December 16, 2025.

The proposed $85 billion merger of the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads has lost the support of two of their biggest unions that represent more than half the workers because they are worried the deal would increase safety risks, lead to higher shipping rates and consumer prices and cause significant disruptions. The unions that represent engineers and maintenance workers will become two of the most prominent critics of this deal. But the deal does have the support of the nation’s largest rail union that represents conductors and hundreds of individual shippers. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board will begin weighing the opinions of all those stakeholders to determine whether this merger is in the public interest.