Rail & Labor News from RWU
| | Weekly Digest Number 18 - May 5, 2026 | | 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: They’re calling it consolidation, but eleven agreements turning into two looks a lot like leverage getting folded up and put on a shelf. Stretch it out ten years and “tentative” starts to feel permanent, right about the time the details start to matter. SMART-TD and BLET didn’t build their strength by simplifying it.. Rail labor has seen enough cycles to know, the cleaner the deal looks on paper, the harder it is to find your footing when the ground starts to move. | |
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Progressive Railroading / April 27th
CPKC on Friday announced it reached new tentative agreements with the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Works-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET).
The two pacts consolidate 11 existing contracts across the Class I’s U.S. network into two new long-term hourly agreements, CPKC officials said in a press release.
Each of the tentative pacts would be in effect for 2025 to 2034 and cover about 1,700 train and engine service (T&E) employees in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. The SMART-TD agreement covers conductors, brakemen and other T&E workers, while the BLET pact covers locomotive engineers and other T&E employees.
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Trains Magazine via Yahoo! Finance / April 28th
The Association of American Railroads delivered good news this month: U.S. rail volume turned a corner in March, which was the best March since 2019 and the highest monthly average volume since October 2022.
The long-awaited rebound may have finally arrived. March was the third straight month of gains for carload traffic, which was up 1.7% for the year - or 2.9% when coal is taken out of the equation. Intermodal, meanwhile, had its second-highest March volume on record.
AAR emphasized that the resurgence could be temporary, given the conflict in Iran, the related spike in energy prices, and potential economic collateral damage. But let's assume, for the sake of argument, that the strength continues as the year goes on. Will the U.S. Class I railroads be ready to meet demand?
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Mexico Business / April 23rd
The Mexican federal government has acquired 100% ownership of the Suburban Train system, transitioning the metropolitan transit network from private to public management. The transaction, valued at approximately MX$5.9 billion (US$345.5 million), follows months of negotiations between the National Bank of Works and Public Services (BANOBRAS) and private concessionaires CAF and Omnitren.
The announcement was made during a morning press conference on Thursday, April 23, 2026, by President Claudia Sheinbaum and Jorge Mendoza, Director General, BANOBRAS. Sheinbaum confirmed that the system, originally launched during the administration of Vicente Fox, will be rebranded as the “Felipe Ángeles Train.”
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High Speed Rail Alliance / April 24th
Please ask your senators and representative to oppose cuts to passenger rail funding.
The latest budget proposal the White House sent to Congress cuts funding for the Federal Railroad Administration by 81%. It’s urgent that you tell your Member of Congress to invest more, not less, in passenger rail.
The voices of passenger rail riders, business leaders and the elected officials in the communities that the trains serve have given members of Congress the resolve to prevent proposed cuts in the past. Your message now will urge them to continue to do so.
| | Editor's Note: While undoubtedly the amount of cargo theft has skyrocketed in recent years, the rail industry itself and its operating plan known as Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) is largely responsible for the spike. By butchering the traditional railroad police force and building super long trains, then lacking sufficient train crew to keep the trains moving, millions of containers of merchandise have become sitting ducks, easy prey for waiting thieves. Criminals who never gave a thought prior, have come to see the railroad as an easy lucrative source of booty. Trains - due to the self-inflicted antics of the Class One carriers - are now on their radar big time. And we the tax-payers are now footing the bill through higher prices at the store and taxes to pay for law enforcement. | |
Progressive Railroading / April 29th
A coalition of freight, retail and manufacturing groups recently sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) urging the use of federal funding to combat a sharp rise in cargo theft and organized retail crime (ORC).
The letter is signed by 24 organizations, including the Association of American Railroads, American Trucking Associations, Intermodal Association of North America, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, Supply Chain Federation and UPS.
