WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate Democratic leader, has spoken out against the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger.
In remarks Thursday (July 31, 2025) on the Senate floor, Schumer said approval of the merger “would cut down the industry from four major players to just three, pushing us even further down the road of dangerous consolidation and monopoly power.”
Schumer noted the companies are saying the merger will promote competition, improve service, and benefit workers and customers. “History tells us the opposite,” he said.
“The last four decades of railroad mergers have led to worse service, worse safety, worse working conditions, higher costs for shippers – which ultimately means higher prices for consumers,” he said. “They also promise no union jobs will be cut. But we’ve heard that before, from the same executives who’ve laid off thousands of workers while raking in record profits.”
Schumer called the merger “a hostile takeover of America’s infrastructure,” and called it a test for the Trump administration: “Will they side with the railroad oligarchs, or … with workers and families?”
Previously, Nebraska’s two senators have said they support the merger, while Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) have written the Surface Transportation Board, asking it to consider the interests of shippers and consumers [see “Senators write STB …,” Trains.com, July 30, 2025].
