On Thursday, NS shareholders will have their say during the railroad\u2019s annual shareholder meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n

On one side of the battle is CEO Alan Shaw, who is hoping to keep the job that he has held for just two years. On the other is Ancora Holdings, a major shareholder that is offering up its own board nominees and executive leadership team on the belief that they can squeeze more profit out of the Class I railroad. In the weeks leading up to the May 9 vote, shippers, unions, and regulators have all had their say about who they believe is best fit to lead the railroad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the core of Ancora\u2019s critique of Shaw is that the CEO kept too many additional resources on hand during a traffic downturn and that he made missteps following last year\u2019s fiery train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio. Ancora would like to bring in former UPS chief operating officer Jim Barber in as NS\u2019 new CEO and former CSX executive Jamie Boychuk as the new chief operating officer. Ultimately the shareholders\u2019 group wants NS to implement Precision Scheduled Railroading \u2014 a practice that is known to squeeze maximum profit out of railroads \u2014 at a more rapid pace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ancora\u2019s attempt to oust Shaw began earlier this year and they have taken every opportunity to criticize him. In March, <\/span>after a derailment in Pennsylvania<\/span><\/a>, Ancora called for the CEO\u2019s resignation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ancora has been able to line up some support for its bid, including from major shippers like steel producer Cleveland-Cliffs. It also got the support of two unions, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees. But documents published by a competing union suggest that <\/span>BLET is trying to get a better deal for its members by supporting new management<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For his part, Shaw said the railroad is getting back on track after the fallout from East Palestine and that shareholders should stay the course.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b\u201cThe choice really couldn\u2019t be any more clear for our shareholders,\u201d Shaw told the Associated Press. \u201cWe make promises and we\u2019ve continued to keep our promises, and we will continue to deliver. And we\u2019ve got a long-term vision for Norfolk Southern where shareholders win, as opposed to the activists who\u2019ve got a short-term and erratic approach where shareholders lose.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Among Shaw\u2019s defenders is retiring U.S. Surface Transportation Board Chair Martin Obermann, who has been heavily critical of the push to PSR.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not my position to urge shareholders how to vote in this election,\u201d he said at a shipper\u2019s conference last week. \u201cIt is my responsibility to call out serious threats to the national rail network.\u201d <\/span>
\n<\/span> He went on to say that running a railroad with the bare minimum of people and equipment might work when \u201cthe sun is shining\u201d but not when problems arise, as history has shown.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are now confronting a situation where one group is either completely ignorant of these recent past lessons or has willfully chosen to ignore them in an effort to make a quick buck,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The post NS v. Ancora: Proxy Battle For Control of Class I Arrives<\/a> appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Railfan & Railroad\u00a0 After months of buildup, the battle for control of Norfolk Southern has arrived. On Thursday, NS shareholders will have their say […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":39275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-39274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rail-news","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}