The coalition called on the DOJ to fully implement the funding provided by Congress in the fiscal-year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act to establish dedicated special prosecutors focused on combating supply chain fraud, cargo theft, ORC and related financial fraud schemes, including gift card fraud.
| | Editor's Note: They can call it a tribute, but the timing doesn’t land as accidental. Union Pacific Railroad met at the White House, wrote a check for the ballroom, and now rolls out a locomotive tied to the same name while a merger sits in front of the Surface Transportation Board. Maybe it’s coincidence, but rail labor has seen how these moments line up. When the symbolism gets louder, it’s usually because something bigger is moving behind it. | |
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Trains Magazine / May 1st
Union Pacific’s star-spangled locomotive honoring President Donald Trump became an instant lightning rod on social media after it was introduced in March.
ET44AC No. 4547 — a road number honoring Trump’s two terms, as the 45th and 47th president — drew its share of both cheers and jeers online, which should come as no surprise in today’s polarized climate.
“We knew that some people weren’t going to like it,” CEO Jim Vena said in an interview last week.
But the point of the locomotive, Vena says, is simply to honor the 250th anniversary of American independence.
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| Locomotive Geek / April 29th | | |
Trains Magazine via Yahoo! News / April 30th
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has reiterated its call for an advanced train control system in its report on a 2023 collision between two BNSF Railway trains in New Westminster, B.C.
"This investigation presents another of example of the risks posed by the lack of physical fail-safe defenses against not following railway signal indications, a TSB Watchlist issue," the agency said in a press release.
The 2:22 a.m. incident on Nov. 19, 2023 saw northbound freight train R-NEW804 pass a stop signal and collide with southbound train M-VBCEVE1-18, which was entering a siding.
| | Editor's Note: They’re not just filing a merger, they’re setting the terms of approval before the Board even rules. Union Pacific Railroad is telling the Surface Transportation Board the deal only works if meaningful access stays off the table. If a merger can’t survive real competition, that’s the point, not the problem. We’ve seen how this ends, the deal clears, the options narrow, and everyone pretends there was no other way. | |
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Trains Magazine / May 1st
Union Pacific will walk away from its proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern if federal regulators order widespread trackage rights or line sales as part of their approval of the $85 billion deal.
The only exception: If the combined railroad is required to spin off one of its duplicative main lines between Kansas City and St. Louis. If the merger is approved, UP would have a pair of K.C.-St. Louis routes, including its former Missouri Pacific via Jefferson City, Mo., and NS’ former Wabash via Moberly, Mo.
The information from the railroads’ merger agreement was disclosed on Thursday in the revised merger application they filed with the Surface Transportation Board.
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| Editor's Note: Opposition isn’t going away, it’s settling in. Canadian National Railway is saying the rewrite still misses what the Surface Transportation Board already called out, the competitive piece isn’t there. That’s not a technical miss, that’s the whole test. If the Board lets that slide, the rule isn’t a rule, it’s a suggestion. | |
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Trains Magazine via Yahoo! Finance / April 30th
The revised merger application that Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern submitted to federal regulators today (April 30) did not sway the opinions of other Class I railroads or trade groups that represent shippers who are opposed to the $85 billion deal.
Canadian National said the application failed to address concerns that the Surface Transportation Board raised when it rejected the initial application in January.
"Despite having addressed certain deficiencies, the Applicants have failed to materially improve the amended application in ways that address the competitive harms of the merger, despite the Surface Transportation Board's clear encouragement to do so," CN said in a statement. "Most notably, they have not remedied the significant competitive harms posed by the merger, nor have they offered any meaningful competitive enhancements as required under the Board's new rules. These failures should be fatal to the application."
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| Editor's Note: They’re selling speed like it settles the question. Union Pacific Railroad says a day or two comes off transit, but the Surface Transportation Board didn’t kick this back for timing, it asked about competition. Faster lanes don’t mean much if there are fewer choices on them. The question hasn’t changed, who benefits when one railroad owns more of the map. | |
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AP News / April 30th
Union Pacific hopes regulators will be convinced this time that its $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern that it detailed for the second time Thursday will be good for the country.
