07:05 AM EDT, 08/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Norfolk Southern ( NSC ) and BNSF Railroad reached a tentative five-year agreement with four of the unions representing their employees, the company and the labor syndicates said Friday.

One of the unions, the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division, called the proposed contract "historic." The agreement must still be ratified by the unions' rank and file.

The agreement covers 30% of Norfolk Southern's ( NSC ) employees. It entails 3.5% average annual wage increases described by the Brotherhood as the best in 20 years and improved vacation benefits for the first time in 50 years.