Posts tagged Union Pacific
Largest rail union backs $85 billion Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger
March 19, 2026 // The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division (SMART-TD) sent a letter to lawmakers backing the deal. Union leaders said they evaluate railroad mergers based on how they impact workers’ jobs and long-term stability. “SMART-TD evaluates every merger based on how it will affect our members’ jobs, livelihoods, and long-term stability,” SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson wrote. Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced the proposed merger last July. Supporters argue that the deal would create a freight rail network spanning from the East Coast to the West Coast, modernize freight transportation, and improve the country’s supply chain.
Union Pacific, Norfolk submit papers for regulatory review of $85 billion merger
December 23, 2025 // The proposed merger, which allows for faster shipping by cutting handoffs and delays, has faced criticism from unions, lawmakers, and rival railroads since its announcement. “As time and technology continue to transform how freight is delivered, our industry must keep pace and move forward, reaching underserved markets with new rail solutions and strengthening the U.S. supply chain,” Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said in a statement on Friday.
2 big rail unions oppose $85B Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger over safety and cost concerns
December 18, 2025 // The unions’ decision they plan to announce Wednesday will make the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division two of the most prominent critics of the deal to create the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. They join the American Chemistry Council, an assortment of agricultural groups and competing railroad BNSF in raising concerns that this combination would hurt competition. But the deal has picked up the support of the nation’s largest rail union that represents conductors and hundreds of individual shippers as well as an Oval Office endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Union Pacific, Boilermakers Union Agree to Job Security Pact Amid Norfolk Southern Merger
December 1, 2025 // The agreement ensures employees who work at both Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern at the time of the merger will have job security for life, subject to usual requirements for continued employment. Union Pacific previously reached agreements with the transportation division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation workers, the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen.
Biggest rail union joins others in endorsing Union Pacific merger but some still have reservations
September 23, 2025 // The SMART-TD union that represents conductors and other rail workers said Union Pacific put CEO Jim Vena’s promise not to lay off any of its workers as a result of the merger in writing and promised to protect their jobs throughout their careers. But the head of one of the next biggest unions said he doesn’t think this deal does nearly enough to protect rail jobs, so he’s not ready to support the merger that would create the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. The union’s endorsement comes just days after President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he deal sounds good to him, but groups like the American Chemistry Council and the Rail Customer Coalition have said they worry that allowing two of the six largest railroads to merge will only hurt competition and lead to even higher shipping rates.
Two unions announce opposition to UP-NS merger (revised)
July 30, 2025 // Two unions — the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, and the Transport Workers Union of America — have announced their opposition to the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger proposed today by the two railroads. SMART said it will oppose the merger when it goes to the Surface Transportation Board for approval, while the TWU — which represents some Norfolk Southern workers — said it “strongly opposes” the deal and is urging regulators, lawmakers, shippers and unions to block the transaction. Other unions have also expressed concern about the creation of a coast-to-coast railroad that would cover more than 52,000 miles and employ more than 52,000 people, although few have done so in language as strong as that of TWU International President John Samuelsen. In a statement, he called UP’s safety record “shameful” and said, “There is no world where Union Pacific should be controlling a coast-to-coast rail network.
From Amazon warehouse to port strikes, shippers and the DOT are preparing for an unpredictable 2025
January 2, 2025 // In recent years, the logistics industry has become familiar with "black swan" events, the biggest being Covid, which brought the global supply chain to a halt. The lessons learned during the pandemic led to new digital solutions for companies to track trade and solve for the lack of communication and data sharing that contributed to massive congestion at ports. Those solutions will continue to play a major role in dealing with trade disruptions.
Flurry of contract deals come as railroads, unions see Trump’s election looming over talks
November 18, 2024 // But Hartford said “the morale is still poor” on most railroads after all the cuts and there is a strong feeling among some workers that maybe they could get more if they fight longer, so the Machinists rejected that deal. Conductors have also voted down all but one small deal on part of BNSF they have considered so far, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union has been unwilling to sign onto any of these early deals. Plus, the third largest union that represents track workers split on the deals it voted on so far.
LA-Long Beach port rail service and union reach agreement
July 16, 2024 // According to the railway, “The CBA extension sets competitive wage structures while maintaining the same lower-than-rail-industry employee contributions for health benefits, so that the PHL workforce receives fair compensation for their critical role in the nation’s supply chain at the busiest port complex in North America.”
Railroad Workers Were Ready to Strike. Now They’re Fighting to Save Their CEO.
March 5, 2024 // abor groups representing Norfolk conductors, locomotive engineers, machinists and other workers have made public comments in support of Chief Executive Alan Shaw as he comes under pressure from activist Ancora Holdings. The groups account for over half of the railroad’s unionized workforce.