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railroads
Top Rail Unions Denounce Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Megamerger as 'De Facto Monopoly'
"For rail customers, it will be a choice between ‘Hell or the highway,’” said Mark Wallace, the national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
Dec 17, 2025
Two of America's largest railway workers unions have come out against the $85 billion merger of two major railroad conglomerates, warning that it will harm competition and worker safety.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) represent more than half of the employees at the Union Pacific Railroad and the Norfolk Southern Corporation, which it plans to acquire.
The US Surface Transportation Board (STB) is expected to receive a formal proposal from the two companies on Friday. President Donald Trump said in September that the deal "sounds good" to him.
If approved, it would allow the two firms to merge into the largest railroad company in US history, controlling more than 50,000 miles of track across 43 states. According to the Associated Press, such a railroad would likely control over 40% of the nation's freight.
The unions warned on Wednesday that the deal would create a "de facto monopoly" in large swaths of the country.
“We believe this transcontinental railroad will make shipping by rail less attractive as the merged carrier passes off rail lines that serve small towns, factories, and farms to short line railroads while running miles-long slow-moving trains on the main line," said BLET national president Mark Wallace. "For rail customers, it will be a choice between ‘Hell or the highway.’”
Loosened merger regulations by Congress have allowed railway companies to consolidate over the past 40 years. As the unions point out, in 1980 there were roughly 40 different Class 1 railroads in the US, whereas in 2025 they have combined into just six entities.
An October analysis by the American Economic Liberties Project, which warned against the Norfolk Southern-Union Pacific merger, noted that as a result of this consolidation, "shippers reported a deterioration in service, fewer options with higher prices... while workers lost jobs and those who didn’t face strenuous working conditions."
While the unions credited Norfolk Southern’s spending on new safety measures following 2023’s catastrophic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, they said that Union Pacific “continues to cut corners and oppose needed reforms.”
During the Biden administration, federal regulators found that Union Pacific made a concerted effort to undermine government safety assessments, including coaching employees on how to respond to questions from the Federal Railroad Administration and threatening them with discipline if they did not give the company's preferred responses.
The merger has received backing from SMART-TD, the nation's largest railroad union, which cited promises from Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena not to lay off workers as a result of the acquisition.
But BLET and BMWED say these promises are hollow and that the proposal given to unions still allows the company to have the ultimate say over which workers are protected and provides no guarantees for employees against being transferred to jobs hundreds of miles away or from having their lines sold to short line railroads that pay less.
“We don’t believe anything Vena says about how workers would be treated in the Supersized Union Pacific,” said Tony Cardwell, president of the BMWED. “The agreements reached with some other unions related to job protections post-merger have loopholes big enough to traverse freight trains through. We refuse to accept the same terms in return for our unions’ support for the merger.”
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Analysis Warns of 'Disastrous Consequences' From $72 Billion Railway Megamerger
"The last 40 years of railroad consolidation clearly demonstrate how this merger could threaten public safety and harm shippers, workers, consumers, and the broader economy," said an economic analyst.
Oct 21, 2025
A merger between two of America's biggest railroad companies could have "disastrous consequences" for workers and consumers, according to a report out Monday.
In late July, labor unions raised alarm as Union Pacific Railroad announced a $72 billion deal to acquire Norfolk Southern Railway, which, if approved by the US Surface Transportation Board (STB), would make the new entity the largest railroad company in American history, controlling over 50,000 total miles of interstate rail.
The American Economic Liberties Project (AELP), an anti-monopoly think tank, provided more evidence for those concerns with its new analysis.
"A combined Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern will have disastrous consequences: less safe workers and communities, less competition, higher costs, and service disruptions," said one of the report's authors, AELP senior fellow Erik Peinert. "For good reason, there has never been an attempt at a consolidated transcontinental railroad system until now—a scale of railroad consolidation not even met by the railroad barons of the Gilded Age."
As the report explains, America's interstate rail system is dominated by four companies that operate as a pair of "regional duopolies." Norfolk Southern lines stretch across the Eastern US, along with those owned by CSX, while areas west of the Mississippi River are covered by Union Pacific and BNSF.
This already heavily consolidated system is the product of Congress' deregulation of railroads during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably through the replacement in 1995 of the more powerful Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) with the STB, which has more limited authority to regulate mergers.
