Working People28 Elo 2025

Railroad workers explain why Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific mega-merger will be a 'disaster'

Railroad workers are sounding the alarm about the potentially catastrophic consequences of the proposed mega-merger of two of the nation's Class 1 freight rail companies. "Union Pacific said it would buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern in an $85-billion deal to create the country's first coast-to-coast freight rail operator," Reuters reported in July. "If approved, the deal would be the largest-ever buyout in the sector." If this giant merger goes through, what will it mean for railroad workers, customers, and for the general public? In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of six veteran railroaders and members of Railroad Workers United to get a workers' eye view of the proposed mega-merger and what it will mean for rail labor, the US supply chain, and for the public writ large. Speakers:

Ron Kaminkow is a member of Railroad Workers United, currently serving as a trustee, and he is also a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), Division 51 in Reno, Nevada. Kaminkow recently retired from Amtrak; prior to working in passenger rail, he worked on the freight rail system for Norfolk Southern and Conrail.
Jeff Kurtz was a railroad engineer and union member for 40 years and is a member of Railroad Workers United. He served as a union officer most of his career, including eight years as president of BLET Local 391 and chairman of the BLET Iowa State Legislative Board, where he oversaw safety and legislative matters for the union in the state for four railroads for 10 years. He retired in 2014 and served as state representative for one term in the Iowa House after winning the 2018 election in his House district.
Derek Masters is a member of Railroad Workers United and works as a conductor for a major Class 1 railroad, primarily in the Northeast. He is a member of SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD).
Matt Parker is a member of Railroad Workers United who works as a rank-and-file locomotive engineer, based in Nevada, with over 20 years of experience.
Matt Weaver is a founding member of Railroad Workers United and has been a member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (Teamsters) for 30 years. He serves as the BMWED legislative director for the state of Ohio.
Nick Wurst currently serves as general secretary of Railroad Workers United who works as a freight conductor and locomotive engineer, based in Massachusetts. Wurst started working for the railroad in 2019 as an intermodal worker and member of the Transportation Communication Union (TCU/IAM) and is currently a member of SMART-TD.

Additional links/info:

Railroad Workers United website, Facebook page, and X page
Railroad Workers United press release: "Railroad worker group opposes Class One rail mergers"
Michael Sainato, The Guardian, "Greater risk of toxic derailments if $85bn railroad merger is approved, warn unions"
Sabrina Valle, Shivansh Tiwary, & David French, Reuters, "Union Pacific to reshape US freight rail with $85 billion deal for Norfolk"
CNBC, "Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena & Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George on merger: Deal is 'great for America'"

Featured Music:

Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song

Credits:

Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(397)

Oil giant BP locks out workers at its last unionized refinery in US

For the last five months, oil giant British Petroleum (BP) has locked 800 workers out of their jobs at a crude oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana. The facility, located on the southwestern shore of Lake...

10 Elo 50min

Railroad jobs have "gotten worse" since Biden and Congress blocked workers from striking

In 2022, the United States nearly experienced its first national railroad strike in decades, until then-President Joe Biden, along with Democrats and Republicans in Congress, stepped in to block a str...

5 Elo 1h

Corporate profiteers destroyed journalism. Worker-owned media can save it.

When workers at the historic Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper hit the picket line in October of 2022, they had no idea that they would be on strike for over three years—or that the strike would end w...

30 Heinä 36min

Data centers are not a "red state" or "blue state" problem; they're a working-class problem

In so-called "red states" and "blue states" around the US, from rural areas to urban centers, the explosion of new data center projects is impacting residents in poor, working-class, and middle-class ...

15 Heinä 1h 15min

Train crashes destroyed their towns. Will yours be next?

10 years before the catastrophic train derailment and chemical disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, one of the deadliest rail disasters in North American history took place in the Canadian town of Lac-Mé...

6 Heinä 1h 12min

Toxic Avengers: America's poisoned and abandoned communities must stand together or die

From the explosion of AI data centers to the increasing number of toxic spills, explosions, and industrial disasters happening across the country, corporations and the government are turning the USA i...

1 Heinä 1h 8min

UAW becomes first major union to divest from Israel

At the 39th Constitutional Convention of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in Detroit, Michigan, union delegates debated and affirmed the aggressive direction the UAW has taken under current President Sha...

26 Kesä 1h 4min

FBI raids homes of Michigan students and workers for Palestine activism

On June 10, early in the morning, FBI agents raided the homes of individuals involved in Palestine solidarity activism at the University of Michigan. As Yarden Katz and Stephen M. Ward report at Mondo...

24 Kesä 25min