Rail & Labor News from RWU
| | Weekly Digest Number 44 - October 28, 2025 | | Welcome to the RWU Rail & Labor News! This news bulletin is produced and emailed out each Tuesday morning. We hope you find each week's news and information useful. If so, please share with co-workers, friends, and colleagues. If you like, you can sign them up to get all the news from RWU HERE. Or forward them the link. Got a hot tip? Please forward the article and a link to raillabornews@gmail.com. Note: If you read over this news bulletin each week, you will be sure to never miss the important news of what is going on in the railroad world from a worker's perspective! | | THIS WEEK'S RAIL AND LABOR NEWS | | Editor's Note: This week, we lost one of our own.. BNSF conductor Daniel Peterson, 52, struck and killed while between two trains in Columbus, Montana. He went to work as we all do, trusting the craft, the rules, and the quiet understanding that we’d come home again.. He didn’t. Every loss like this reminds us that the railroad still takes more than it gives, and that our silence is its accomplice. If we mean to honor Daniel, it won’t be with words, but with the courage to refuse routine danger and demand the change we’re owed. He deserves that much.. We all do. | |
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BLET / October 24
"The BLET is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Brother Daniel P. Peterson, age 52, who died on the morning of October 19 as a result of an incident while working as a conductor for BNSF Railway.
Brother Peterson was a proud and active member of BLET Division 232 in Laurel, Mont., where he had served faithfully for the past 12 years, including in the role of Division Chaplain. Since January 1, 2024, he had worked for BNSF on the MRL Subdivision. He began his railroad career with Montana Rail Link on April 1, 2013, as a locomotive engineer, following prior service with the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad.
“He was one of the people that you encounter during your career that left a lasting impression on what it is to be a genuinely kind person to all that he interacted with,” said Alex Hilde, Local Chairman of BLET Division 232. “Dan was someone who always showed up with a bright smile ready to take on the day and whatever it brought. He had the ability to turn even the worst of days into something enjoyable. He was loved and respected by all that he encountered and will be greatly missed by his family, community, and coworkers. Dan led his life through kindness in all of his interactions and outreach within his community and local Brotherhood.”
| | Editor's Note: Jim Vena is selling another “efficiency revolution,” this time by marrying Union Pacific to Norfolk Southern. We’ve heard this song before.. the same glossy promises that came with the CPKC merger: faster trains, better service, fewer headaches. What we got instead were longer trains, fewer jobs, and more gridlock dressed up as progress. Every merger starts with a handshake in a boardroom and ends with chaos in a yard. If this is efficiency, it’s the kind measured in dividends, not miles per hour.. and the rest of us are still waiting for the train that was supposed to arrive on time. | |
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Eric R Byer, Alliance for Chemical Distribution / October 20
For months, Union Pacific’s (UP) CEO Jim Vena has been on the offensive, touting possible benefits of the proposed merger between UP and Norfolk Southern (NS). He has spoken with POTUS 47, given speeches, and written op-eds to sway public opinion. In his arguments, there are familiar promises of increased transit times, reduced congestion, and the ability to ship longer distances on a streamlined, single network. It may look promising on the surface, but the reality would tell a very different story.
Just a few years ago, Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern merged, reducing the number of Class I railroads from seven to six. In their arguments for the merger, CP insisted there would be minimal overlap, more efficiencies, and a broader reach by the railroad, claiming it would improve service. Sound familiar?
Despite these promises, after the merger was approved, customers of freight rail experienced a myriad of service issues with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), including higher dwell times, missed switches, issues integrating with its information technology systems, and more. Even Vena voiced his own complaints at the time, stating, “We ran trains for a long time with no major headaches until you get the combination of CP and Kansas City.”
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| Editor's Note: Even the chemical industry.. hardly a band of radicals, can see what’s coming down the track. Another rail merger, another promise of “synergy,” and another slow bleed of competition and service. When shippers start sounding like organizers, you know the rot runs deep. The barons call it efficiency.. the rest of us call it monopoly. What they build in the name of progress isn’t a network, it’s a stranglehold on labor, industry, and the public alike. | |
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John Paul Hampstead / October 20
"The American chemicals industry, the third largest customer of the Class I railroads, has come out hard against the proposed merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern.
Chemicals industry lobbyists told FreightWaves in an interview that the burden of proof is on Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern to show how the merger would not only not degrade, but positively enhance competitiveness. Chemicals shippers are concerned that increases in transportation costs due to monopolistic consolidation in the railroad industry will harm their ability to compete in a global marketplace, potentially suppressing American chemicals exports.
The industry, represented by leaders from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), has articulated their concerns in a direct appeal to the Trump Administration, emphasizing the detrimental impact such a merger would have on U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and the broader economy."