"Even by the very lax merger standards of the late 1990s and early 2000s, these combinations were recognized as mistakes with devastating outcomes," the report says. "Shippers reported a deterioration in service, fewer options with higher prices, and the loss of jobs, while workers lost jobs and those who didn't face strenuous working conditions."
Though STB's rules tightened in 2001, requiring mergers to "enhance" competition instead of simply not harming it, the damage was already done. Over the next two decades, the report noted that the top four major railroads came to haul 7% fewer loads while hiking freight rates twice as fast as inflation. This was due in large part to the fact that 50% of customers were now "captive," that is, they had access to only one rail line, compared to just 27% two decades prior.
Another megamerger, the report warns, would cause a "likely permanent loss of competitive rail services for shippers" in large sections of the country, specifically the Midwest, where Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have overlapping lines.
The deal has been opposed by a consortium of shipping associations, including the Freight Rail Customer Alliance, the American Chemistry Council, and the National Industrial Transport League (NITL), which warned that it would slow down service and lead to price hikes.
Labor unions—including the Teamsters, the Transport Workers Union of America, and the Railroad Workers United—have also opposed the merger, citing the companies' histories of cutting costs by laying off employees and flouting safety standards.
"Historically, rail consolidation results in job loss, diminishing labor power in negotiating better working conditions and pay, resulting in staffing shortages that lead to burnout and increased safety risks for workers and the public," the report says. "And in general, consolidation results in stagnant and reduced wages for workers, as there are fewer buyers for labor and greater leverage for the consolidated companies."
There is also a risk that if the STB approves the merger, it could embolden the other half of the duopoly, CSX and BNSF, to merge as well, creating a national duopoly where "choice and competition would be lost."
In part due to the STB's more stringent rules, no interstate railroads have attempted to merge in the 21st century. However, the Trump administration seemed to give Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern a green light when—just as proceedings for the merger were beginning in late August—President Donald Trump fired Robert Primus, a Democratic member of the STB who had been an outspoken critic of railroad consolidation, which broke a 2-2 tie on the board between Democrats and Republicans.
At the beginning of October, Primus sued the Trump administration, which had not explained his firing other than that he "did not align with the president's America First agenda." After meeting with the CEO of Union Pacific in September, Trump said that the merger "sounds good."
"Our country's supply chain demands that the board be independent and transparent. Congress mandated it 138 years ago," Primus said upon filing the lawsuit. "Failure to do so will negatively affect the network: railroads, shippers, and rail labor alike, disrupting the supply chain and ultimately injecting instability into our nation's economy. This is dangerous, and wrong, and cannot be allowed to happen."
Railroad Workers United said that Primus "was removed not for inefficiency or malfeasance, but for daring to stand for fair competition and consumer interests, a principle too radical for the 'America First' cabal."
Ashley Nowicki, the report's other author and a policy analyst at the AELP, said that the firing of Primus, "who questioned rail consolidation and the railroad's substantial lobbying efforts, raises serious concerns about political interference."
"The last 40 years of railroad consolidation clearly demonstrate how this merger could threaten public safety and harm shippers, workers, consumers, and the broader economy," she continued. "The Surface Transportation Board must show it can operate independently and protect the public interest over Wall Street."
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Rail Workers Warn Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Merger Would 'Simply Line the Pockets of Wall Street'
Railroad Workers United expressed opposition to any further consolidation of the U.S. rail system—unless it was brought under public ownership.
Aug 11, 2025
An inter-union U.S. rail coalition on Monday announced its formal opposition to Union Pacific's $85 billion bid to purchase Norfolk Southern and any other private consolidation of railroad giants, warning that such mergers serve only to enrich investors at the expense of workers, passengers, and communities across the nation.
Railroad Workers United (RWU)'s steering committee adopted a resolution outlining its opposition to the pending Union Pacific (UP)-Norfolk Southern (NS) deal, noting that rail mergers "have more often than not been fraught with inefficiencies, confusion, service disruptions, clogged terminals, staffing shortages, exhausted workers, and general malaise."
RWU "opposes this UP-NS merger as well as any and all takeovers, mergers, or other combinations of the remaining Class One railroads under the current system of private ownership," the resolution states.
"The only further consolidation of the continent's rail system that RWU would support is one that is publicly owned—how most nations' rail infrastructure is owned and operated today—and where the railroad workers are included in all aspects of managing railroad operations," the document concludes.
