It's Good to be UP
The opportunity for shippers to oppose the merger, if it was ever there, is losing momentum.
Last week was a pretty good week for UP. With the White House photo in his back pocket, Jim Vena turned around and got a key constituent to support the merger in the form of SMART-TD, the conductors union. From the Railway Age article,
“Union Pacific and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers–Transportation Division on Sept. 22 announced an agreement they said ‘guarantees that SMART-TD members working in train and yardmaster service will have job protection for the length of their careers following the [UP-Norfolk Southern merger] transaction, subject to the usual requirements for continued employment.’
“UP ‘has committed that these [SMART-TD] employees will not face involuntary furloughs as a result of the merger,’ in addition to “lifetime job protection” and ‘preferential hiring for affected terminal employees,’ according to the railroad and the nation’s largest rail union. They reported that SMART-TD ‘is proud to announce its support’ of the UP-NS merger…
“‘This is a proud day [Sept. 22] for our members,’ said Jeremy R. Ferguson, President of SMART-TD, which opposed the merger prior to what the railroad and union call a “groundbreaking” agreement. ‘For generations, railroaders have worried about what mergers might mean for their jobs and whether or not they would be given the opportunity to reach retirement on the rail. Today, we can say with confidence that the biggest railroad and the biggest rail union in America are breaking new ground. We are protecting jobs, protecting families, and protecting the future of the U.S. supply chain. I want to thank [UP CEO] Jim Vena, [NS CEO] Mark George and their teams for thinking outside the box and putting their employees at ease in unprecedented times. This is a bold agreement, and I’m proud of the mutually beneficial work done here and what Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, and SMART-TD were able to accomplish.’”
I don’t think I was the only one who was surprised by this move from UP, as SMART-TD had to issue a follow up to announcement for its members after they caught flak for the deal. (This was blamed on other unions who are just upset they weren’t as cool as SMART-TD to get this kind of deal).