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| Editor's Note: Five hundred more jobs gone, and another mill shuttered in the name of “market conditions.” Steelton once forged the rails that carried this country.. now it’s being melted down for shareholder value. Cleveland-Cliffs calls it strategy.. workers call it betrayal. Each closure is another hollowed town, another reminder that Wall Street doesn’t make steel, people do. The industry that built the tracks now can’t keep its own footing, and the only thing still booming is the stock price. | |
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Stuart Chirls / October 24
Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs will permanently close its Steelton, Pa. plant, one of only three major domestic producers of track rail in the U.S.
The facility in south-central Pennsylvania served by Norfolk Southern was idled in June due to weak demand and depressed pricing, the company said then in a letter to employees.
The closing, scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026, will eliminate 500 jobs, according to local media. Steelton had annual capacity of 300,000 net tons; Cleveland-Cliffs does not break out separate figures for rail sales. The company did not immediately respond to emails seeking more information.
Cleveland-Cliff’s stock has improved by 135% since the June announcement as the Cleveland-based company said it will expand its rare earths business, and make a deal with a foreign-based partner. Japan’s Nippon Steel acquired U.S. Steel for $15 billion earlier this year.
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| Editor's Note: Decades in the making, this is a great step forward to relieving some of the gridlock and chronic congestion in the nation's greatest rail city. But unfortunately, as the rate CREATE is moving, the proposed projects will not be completed for further decades to come. Meantime, the whole process is dependent upon public monies for construction, while the private railroads make huge profits that go to shareholders. While we are all in favor of a streamlined, efficient, and modernized rail system, this really is a classic case of corporate welfare. The Class Ones that own and control much of the Chicago trackage have been rolling in huge profits for years. | |
Progressive Railroading / October 20
CSX and the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program on Oct. 15 marked the first train crossing over the new Forest Hill Flyover, a CSX bridge above a critical intersection that will help improve freight- and passenger-rail service in the area.
By separating CSX tracks from those of Belt Railway Co. of Chicago, Metra and Norfolk Southern Railway, the project eliminates a long-standing bottleneck where 30 SouthWest Service Metra trains and 35 freight trains intersect daily along the Western Avenue Corridor in Chicago.
The new separation reduces congestion, minimizes delays and improves service across the region, CSX officials said in a press release.
| | Editor's Note: With five of the last 7 weeks reporting a decline in freight car loads moved, there seems to be a negative trend developing. How much of this is simply residual effects of PSR, and how much is to do with tariffs or a declining economy is hard to say. The coming months might tell the story... | |
David Lassen / October 23
U.S. freight rail traffic continued its recent downward trend during the week ending Oct. 18, 2025.
According to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, total weekly traffic was 498,462 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.3% from the same week a year ago. it was the fifth time in the last seven weeks that traffic has been below 2024 levels. The latest figure includes 224,244 carloads, up 0.3% over the same week in 2024, and 273,610 containers and trailers, down 4.8%.
For the year to date, the overall volume of 20,725,830 carloads and intermodal units is up 2.7% over the first 42 weeks of 2025. That includes 9,326,053 carloads, a gain of 2%, and 11,399,777 intermodal units, an increase of 3.2%.
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David Lassen / October 18
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Friday it would not accept the recommendations of a Presidential Emergency Board appointed to address the dispute between the Long Island Rail Road and five unions.
The unions, meanwhile, hailed the recommendations issued earlier in the day, which called for raises totaling 14% (uncompounded) over four years, retroactive to 2023, as well as a $3,000 lump-sum payment.
WPIX-TV reports the mediators appointed by President Donald Trump recommended raises of 3% in 2023 and 2024, 3.5% this year, and 4.5% in 2025. The board’s findings have not been posted on the National Mediation Board site that usually carries PEB reports, possibly because of the shutdown of the federal government.
The five unions involved — the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the Transportation Communications Union — represent almost half of the LIRR’s unionized work force.
| | Editor's Note: Transit and passenger rail is under across across the U.S. All rail workers have a vested interest in supporting adequate and proper funding for these crucial transport systems. | |
Illinois AFL-CIO
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, Pace and Regional Transit Authority (RTA) currently face a multi-million dollar fiscal cliff that will lead to service cuts, mass layoffs, and eliminated routes if left unaddressed. Illinois has the chance to demonstrate fiscal responsibility by passing a bill that includes both reforms and dedicated revenue, rather than kicking the can down the road.
It is the duty of our elected officials on behalf of the taxpayers, riders, and workers, from Carbondale to Rock Island to Chicago, to do things differently and address this problem head on with bold action before it becomes a dire crisis.
The Labor Alliance for Public Transportation, a coalition of labor unions representing transit workers in partnership with the Illinois AFL-CIO and Chicago Federation of Labor, supports reforms to transit that improve service, enhance safety, and keep transit affordable. Any transit bill also needs a secure, dedicated revenue stream to support a $1.5 billion investment.