"Further corporate rail mergers today will do little for rail development but simply line the pockets of Wall Street investors at everyone else's expense."
RWU joins other prominent rail labor leaders and policy experts who have expressed deep concerns about the proposed takeover, which is part of a wave of mergers in the U.S. industrial sector this year under the Trump administration. The UP-NS merger still must receive federal approval.
"If the Union-Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger is approved, BNSF, the other western railroad—owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway—will almost certainly pursue CSX, the other eastern railroad, to avoid being boxed out," Arnav Rao, a transportation policy analyst at the Open Markets Institute, warned in a piece for Washington Monthly last week.
"If the United States is serious about reshoring manufacturing, it cannot afford to let its rail system become a duopoly," Rao added. "Allowing Union Pacific to absorb Norfolk Southern would leave just two national carriers, each with incalculable leverage over customers, workers, and regulators."
The day the merger proposal was announced last month, SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD)—the largest railroad operating union in the U.S.—said it has "every intention to oppose" the deal, pointing to UP's record of "hostility" toward organized labor, willingness to lay off workers even during good periods for the industry, and "troubling safety record."
In a statement on Monday, RWU called on "all shipping groups, passenger train advocates, environmentalists, and especially railroad workers and our unions to oppose further mergers of rail corporations."
Pointing to the infamous robber barons of the Gilded Age, RWU organizer Matt Weaver said that "such concentration of wealth and power among a handful of men was not a good idea then and it is not a good idea today."
"They had a stranglehold on the economy and the rail workforce," said Weaver. "Further corporate rail mergers today will do little for rail development but simply line the pockets of Wall Street investors at everyone else's expense."
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New GOP Senate Leader Is a Former Lobbyist Who Has Taken Aim at Social Security
Sen. John Thune "has called for taking the debt limit hostage to force cuts to Social Security," warned one defender of the nation's most effective anti-poverty program.
Nov 13, 2024
Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected Sen. John Thune of South Dakota—a former corporate lobbyist and close ally of Sen. Mitch McConnell—as the leader of their conference for the upcoming term, when the GOP will have a 53-seat majority.
Republican lawmakers chose Thune over Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who was favored by allies of President-elect Donald Trump.
"Senators have received angry phone calls from constituents demanding to know how their representatives plan to vote, following MAGA world's embrace of Scott," The Washington Post reported. The leadership election was conducted via secret ballot.
In a statement Wednesday, Thune said he is "extremely honored to have earned the support" of the Senate GOP conference and stressed that "this Republican team is united behind President Trump's agenda."
"Our work starts today," Thune added.
"It's a new day in the United States Senate."
After being elected Senate Republican Leader, Sen. John Thune says, “We are excited to reclaim the majority and to get to work with our colleagues in the House to enact President Trump’s agenda.” https://t.co/sMMVVx2PxT pic.twitter.com/GylMysaA3V
— ABC News (@ABC) November 13, 2024
Before winning election to the Senate in 2004, Thune worked as a lobbyist for several sectors including the railroad industry. The Lever reported last year that as part of his lobbying work for the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern (DM&E) Railroad, Thune "helped the company procure a $230 million loan from the Federal Railroad Administration."
"In 2015, Thune reprised his advocacy for the rail industry, leading an effort to repeal an Obama administration regulation requiring improved, electronic braking systems on some hazmat trains," the outlet added. "The following year, he received the first-ever 'Railroad Achievement Award' presented by the Association of American Railroads, the industry's main lobbying group."
Thune is also "one of the biggest recipients of oil and gas money in Congress," the youth-led Sunrise Movementnoted Wednesday following his election as leader of the incoming GOP Senate.
Over the course of his Senate career, Thune has received more than $1.16 million in campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry, according to the campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets.
Thune's top contributor between 2019 and 2024 was the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the right-wing pro-Israel lobbying group.
"Thune has called for taking the debt limit hostage to force cuts to Social Security."
Thune will take the reins of the Senate GOP conference as the party readies another round of tax cuts for the rich and large corporations—one of Trump's top priorities. Thune is a leading advocate of repealing the estate tax, a move that would benefit a small number of wealthy Americans.
Congress is also barreling toward another potentially damaging fight over the debt ceiling, which is set to be reinstated on January 2, 2025.
