Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LABOR NEWS—BLET urges regulators to reject Union Pacific—Norfolk Southern merger, (May 6, 2026)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

The union joined a broader coalition in opposition as railroads press the merger’s economic benefits in an amended filing.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has joined a coalition urging regulators to reject the proposed merger of Union Pacific Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation, characterizing the transaction as harmful to workers, communities, and the national supply chain. The coalition includes labor organizations, shippers, and industry groups that have organized to oppose the deal before the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Their opposition stands in contrast to the railroads’ amended application, which asserts the merger would generate growth, competition, and billions in annual savings for shippers.

Opposition. BLET announced on May 4, 2026, that it had joined the “Stop the Rail Merger Coalition,” a group comprising labor, business, and industry stakeholders opposed to the combination of the two Class I carriers. The coalition’s founding members include the Teamsters Rail Conference, the American Chemistry Council, the American Farm Bureau Federation, BNSF Railway, CPKC Railway, the National Industrial Transportation League, and others. The announcement followed the railroads’ April 2026 resubmission of their merger application to the STB after the agency rejected an earlier filing in January as incomplete. The coalition, which represents “a broad cross-section of business, labor and consumers” opposing the merger, with additional support from more than 100 state and federal policymakers, including attorneys general and agriculture secretaries, is urging the STB to halt the transaction, which it describes as “unnecessary.”

BLET National President Mark Wallace stated that Union Pacific has “yet to make the workforce commitments necessary to maintain network reliability or protect the communities and customers that depend on this rail system.” He further characterized the merger as “a gamble with the nation’s supply chain and the workers who keep it moving,” asserting that the absence of binding employment guarantees raises the risk of adverse consequences for workers and service reliability.

BLET also cited public opposition, referencing a national poll in which nearly 71 percent of respondents opposed the merger, with concerns focused on potential increases in shipping costs, higher consumer prices, and the concentration of market power in a combined railroad. As part of its advocacy campaign, the union has engaged lawmakers, investors, and industry analysts to discuss the proposed merger’s potential impacts.

Amended STB application. In contrast, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern assert in their amended STB application that the transaction would “create America’s first transcontinental railroad” and “strengthen the U.S. supply chain.” The filing states that the merger would produce approximately $3.5 billion in annual savings for shippers by shifting freight from higher-cost trucking to rail service. They contend that these savings are expected to flow through to consumer prices and improve overall affordability of goods.

The amended application also maintains that the merger would enhance competition by enabling single-line service across eastern and western networks, eliminating delays associated with interchange handoffs that can add 24 to 48 hours to shipments. According to the railroads, the combination is structured as an “end-to-end merger” with “virtually no overlap,” preserving access to competitive alternatives and avoiding meaningful impacts on geographic competition.

Additionally, the companies project that the combined entity would require 1,200 net new union jobs within three years to support growth, alongside a “jobs-for-life guarantee” for existing union employees at the time of the merger. The application also includes expanded data analysis and market projections, which the railroads state were developed using complete traffic data from all six North American Class I railroads.

The merger remains subject to STB review and approval under its statutory framework, with the railroads indicating that the transaction would continue under regulatory oversight if approved.

Companies: Union Pacific Corporation; Norfolk Southern Corporation

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