These senators join a bipartisan group of more than 100 state and federal policymakers, attorneys general, and agriculture secretaries urging the Administration to stop this unnecessary merger.
U.S. Senator Cory Booker, joined by 22 Senate colleagues, is urging the Surface Transportation Board to conduct a rigorous and independent review of Union Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern.
In a letter to the STB, the senators warned that the unprecedented merger could eliminate rail jobs, raise costs for shippers and consumers, reduce competitive options, create supply-chain bottlenecks, and undermine rail safety and service.
“The proposed transaction’s likely harms to competition, workers, safety, customers and consumers indicate that the parties are unlikely to demonstrate that this merger would enhance competition and satisfy the public interest standard,” the senators wrote.
The letter calls on the Board to closely examine potential workforce reductions, labor protections, rail safety, service performance, shipper costs, and the broader consequences of further consolidation. It also notes that a combined UP-NS would handle nearly half of the nation’s rail freight, substantially increasing its market power over farmers, manufacturers, and other rail customers.