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board rejected Union Pacific’s initial application as incomplete in January because regulators wanted more details about how the deal would affect the competitive balance between the five remaining major freight railroads and the impact on customers. The STB has 30 days to decide whether to accept this application, and then it will move forward into its detailed review of the deal that will likely last more than a year.
Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said the new application makes an even stronger case for the benefits of the merger that he believes would shave a day or two off the delivery time for many shipments because they would no longer have to be handed off between two railroads in the middle of the country.
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| Editor's Note: It is great news to finally see some of the rail unions taking some initiative to stop the UP-NS merger. Still, at least five other rail unions have signed onto this monstrosity in return for a flimsy "jobs guarantee." (It is ironic to see our unions align themselves with Class One rail carriers and wealthy conservative shippers, and yet we seem incapable of aligning ourselves with one another. This is the nature of the antiquated and archaic nature of the old craft union system that rail workers continue to be plagued with). RWU on the other hand came out swinging within ten days of the original announcement of the intent to merge, and has played a key role over the last 9 months in stimulating opposition from all sectors. See our most recent Special Bulletin from April 30th. | |
BLET / April 29th
A new coalition, launched today, unites a broad cross section of the U.S. economy in opposing the proposed merger of Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern rail lines. If allowed to move forward, the deal would create the largest consolidated railroad in U.S. history and give a single entity control over almost half of the nation’s rail traffic.
The Stop the Rail Merger Coalition, which represents major railroad operators, customers, and workers, warns the merger would reduce competition, drive up costs for American manufacturers, farmers and consumers, and inject new vulnerabilities into the nation’s workforce and supply chain, at a moment when affordability and resilience matter most.
The newly-formed group includes the American Chemistry Council, the American Farm Bureau Federation, Teamsters Rail Conference, BNSF Railway, CPKC Railway, Alliance for Chemical Distribution (ACD), National Industrial Transportation League (NITL), and Vinyl Institute. The Teamsters Rail Conference makes up the majority of the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern’s unionized workforce.
| | 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! | |
Local Union Communication Association / Event on May 12th
In this webinar, we’ll explore why understanding labor history isn’t optional; it’s essential. For union communicators, grounding members in the victories, losses, and strategies of the past equips us to build stronger solidarity, sharpen our messaging, and adapt time-tested tactics to today’s challenges. Educating membership connects our current campaigns to generations of working-class action and reinforces that our fight is part of a living story.
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The Guardian / May 1st
Thousands have joined an economic blackout for International Workers’ Day, as part of 3,500 “May Day Strong” events across the country. Organizers have called for “no school, no work, no shopping”, with walkouts, marches, block parties and demonstrations held outside of institutions such as the New York Stock Exchange.
On Friday afternoon in Manhattan, protesters from the youth-led Sunrise Movement chained themselves to the front of the stock exchange while more sat blocking the exits to the property. They were joined by about 100 protesters before being arrested and removed about an hour later. A small crowd remained, playing music and chanting: “Tax the rich!”
Sunrise protesters also led demonstrations in other cities that ended in arrests. In Portland, they occupied a Hilton hotel lobby where Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials were allegedly staying, and in Minneapolis, six Sunrise protesters were arrested for blocking a bridge.
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On this International Workers’ Day, we speak from a world becoming more unequal, more unstable, and increasingly hostile to workers’ rights.
What we face is not a series of isolated crises, but a convergence of forces reshaping the global economy and the balance of power between labour and capital. Geopolitical conflict, democratic backsliding, climate breakdown, rapid technological change, and rising costs of living are placing growing pressure on workers across our sectors.
At the same time, forces opposed to human rights, including labour rights, are gaining ground. Across regions, far-right political movements are promoting deregulation, weakening labour protections, and directly targeting trade unions. The space for organizing is shrinking. Fundamental rights, including freedom of association, collective bargaining, and the right to strike, are increasingly challenged, restricted, or ignored.
| | 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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