U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., sent a letter to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on July 17 demanding that federal regulators directly address allegations that Union Pacific (UP) CEO Jim Vena threatened to raise shipping rates against customers who refused to publicly support the railroad's proposed merger with Norfolk Southern (NS).

"Given what is at stake with a rail merger of this magnitude, I ask that you address threats of retaliation and make clear retaliation by railroads will not be tolerated by the STB," Baldwin wrote.

The letter comes as the STB formally accepted the revised merger application for consideration on May 28, ordering UP and NS to submit supplemental information by July 27, 2026. That full news release is available on the STB website: https://www.stb.gov/….

"I am deeply concerned by Mr. Vena's words and recent actions as his company attempts to see this merger process rubber-stamped and approved with haste. Given the magnitude of this potential merger and the impact it would have on our nation's freight economy and the supply chain, it is simply unacceptable for UP to engage in this type of behavior," Baldwin added.

A very real concern exists that shippers may actually be afraid to make remarks about the merger for fear of retaliation. It is no secret that this has been a concern among shippers for many years. "In January 2025, former Chairman Robert Primus made a statement addressing the widespread issue of retaliation, whether it be in the form of rate increases, cutbacks in service, or refusals to provide new service upon request. In 2023, former Chairman Martin Oberman expressed frustration with the difficulty of getting shippers to comment on matters before the board due to fears of retaliation," added Baldwin.

"I have heard from numerous stakeholders that they are afraid to publicly relay their concerns, knowing that UP can retaliate against them. Threats of retaliation discourage stakeholders from participating and undermine the STB's ability to conduct a rigorous review of the proposed merger. The Board needs to hear directly from shipper companies to better understand the impacts of the merger UP is proposing," Baldwin said. Here is a link to her entire letter: https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/….

According to a July 16 Trains.com article, UP said in a statement "It's disappointing that a comment was taken out of context and is being used to create a narrative that detracts from the real benefits of a single-line transcontinental railroad. Union Pacific did not threaten anyone. We've heard from stakeholders across the board about real threats being made by our competitors who are afraid to compete."

Jim Vena, UP CEO, told Trains.com that he also believes that the STB's 12-month clock to gather merger information began when the STB accepted the application, not when the board receives that new information. "It's pretty clear that we've gone to the next step." Here is an article published July 17 on the UP website: "Questions About Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Merger Opposition Campaign," https://www.up-nstranscontinental.com/….

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) on its website noted that "A major red flag was raised recently when Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena made alarming comments at an investor conference. Vena suggested that the STB should rush its review of the merger and possibly ignore important public interest statutes. These self-serving statements come just weeks after Congress urged the STB to conduct a rigorous and thorough review of the proposed merger."

BLET First Vice President Gary Best, who has been assigned by President Mark Wallace as the union's lead representative on issues regarding the merger, sharply criticized the railroad CEO's statement, particularly his position on the public interest statute.

"The public interest test is at the very heart of the STB's merger review standard," said Best. "Under federal law, UP and NS bear the burden of demonstrating the public benefits of a merger that could not be achieved by other means. No timeline changes what this merger is -- a bad deal for America that must be rejected." Read more here from BLET: https://blet.org/….

Here is a link to the STB website's Filings section. If you scroll through it, you can see all current and past comments regarding the pending UP-NS merger: https://www.stb.gov/….

Mary Kennedy can be reached at mary.kennedy@dtn.com

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