Thune has previously expressed support for leveraging the debt limit—and the threat of a catastrophic default—to secure steep cuts to federal spending and possible changes to Social Security such as raising the retirement age, which would slash benefits across the board.
Social Security Works, a progressive advocacy group, voiced alarm over Thune's debt ceiling stance following his election as Senate Republican leader on Wednesday.
"Thune has called for taking the debt limit hostage to force cuts to Social Security," Nancy Altman, the group's president, said in a statement.
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Residents Evacuated After 'Dangerous' Chemical Leak From Railcar in Ohio
"I tasted and smelled it," a resident said. "It was burning my throat and eyes."
Sep 25, 2024
Residents near a toxic chemical leak from a railcar in a small town in southwestern Ohio remained under evacuation orders on Wednesday even after the leak had been contained.
A leak of styrene, a chemical used in plastic and rubber production, was discovered Tuesday afternoon in Whitewater Township, Ohio, about 16 miles west of Cincinnati. Video showed the chemical spewing from the top of a railcar reportedly owned by Genesee & Wyoming, a U.S.-based multinational.
Local authorities told residents within one-half mile of the incident to evacuate—210 households, covering the towns of Hooven and Cleves, which have a combined population of roughly 3,800—and those just outside that area to seal up their homes and shelter in place. A local alert called the situation "dangerous."
By Wednesday, the leak had been plugged but roads in the area were closed, as were the district's schools, as air quality tests were undertaken.
There have been no reported injuries but styrene is known to disrupt the nervous system, causing symptoms such as "tiredness, feeling drunk, slowed reaction time, concentration problems, and balance problems," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is also a possible carcinogen, the CDC says.
"I tasted and smelled it," Marcus Greer, a Hooven resident, told The New York Times. "It was burning my throat and eyes."
A dangerous chemical leak in Ohio has prompted school closures and evacuation orders in Whitewater Township. pic.twitter.com/DDuI4Hgp1I
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) September 25, 2024
The cause of the accident is unclear. Local authorities have said that they are focused on immediate public safety concerns and will conduct a thorough investigation later.
There was no derailment or fire. Authorities initially said that they were concerned about an explosion, but by Tuesday evening they had said that was no longer a concern. They've used firetrucks to spray the railcar down with water to keep it cool, and have managed to separate the railcar from the rest of the train. Other railcars on the train were also carrying styrene.
It is not the first such incident in the area. A styrene leak from a railcar occurred in Cincinnati in August 2005 after it was left to heat up for five months, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
The incident that was on many residents' minds following Tuesday's accident was more recent. In February 2023, a Norfolk Southern railcar carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, setting off fires and leading to a controlled chemical burn of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen. Chemicals released that week spread to 16 states, later research showed. East Palestine is some 300 miles from Whitewater Township.
Following Tuesday's accident, local residents worried that they wouldn't get the cleanup help they needed.
"We are Hooven, Ohio," said Greer, a fourth-generation resident. "They will ignore us."
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The Privatized US Rail System Is a Disaster. A New Report Makes Case for a Public Takeover
A transition to public ownership could create millions of new jobs, curb planet-warming emissions, protect public health, and slash shipping costs.
Sep 17, 2024
In recent years, the United States' rail system has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
In East Palestine, Ohio, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials wrecked, sparking a public health crisis and national outcry. More rail workers have been killed on the job in notoriously unsafe conditions. Train after train has derailed.
Such disasters have come as no surprise to rail workers on the frontlines, who have long warned that the corporate-dominated U.S. system is a threat to public safety, employees, and the climate.
But a new report argues it doesn't have to be that way—and envisions an alternative: a publicly owned rail system that saves money, creates jobs, protects workers and the public, and aids the badly needed transition to a green transportation system.
"The structure of the railroad industry in the United States constitutes a massive and ongoing missed opportunity," wrote Kira McDonald, a fellow at the Climate and Community Institute and the lead author of "From Margins to Growth: The Economic Case for a Public Rail System," an analysis published Tuesday by the Public Rail Now campaign and Railroad Workers United.
"Freight service is in decline, and passenger service lags enormously behind international peers," McDonald continued. "Long-term trends of decreased freight service, decreased market share, and decreased employment have accelerated in recent years, particularly with the advent of precision-scheduled railroading (PSR) across most Class 1 railroads. In many ways, these are predictable consequences of how the industry is structured: as a set of massive, largely underregulated, regional duopolies."