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High Speed Rail Alliance / October 18
"The Gateway Project, the centerpiece of which is a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York City, has been terminated, President Trump said Wednesday at a White House news conference at which he addressed various subjects.
Two weeks ago, when federal funding for the project was merely “frozen,” we urged our members and readers to contact Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy to insist that the funding be un-frozen. This project, which depends on $16 billion in federal funds, is among the most important passenger rail projects in the country, possibly second only to California High Speed Rail. Its postponement or cancellation will harm the American economy and hurt real people."
| | Editor's Note: Like railroad engineers and trainmen, airline pilots are locked in a similar struggle to defend crew size minimums in the airline industry. We have a lot to learn from each other and can hopefully work together on this vital safety issue. | | |
Ries Simons, M.D., European Society of Aerospace Medicine Advisory Board; Declan Maher, M.D., Irish Aviation Authority; Roland Vermeiren, M.D., European Society of Aerospace Medicine EC Liaison Officer for the European Union Aviation Safety Agency; and Anthony Sverre Wagstaff, Ph.D., Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo / July
The aviation industry is exploring possibilities to operate extended long-haul flights with two pilots on the flight deck during critical flight phases and a single pilot flying during cruise flight while the other pilot is sleeping.
This extended minimum crew operations (eMCO) concept raises important aeromedical concerns: 1) a two-pilot flight deck is considered a main safety risk-mitigating factor, and eMCO would therefore necessitate a new aeromedical risk-assessment concept; 2) sensors and algorithms for monitoring physical and/or cognitive incapacitation aren’t available or insufficiently reliable; 3) scientific data of augmented long-haul flights isn’t valid for predicting effects of monotony and boredom or in-flight sleep and sleep inertia on alertness during eMCO cruise flight; and 4) medical conditions regarding urination, defecation, or menstruation may cause an unscheduled visit to the toilet of the single pilot flying during cruise flight, who then has to request the resting pilot to take over the controls.
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Luis Feliz Leon / October 20
We are on an inexorable trajectory of escalation. As President Donald Trump’s authoritarian attacks are increasing, working people are defying his abuses of power, refusing to live under the yoke of a wannabe strongman who seeks to bend society to the dictatorship of the privately owned Trump Organization. It’s not simply that Trump has the typical bossman’s bullying streak. He’s stranded the country somewhere between the bedlam of his whims and the corruption of a modern-day Gomorrah, down-zoned to the dregs of a Florida swamp. The people have had enough from the madman don in Mar-a-Lago.
| | NEWS FROM AROUND THE LABOR MOVEMENT | | Each week, RWU includes a few articles about advances and developments in the larger labor movement that are of interest to railroad workers. Got an artcile to submit for possible inclusion next week? Email it along to raillabornews@gmail.com. Thank you! | |
Association for Union Democracy
Do you know you have free speech rights within your union? The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, which applies to any union that has members in the private sector or at the post office, guarantees certain free speech rights for union members. This workshop will go over what your speech rights are, how to know if they have been violated, and how to enforce your rights.
When: Wednesday, November 5
Time: 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Eastern / 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Pacific
Cost: $10 No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.
This workshop will be hosted by union democracy attorneys Cathy Highet and Michael Goldberg. The workshop is in part based off of the book Democratic Rights for Union Members. These trainings will be held via Zoom.
| | Editor's Note: It is not everyday that you see a mayor of a major city call for a general strike of working people to take on the hedge fund managers, billionaires, stock holders, and capitalists of the USA. Things are changing! | | |
Sharelle B. McNair / October 20
Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson made the bold call for people of all backgrounds to come together and take a stand against President Donald Trump with a general strike during the second “No Kings” rally.
Johnson made the call during a powerful speech heard by thousands of rally participants in the Windy City, highlighting the need for people to put their differences aside and band together for the greater good of going against what he called Trump’s “tyranny,” the “ultra-wealthy,” and corporate greed, according to HuffPost.
“I’m calling on Black people, white people, Brown people, Asian people, immigrants, gay people, from around this country to stand up… We are going to make them pay their fair share in taxes to fund our school, to fund jobs, to fund healthcare, to fund transportation. Democracy will live on because of this generation. Are you ready to take it to the courts and to the streets?”
| | WEEKLY DERAILMENT DEPARTMENT | | Each Tuesday in this news bulletin, RWU does our best to present a picture of what has been happening over the course of the previous week in terms of derailments in North America, and investigation determinations of previous accidents. NOTE: This list is by no means comprehensive. Smaller and less consequential mishaps are generally not reported here. If the wreck results in injury or fatality, or is especially damaging/extreme, a full article will appear as a feature in the dozen or so rail articles above. Know of a train wreck? Please feel free to forward a link to raillabornews@gmail.com for possible inclusion next week. Thanks! |
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