The union warns that the risk of toxic derailment is greater if a $85 billion rail merger is approved. Ohio train derails

one Mega-Merger was proposed Workers and unions say two of the two largest rail companies in the United States will damage jobs, increase consumer costs and increase the risk of catastrophic train crashes.

Union Pacific last month proposed a $85 billion deal to buy southern Norfolk, which would build the first trans-army rail network in the United States.

As United Pacific executives seek approval from federal regulator Ground Transportation Commission, union leaders warned that the deal exacerbated fear of safety – two years later Derailed A Norfolk southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, caused the release of feathers of toxic chemicals.

John Samuelsen, chairman of the Transport Union Union, claimed that the “whole worker” was targeted at the merger. “We hope that stakeholders who reach a certain DC will listen and learn that when something like East Palestine happens, the chances of this happening under a huge merger new entity will be greater,” he said.

“Anything that empowers freight rail transport makes them more profitable and will only increase the force they can press is dangerous to workers and is actually dangerous to everyone,” Samuelson added. “They are already a very difficult employer. If they are twice as big, they will be difficult to deal with and they will move to reduce employees.”

The two companies hope to merge to create a “annual synergy opportunity” worth $2.75 billion. Samuelsen believes that this is a long-term problem for the railway industry without reducing the labor force.

He said: “I did nothing with the freight rail except when I was running TWU. Railway Tycoonknown as the robber Baron in their age, due to their business practices, has accumulated immense wealth and power through controlling the railway industry. “They are very powerful.”

The largest railroad workforce organization in the United States also has the Department of Intelligent Transportation be opposed to The United Pacific’s security records and labor practices were incorporated.

The Railway Safety Act has been in place since East Palestine derailed Stagnant In Congress, while JD Vance supports U.S. Senators, the Trump administration has already It has been proven A more relaxed way to approve corporate mergers than the Biden administration.

Currently, the sixth-class I railroad controls most rail networks in the United States: BNSF railroad, United Pacific, Southern Norfolk, CSX, Canadian National Railway and CPKC, merge From two separate railway companies in 2023. The number of Class I railroads in the United States has been 39 1980.

The Secretary-General of the United Rail Workers, Massachusetts Rail Freight Command, said he was concerned that the merger of the two Class I rail companies would succumb to an already strong industry and prompted executives to try to “trim fat” in their workforce.

“This will allow them to significantly expand their negotiation capabilities not only with shippers, with customers, but also expand their authority in negotiating with workers and lobbying in Washington,” Worst said. “I think there is something reasonable to expect – looking for layoffs. I don’t think that affects union workers; it will also affect management.”

The proposed merger also spark There are concerns that other operators such as BNSF and CSX will respond to the merger.

“When I heard about this merger, I was shocked by the fact that everything happened in East Palestine shows that these rail carriers have too much power,” said Jeff Kurtz, a retired rail worker at BNSF, who served as legislative and safety director of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Training Personnel.

He added that the merger would make Southerners in the United Pacific and southern Norfolk “stronger.” merge Between the Burlington North Railway and the Santa Fe Railway that forms the BNSF. If Kurtz recalls, or takes a smaller benefit and applies it to the combined labor force, the benefits of existing union contracts are eliminated.

“It will get worse,” he warned. “At the moment, you have these long trains, blocking the intersection, cutting towns in half. Another thing you might merge is to move them to the terminal and move people out of these towns. There won’t be much pursuit for towns to deal with these things.”

Railway worker Matt Weaver expressed concerns that the merger would force workers to go further.

“How do you raise a family for this? What is the place of opportunity? It’s about being a father, being a mother and raising your children there,” he said. “When you’re at this point, what should you do, it could be 2,000 miles from home? How will they do it? When they expect the same yield, you think of the pressure on employees, which has cuts since World War I, and they’ve reduced the railroad workforce by 95%.

The I-class railway labor force has been More than 450,000 1980 to About 122,000 workers He pointed out that in 2024. “None of these mergers are good for workers,” Weaver said. “It doesn’t serve the people. It can’t serve shippers. It can’t serve consumers because it can drive prices up. We are playing monopoly here.”

Seven industry groups represent Shippers, including the National Industrial Transportation Union, the American Chemical Commission and the Freight Railroad Customer Alliance be opposed to Any further rail merger cited that these companies already have too much market power.

South Norfolk delays comments to United Pacific. A Union Pacific spokesman declined to comment but mentioned the merger’s “victory” on the company’s website.

“It’s a win for our customers; it’s a win for the labor force, and a win for shareholders,” the company believes. “This combination will transform the U.S. supply chain, unlock the industrial strength of U.S. manufacturing, and create new sources of economic growth, safe, resilient communities and workforce opportunities, thus retaining union jobs.”

They also noted that Transload Group is a provider of rail transport and logistics services Previous cooperation In southern Norfolk, support for the deal.