Billions for Wall Street while workers get shafted
The Transport Workers Union of America strongly opposes the planned merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern and urges federal regulators, lawmakers, shippers, and unions to block the deal.
“Union Pacific has a shameful safety record and was caught by the federal government trying to meddle in a safety audit. There is no world where Union Pacific should be controlling a coast-to-coast rail network,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “A supersized Union Pacific would be catastrophic for TWU rail workers, shippers, and the safety of millions of Americans who live and work near freight rail lines.”
“Union Pacific cut railroad jobs even as other freight railroads ramped up hiring after the pandemic. They are not to be trusted by railroad workers nationwide and the TWU will fight any attempt to ram through a merger that Wall Street might like but is bad for railroad workers and the safety of everyone,” said TWU Rail Division Director John Feltz. “This is going to be a long, drawn-out process where many groups will have a say. We expect the Surface Transportation Board, Federal Railroad Administration, key lawmakers, other railroads, and shippers to stand with organized labor and oppose this deal.”
The TWU currently represents workers at Norfolk Southern, which primarily operates in the eastern United States. TWU railroad workers at Norfolk Southern are located in Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore along with Toledo, Ohio, Elkhart, Indiana, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and other locations.