The BLET last week led a coalition of rail labor unions in urging the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to immediately terminate the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application before a full review can begin.
In an August 19 joint filing, BLET and the five-member Allied Rail Unions (ARU) urged STB to summarily deny or reject the merger application, arguing that it does not meet STB’s high threshold for major mergers, including the prima facie (“first-impression”) standard. STB adopted stricter standards for Class I mergers in 2001 after massive service meltdowns, job losses, and safety lapses following large mergers such as UP-Southern Pacific, UP-Chicago North Western, and BN-ATSF.
“ARU/BLET emphasize these shortcomings of the Application because Rail Labor lived through the adverse consequences of the merger and control transactions of the 1990s that were the reason for adoption of the new rules,” the August 19 letter reads. “But the reality was that each approved transaction spurred a responsive transaction; and within about six years the industry was reduced to two carriers in the eastern and western halves of the Country; and shortly after that, to two carriers running north-south through the Midwest. Seemingly, without any real forethought or planning, freight rail transportation became dominated by duopolies. The ultimate result of creation of the duopolies was reduced employment and reduced service…”
BLET participated in the legal filing along with ARU members: Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Mechanical Division; International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District #19; and Transportation Communications Union/IAM.
Organized labor is not the only one asking STB for a full dismissal of the merger. The BLET/ARU letter supports similar motions made by other groups, including multiple shipper organizations (including the National Grain and Feed Association), six State Attorneys General led by Austin Knudsen of Montana, and Class I railroads BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, and CPKC.
A copy of the BLET/ARU joint letter is available on the BLET website (PDF).
Locomotive photos by Cory Rusch, BLET Division 659