Background

On July 29, 2025, Union Pacific announced its intention to acquire Norfolk Southern. If approved by the National Transportation Safety Board, the merged railroad would be the largest in North America, worth $71.5 billion and running 50,000 miles across the full length of the continent.

The Teamsters Rail Conference is working to ensure that any potential merger serves the interests of all our members from the two carriers.

Below is more information about the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger and how it could impact members of the Teamsters Rail Conference.

Information on Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern

Teamsters at the Carriers

• The Teamsters Rail Conference represents nearly 20,000 members at Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, split between the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED).
• At Union Pacific, there are roughly 6,400 BLET locomotive engineers and 6,500 BMWED maintenance of way workers.
• This is approximately 39 percent of the railroad’s 32,973 total employees.
• At Norfolk Southern, there are 3,800 BLET locomotive engineers and 3,400 BMWED maintenance of way workers.
• This is approximately 36 percent of the railroad’s 20,000 total employees.
• In 2024, Union Pacific brought in $24.3 billion in revenue and $6.7 billion in profit.
• In 2024, Norfolk Southern brought in $12.1 billion in revenue and $2.6 billion in profit.

Government Concerns

Letter One: Bipartisan letter signed by 18 Senators — nine Republicans and nine Democrats — expressing concern about the proposed merger and asking the STB to closely scrutinize the impact it would have on competition and the supply chain if it is approved.

Letter Two: Letter signed by 47 House Republicans expressing concern about the proposed merger’s effect on competition and rail service, especially for agriculture customers. The letter asks the STB to closely scrutinize the merger to ensure it is in the public interest if approved.

Letter Three: Letter led by members of the House Labor Caucus and House Monopoly Busters Caucus requesting that the STB have UP-NS answer additional detailed questions as part of their merger application in several areas, including on worker protections, any plans to reduce headcount, and how UP will commit to protecting the workers that are part of the merger.

Major Concerns

• Both railroads — especially Union Pacific — have worrying track records when it comes to safety and protecting good union jobs.
• Union Pacific alone accounted for 1,602, or 31 percent, of the 5,452 railroad accidents and incidents reported in 2024.
• Between 2016 and 2025 there have been 13,560 railroad accidents. Union Pacific accounted for over 36 percent of them.
• Workplace fatalities occur among Union Pacific employees at an alarming rate.
  • Between 2016 and 2025, there were 67 employee on duty fatalities reported throughout the rail industry. Union Pacific accounted for 30 percent of these.

Recent examples include:

• A conductor who died in Ontario, Calif., from a grade-crossing accident in December 2025
• A conductor who was struck by a train in Nacogdoches, Texas, in June 2025
• Two workers were killed in December 2024 following a train derailment in Pecos, Texas
• An Arkansas worker was struck and killed by machinery in April 2024
• An engineer and conductor were killed in Southern California in September 2022 when a train collided with empty railcars
• Over the strong objections of the Teamsters Rail Conference, Union Pacific has moved forward with plans to use Mexican rail crews employed by Ferromex in Eagle Pass, Texas, to do work traditionally done by Teamsters railroaders.
• A member of one such crew was recently arrested for allegedly illegally trafficking people into the U.S.across the Southern Border.
• Ferromex workers have been credibly accused of smuggling illegal drugs from Mexico into America.
• In 2024, the Federal Railroad Administration was forced to halt a safety culture assessment at Union Pacific because the railroad was coaching workers on how to respond to federal auditors.
• Union Pacific has used excessive embargos — which are meant to ease congestion when rail networks are backed up — to disguise their workforce shortages.
• The Surface Transportation Board said this about Union Pacific’s refusal to provide information about its embargo use: “Rarely has a rail carrier engaged in such delay and obfuscation in response to the Board’s requests for information.”
• Norfolk Southern has failed to adequately update safety policies and procedures following its East Palestine catastrophe.
• The railroad estimates that it will spend over $1 billion addressing the fallout of the derailment.