"Public operation predominates among the most successful and intensely used rail systems internationally."
Just a handful of private companies control the majority of the U.S. freight rail network, leaving large swaths of the country with access to just one or two privatized railroads. The heavily concentrated rail industry's model of maintaining "supernormal profits" and delivering for shareholders by slashing investment, McDonald wrote, runs directly counter to public priorities, including expanded passenger service.
Amtrak, the United States' passenger rail corporation, is managed as a for-profit company and "runs passenger service on tracks that are typically owned by the private Class 1 railroads," McDonald observed. While private railroads are by law required to give preferential treatment to Amtrak's passenger trains over freight, "this has rarely been enforced," leading to often terrible performance.
Bringing the U.S. rail system under public ownership, the new report argues, would be transformational, allowing for greater investment in passenger and freight rail and thus helping to shift away from costly and heavily polluting on-road transportation.
The report estimates that under an ambitious reform scenario that entails a publicly owned high-speed passenger rail network and other major developments, the U.S. by 2050 "could save up to $400 billion annually on shipping costs; avert over $190 billion annually in averted public health, environmental, and fiscal costs; create 180,000 new jobs in the railroad sector; and create up to four million other new jobs throughout the economy through indirect economic effects."
Transforming the U.S. rail system is almost certainly a "climate necessity," McDonald argued, noting that "current plans to decarbonize transportation within the U.S., particularly on a timeline consistent with even 2°C of warming, are extremely tenuous, to the point of implausibility."
Massively shifting passenger and freight transport to rail could help the U.S. avoid the "equivalent to 2% of the world's remaining carbon budget to maintain a 50% chance of staying within 1.5°C of warming, as of 2023," McDonald wrote.
While the report does not detail precisely how U.S. railroads should be brought under public ownership, it notes that "a comparative
analysis of railroad institutions and international practices indicate the promise of public ownership, particularly when paired with
integrated public operation."
"Public operation predominates among the most successful and intensely used rail systems internationally," pointing to Switzerland, South Korea, and Germany as examples of countries with rail systems that are largely owned by the public.
Tommy Carden, associate director of the Green Locomotive Project at Warehouse Workers for Justice, said in a statement that the new report "clearly demonstrates that under public ownership, working Americans would benefit enormously."
"Class 1 railroads are hoarding wealth that could be used to invest in and expand the rail industry," said Carden. "We must continue to advocate for the massive amounts of infrastructure that rail electrification will require while also pushing for the adoption of low-emission locomotives built by union workers as we continue to work towards achieving full rail electrification."
Eric Basir, a union steward with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, said he has witnessed firsthand "how private ownership of railroads is responsible for the destruction of our environment and good union jobs."
"It will only worsen," Basir added, "until the people who live in this country have control and accountability powers over the railroads."
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New Report Argues Private Rail Is a Train Wreck, Public Ownership Needed
"Our nation's rail system is in disarray," an expert said. "Dominated by a small group of giant for-profit companies, it is imperiling the health and safety of workers and communities."
Jul 01, 2024
Railword Workers United and a Brown University fellow on Monday published a white paper calling for the institution of a public rail system to replace America's corporate railroad giants.
The 110-page white paper, written by Brown University undergraduate Maddock Thomas and published as part of RWU's Public Rail Now campaign, argues that U.S. railroad corporations such as BNSF, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, and CSX have failed on safety, workers' rights, service, electrification, and expanding capacity to meet rising freight demand.
Instead of using profits to invest in critical infrastructure, the railroads have lined shareholder pockets with dividends and buybacks, Thomas wrote, advocating for a public system where that money could be spent to improve safety and decarbonize freight transport, among other goals.
Thomas M. Hanna, research director at the Democracy Collaborative, called for democratic, public ownership of railroads in a Public Rail Now statement.
"At a time when we need it most, our nation's rail system is in disarray," Hanna said. "Dominated by a small group of giant for-profit companies, it is imperiling the health and safety of workers and communities, providing poor service for customers, abandoning growth and development, and stalling the expansion of passenger rail services."
"These lands were given under a promise of providing a 'public highway' operated in the public interest, a deal that today's Class 1s have inherited along with their predecessors' easements... Perhaps it is time for Congress to retake control of our public rights-of-way."
