U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear case over UP employment in Palestine, Texas

PALESTINE, Texas — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a lower-court ruling that Union Pacific is no longer bound by an agreement requiring it to maintain a certain number of employees in the city of Palestine, which dates to an 1872 contract with one of the railroad’s predecessors.

The railroad filed suit in 2019 to overturn that contract so it could close a former Missouri Pacific car shop in Palestine, a community of about 18,000 some 110 miles southwest of Dallas [see “UP sues to end employment provision …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 2, 2019].

In declining to take the case, the Supreme Court let stand an earlier decision by a panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit of Appeals that the agreement was preempted by federal law, which was subsequently upheld by a full panel of judges for the Fifth Circuit [see “Union Pacific wins another round …,” News Wire, Sept. 1, 2022].

Union Pacific told KLTV-TV it was “pleased” with the Supreme Court decision, which “moves this matter closer to resolution. Union Pacific’s decision to close our Main Car Repair Facility in Palestine was not taken lightly. It is a result of operational changes across our system and is the right thing to do for our customers, employees and community who rely on us to provide efficient and reliable railroad service.”

An attorney for Palestine and Anderson County, Texas, told the station the city and county would continue to fight the matter in state court. A state district court has previously ruled the railroad must continue to observe a 1955 judgment requiring the railroad to maintain jobs in Palestine [see “Judge again blocks closure of UP car shop …,” News Wire, July 9, 2021].