Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are circulating a signed letter urging the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) to consider the consequences of the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Rail merger for workers. Representative Val Hoyle (D-OR) led the effort, and with assistance from the Teamsters Rail Conference, 102 members of Congress signed the September 3 letter. The full text of the letter can be found here.
“The proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger would create the largest rail network in this country’s history. Railroad workers are the backbone of our supply chain, and their rights and security must come first. When workers do well, our economy thrives,” said Rep. Hoyle. “I’m leading 100 of my colleagues in demanding that the Surface Transportation Board fully evaluate what this merger could mean for jobs, safety and accountability.”
Mark Wallace, National President of the BLET and President of the Teamsters Rail Conference, said:
“We have seen what railroad mergers and consolidation have done to workers, customers, and communities. The proposed Union Pacific acquisition of Norfolk Southern would create the largest railroad in the country, but bigger does not mean better. These two railroads do not need to merge, and Union Pacific has not shown that this deal is in the public interest.
“BLET and BMWED did not rush to judgment. We were the first two rail unions to meet with UP CEO Jim Vena after the announcement, and we listened with an open mind. What we heard did not answer our concerns about jobs, service, safety, or the communities that depend on these railroads.
“UP calls its offer ‘Jobs for Life,’ but a slogan is not job protection. Their promise does not protect the jobs that exist today. It allows jobs to disappear through attrition, and it can force workers to move hundreds of miles or accept whatever work the company makes available. That may protect a person from the word ‘furlough,’ but it does not protect that worker’s job, home, or family.
“We have already seen the results of doing more with fewer people: limited personal leave, tighter attendance policies, fewer vacation opportunities, and increased discipline aimed at removing employees. If this merger is paid for by eliminating jobs and placing even more work on those who remain, the jobs left will not be the kind of jobs anyone would embrace for a lifetime.
“The Surface Transportation Board must look past the slogans and examine what this acquisition would actually mean for farmers, businesses, workers, rail service, safety, and the communities this massive railroad could choose to serve—or abandon.
We thank Representative Val Hoyle for leading this letter and for standing with railroad workers and the customers who depend on reliable rail service. We also thank every member of Congress who signed it and called on the STB to closely examine the real consequences of the proposed UP-NS acquisition.”