The frequency of rail accidents rose by 28% between 2013 and 2022, which many critics attribute to the Precision Scheduled Railroading system that's become the industry standard. Thomas wrote that the system prioritizes "speed over safety."
Despite the alarming trend, the industry has lobbied against safety-minded legislation such as the Railway Accountability Act proposed by senators last year following a disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The industry pushed against reforms strongly in the year after the disaster and that lobbying has continued in recent months, according to Jacobin.
The current system has led to precarity and difficulty for railway workers. The number of jobs in the industry has gone down over the last 10 years, with nearly 30% of workers having been laid off since 2015, Thomas found. Railway workers also face tough conditions, with unpredictable schedules and forced overtime—some of the subjects of a 2022 labor dispute that ended with the controversial intervention of President Joe Biden.
The white paper emphasizes the underinvestment that private rail ownership has allowed. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that rail freight will nearly double by 2035. This growing demand has long been understood, but not acted on. A 2008 report commissioned by the Surface Transportation Board, a federal agency, found that the aforementioned major rail companies—called "Class 1" railroads—needed to spend $135 billion by 2035 to build up infrastructure to meet incoming demand.
They did not, the white paper says.
"Instead, the Class 1s spent $196 billion on buybacks and dividends for shareholders between 2010 and 2020," Thomas wrote.
Thomas presented a historical case for public rail. In the late 1800s, hundreds of millions of acres of public land, as well as other subsidies, were granted to railroad companies on the condition that their services benefited the public. Thomas wrote that the land grants were provided with the understanding that the railways would be like public highways, and that the federal government to this day "retains a reversionary interest of ownership and control" over the rights-of-way.
"There is a compelling case that every railroad that sits on a right-of-way granted from Congress merely possesses an easement over public land," he wrote. "Furthermore, Congress reserved the right to 'add to, alter, amend' the terms of its land grants. Ultimately, these lands were given under a promise of providing a 'public highway' operated in the public interest, a deal that today's Class 1s have inherited along with their predecessors' easements. One might argue that the Class 1s failed to live up to this deal and that perhaps it is time for Congress to retake control of our public rights-of-way."
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'Betrayal of Labor': Biden Nominates Ex-Trump Official to Amtrak Board
"This appointment reads less like an oversight and more like a slap in the face to those who championed worker safety and stronger regulations," said Railroad Workers United.
May 03, 2024
Rail workers voiced outrage Thursday after U.S. President Joe Biden quietly nominated a former Trump administration official with a history of supporting deregulation to Amtrak's board of directors, a move that one alliance of unions called a "slap in the face."
Ronald Batory, who has ties to the rail industry, served as head of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under former President Donald Trump, who aggressively slashed transport and rail safety regulations during his four years in office—laying the groundwork for disasters such as the East Palestine, Ohio crash.
The Associated Press notes that before serving at the FRA, Batory was president and chief operating officer of Conrail, "a service provider for the CSX and Norfolk Southern freight railroads." Norfolk Southern operated the train that derailed in East Palestine last year, spilling toxic chemicals and sparking a public health crisis.
In 2019, Batory faced backlash from rail unions for withdrawing a proposed rule aimed at establishing mandatory crew sizes on freight and passenger trains.
"President Donald Trump, [Department of Transportation] Secretary Elaine Chao, and FRA Administrator Ron Batory have taken sides, and it's with the railroads that want to eliminate operating crew members to the detriment of rail safety and to the detriment of the communities through which our members operate trains," SMART Transportation Division said at the time.
"Clearly, the railroad CEOs have their folks in power with President Trump and his administration," the union added. "This action should put an end to any thoughts that this president and this administration is supportive of railroad workers."
Earlier this month, Biden's FRA finalized a rule requiring two-person crews on trains with limited exceptions. The reform received praise from railway workers and their allies.
But an organization representing rail workers across the U.S. said Biden's decision to nominate Batory to the board of Amtrak—the nation's passenger railroad company—calls into question the president's commitment to worker and rail safety.
"Batory, renowned for his role in loosening rail safety regulations during a tenure that critics link to subsequent rail disasters like East Palestine, is now poised to shape Amtrak's future," Railroad Workers United (RWU) wrote on social media late Thursday. "Remember the 2022 rail workers' debacle? When labor unions hoped for Biden's support, and instead got a presidential shove to accept a contract that many felt skirted around their key demands? It's almost poetic then, how Biden's nomination of Batory seems to echo that same disregard."
