PALESTINE, Texas — A full panel of judges for the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has rejected a request by the city of Palestine and Anderson County, Texas, to revisit the denial of an earlier appeal to require Union Pacific to maintain jobs at its Palestine car shop.
A three-judge panel of the court ruled in July in favor of Union Pacific, affirming a lower court’s decision that UP was free to close the shop [see “Digest: Federal judge voids UP employment requirement … ,” News Wire, Feb. 5, 2021]. Lawyers for the county filed for a re-hearing and now that motion has been denied, leaving local officials with the option of appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The city and county had maintained that UP was obligated to preserve the jobs based on an 1872 agreement between the city and a predecessor railroad of Missouri Pacific, which was merged into UP in 1982. Union Pacific went to court in 2018 seeking to void the employment provision and, upon receiving a favorable court ruling in February 2020, announced plans to close the shop, eliminating 57 jobs [see “UP sues to end employment provision … ,” News Wire, Dec. 2, 2019].
Subsequent rulings by a Texas judge upheld the agreement and obligated UP to keep the shop open, leading UP to ask for relief in federal court.
In a story in the Palestine Herald-Press, county officials called the move “a blow to local railroad workers and the local economy, effectively gutting the future of railroad jobs in the area.”
i believe it will be a scorched earth approach, nothing of use will be left, scrapped and torn down, get it off the tax rolls, ASAP
Perhaps Palestine should cut a deal with either a local JC or university to create a school for the railroad industry. UP can donate the property and the tools from the shops to get them started.
Make some lemonade from the lemons in this case.