TCU/IAM, IAM District 19 join coalition against UP-NS merger

The Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 19 (IAM District 19) have joined the Stop the Rail Merger Coalition, a group including rail labor organizations, BNSF Railway, CPKC and industry stakeholders that are opposed to the proposed Union Pacific Railroad-Norfolk Southern Railway merger.

TCU/IAM and District 19 are both part of the IAM Rail Division. They represent thousands of rail workers who could be directly impacted by the proposed merger. By joining the coalition, the unions will work to ensure rail workers' concerns are heard and addressed throughout the merger review process, TCU/IAM officials said in a press release.

Workers have raised concerns about the merger's potential impact on job security, competition, safety and the communities that depend on railroad jobs, they added. The IAM Rail Division is concerned the offered post-merger worker protections do not go far enough to protect employees against furloughs, abolished positions, relocations, contracting out work or the gradual elimination of jobs through attrition and consolidation. 

"Our members understand from experience what railroad consolidation can mean: fewer jobs, closed facilities, more contracting out and work being moved away from the communities that depend on it," said IAM District 19 President and Directing General Chair Reece Murtagh. "District 19 is joining this coalition to stand with others across the industry and demand that the voices of frontline rail workers are taken seriously. We will continue fighting for binding protections for our members, their jobs and their communities."