"The nation's largest railroad union joined the list of companies endorsing Union Pacific's proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern Monday after securing promises to protect jobs, but other unions and chemical makers that rely on the railroads are still expressing concerns about the deal. The SMART-TD union that represents conductors and other rail workers said Union Pacific put CEO Jim Vena's promise not to lay off any of its workers as a result of the merger in writing."
"The union's endorsement comes just days after President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he deal sounds good to him, but groups like the American Chemistry Council and the Rail Customer Coalition have said they worry that allowing two of the six largest railroads to merge will only hurt competition and lead to even higher shipping rates."
Union Pacific proposed an $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern that would create the nation's first transcontinental railroad. SMART-TD endorsed the merger after receiving a written promise from CEO Jim Vena that no layoffs would result and that job protections would extend through workers' careers. Other unions remain divided, with at least one major union leader saying the deal does not sufficiently protect rail jobs. Chemical shippers and trade groups warned that reducing the number of major railroads from six to five could harm competition and drive up shipping rates. The Teamsters president expects to press the White House on job concerns.
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]