"The message to labor seems clear: Loyalty and votes might get you a seat at the table, but don't count on staying there if bigger political machinations are at play," RWU added. "With Batory's track record, this appointment reads less like an oversight and more like a slap in the face to those who championed worker safety and stronger regulations. It's as if the administration is keen on maintaining a tradition—disappointing the very base that arguably played a pivotal role in securing their position. Let's brace ourselves for more 'strategic' decisions that may just reroute us back to the past, disregarding those who handle the daily grind on our railroads."
Well, it seems @POTUS has truly outdone himself this time, nominating Ronald L. Batory—yes, the deregulation aficionado from the Trump era—to the @Amtrak Board of Directors. https://t.co/dVMWEApL5D
— Railroad Workers United ✊ (@railroadworkers) May 3, 2024
Biden also nominated Elaine Marie Clegg, the CEO of Valley Regional Transit, to an Amtrak board position.
Clegg and Batory must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Railway Age contributing editor Frank Wilner wrote Thursday that Batory could face a Democratic "hold" on his nomination in the Senate "given that many in rail labor are unhappy" with his withdrawal of the train crew rule during his tenure as FRA administrator.
Ross Grooters, a Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen member and co-chair of RWU, said Thursday that Biden's nomination of Batory "is a betrayal of labor, arguably bigger than the 2022 contract dispute."
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Norfolk Southern CEO Got a Pay Boost After Toxic East Palestine Crash
"We need full compensation for the families and workers affected by the East Palestine train derailment—not a $3.6 million raise for its CEO," wrote Sen. Ed Markey.
Feb 27, 2024
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw got a large raise last year after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio that devastated that community. Shaw's total compensation rose by 37% in 2023, which put it at over $13 million for the year.
The train derailment occurred in February of last year and exposed the community to toxic chemicals that caused a large fire. Though there were no human fatalities, the wreck sparked grave public health concerns and the company has faced major criticisms for what have been described as lax safety practices.
Jonathon Long, general chairman of the American Rail System Federation (ARSF) of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED), wrote about the problems with the rail company in a letter last year.
"I am writing to share with you the level of disregard that Norfolk Southern has for the safety of the railroad's workers, its track structure, and East Palestine and other American communities where NS operates," he wrote. "They gamble with your money, and you hold all the risk if they lose by putting a toxic train in the ditch in your community."
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) criticized Shaw's compensation raise in a tweet on Monday.
A year later Norfolk Southern is still more focused on its bottom line than the safety of the communities it serves. We need full compensation for the families& workers affected by the East Palestine train derailment—not a $3.6 million raise for its CEO. https://t.co/1h74XgSvBh
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) February 27, 2024
Shaw's compensation increase last year came despite the fact the company's net income decreased by 44% in 2023. The company also increased its spending on lobbying by 30% last year. A group of shareholders from the firm Ancora Holdings is trying to replace Shaw and other members of the company's management with new leadership, because it doesn't feel Shaw is leading the company in the right direction.
"It's alarming that the board rewarded Mr. Shaw with a massive raise and total compensation of $13.4 million during the same year he presided over industry-worst operating results, sustained underperformance, and a tone-deaf response to the derailment in East Palestine," the group told CNN in a statement. "This failure of corporate governance … reinforces the need for sweeping changes to Norfolk Southern’s well-paid board."
The Department of Justice sued Norfolk Southern for violating the Clean Air Act last year, and the Supreme Court ruled in June of last year that a former Norfolk Southern employee who alleged he developed colon cancer after being exposed to hazardous chemicals could proceed with a lawsuit.
It remains to be seen how long Shaw will be in charge of Norfolk Southern, but the company has certainly had a tumultuous year since the disaster in East Palestine, and it doesn't seem he's yet paid a major price for what's happened under his leadership.
"Mr. Shaw and his boardroom allies have no credible plan and no viable record to run on," the investors from Ancora told CNN.
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A Year After Ohio Disaster, Renewed Calls for Rail Safety Legislation
"Folks like us, who live along or near the tracks, refuse to be treated as collateral damage in the way of big railroads' profits," said Congressman Chris Deluzio.
