PALESTINE, Texas — Government and Union Pacific officials remain at odds after a Monday meeting over efforts to retain railroad jobs in Palestine, increasing the likelihood a UP suit against the city will end up in court.
The railroad sued the central Texas community late last year, seeking to end a contract dating to 1872 that guarantees a certain number of jobs in Palestine [see “UP sues to end employment provision in Texas town,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 2, 2019].
The Palestine Herald-Press reports that UP officials met Monday with Palestine Mayor Steve Presley and City Manager Leslie Cloer, along with U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden, state Reps. Cody Harris and Robert Nichols, and Anderson County Judge Robert Johnston, who hosted the meeting. No further meetings are planned, however, and Presley told the paper the meeting produced no new agreement or information.
UP spokeswoman Raquel Espinoza told the paper the railroad appreciated the opportunity to meet “to discuss potential pathways to workable solutions. However, we have to have the ability to make viable decisions that allow us to modernize.”
Harris told the newspaper the case is “another example of rural America being bullied and cast to the wayside in exchange for higher stock prices. … A contract is a contract; Union Pacific should stick to their word.”