Feb 02, 2024
On the eve of the first anniversary of a toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, residents, lawmakers, and members of U.S. President Joe Biden's administration are renewing calls for Congress to swiftly pass federal legislation boosting rail safety.
In a Friday letter, U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) urged House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to "bring the Railway Saftey Act to the floor for a vote before Congress adjourns for the August recess," highlighting that the bill is backed by Democratic and Republican lawmakers as well as the Biden administration and former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential frontrunner.
Deluzio, who introduced the House version of the bill with Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), noted that the Norfolk Southern train derailed and released hazardous materials "less than a mile from the Pennsylvania state line and the homes and farms of my constituents."
"Without dwelling on the resulting health problems, environmental scare, and general lack of trust that I still regularly hear from my constituents, I instead want to empathize that we cannot accept congressional inaction, and how the February 3, 2023 derailment could have been much worse," the congressman wrote. "Folks like us, who live along or near the tracks, refuse to be treated as collateral damage in the way of big railroads' profits."
"Over the last two centuries, railroad companies have wielded their power and influence to protect their profits and avoid commonsense safety measures, allowing them to cut corners and pad the pockets of their corporate shareholders at the expense of the American people," he explained. "After the East Palestine derailment, the big railroad lobby sprang into action once again and lobbied members of Congress—directing them to do nothing to make rail safer and risk cutting into their profits."
The Railway Saftey Act—led in the Senate by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and JD Vance (R-Ohio)—contains provisions to enhance safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, reduce the risk of wheel bearing failures, require well-trained two-person crews, force carriers to face higher fines for wrongdoing, support communities impacted by disasters, and invest in safety improvements.
Brown and Vance have also issued fresh calls for action this week.
"Over the last year, I've visited East Palestine repeatedly, and our staff is there even more often," Brown said Tuesday. "Each time, we ask residents what we can do. They want the support and the compensation they are owed, but they do not want this derailment to define them. I don't want that either, and I don't want any other community in Ohio or around the country to have to deal with a disaster like this ever again."
"As I've told the people of East Palestine—and as I keep telling them: I'm here for the long haul," he added. "I will always fight for the people of East Palestine. I will always fight to hold Norfolk Southern accountable. And I will always fight to make our railways safer."
As Nexstar's Reshad Hudson reported Tuesday:
Vance says he's working with Brown to get the needed support for the bill.
"It's not going to eliminate every train crash, but it hopefully can make these things much less common because they happen way too often,” Vance said.
According to Roll Call, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters this week that his department has "done our part" and "we are pressing industry to do their part, Congress needs to act as well."
"Any congressional leader of any party who is serious about railroad safety should support funding for railroad safety inspections... and should support the Railway Safety Act," he said.
While the outlet noted that delays in the House are partly tied to a forthcoming national Transportation Safety Board investigation report, the bill's sponsors and Buttigieg are largely blaming industry opposition, with the secretary saying that "in the past, there have been times when Congress stood up against the railroad lobby... they should do that now."
The White House announced this week that Biden plans to visit East Palestine sometime in February "to meet with residents impacted by the Norfolk Southern train derailment and assess the progress that his administration has helped deliver in coordination with state and local leaders to protect the community and hold Norfolk Southern accountable."
The White House also reiterated the administration's support for the Railway Safety Act—a bill that is backed by workers but also contains loopholes that "you can run a freight train through," as Eddie Hall, national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, warned last year.
Other measures before Congress include the Railway Accountability Act—led by Brown along with Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who are also fighting to pass the Railway Safety Act.
Demands for congressional action on rail safety and more have also continued to pour out of East Palestine and surrounding communities—particularly from people who remain displaced and are suffering a wide range of symptoms.
"What I've been experiencing is some of the fear that I've never known in almost all of my 70 years," Stella Gamble, a grandmother of nine who lives less than a mile from the derailment, said in a testimony shared by The Real News Network. "I am so afraid for my grandchildren and for the other children in this town. My granddaughters have rashes on their skin. They've been having female issues. They get massive headaches."
"I think that the whole thing behind everything that's happened here is the same as it is everywhere else in this country. It's all about the money," Gamble added. "Everything about it is the money, and they will gladly sacrifice a few thousand Appalachians to keep their trains going through here... We're just a sacrifice. That's how I feel. And I feel like my grandkids are being sacrificed, too."
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