Baldwin Releases Statement After Video Emerges of Railroad CEO Threatening Retaliation for Opponents of Mega-Merger

NEW: Video that Baldwin helped make public shows Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena threatening to raise rates for customers who oppose megamerger

Baldwin continues to call for rejection of Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger that will lead to higher costs, worse service for Wisconsinites

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) released a statement calling out Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena for threatening to raise rates on customers – including Wisconsin farmers, manufacturers, and businesses – who oppose the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern megamerger. In a newly released video, Vena told a room of rail shippers, “I’ll probably increase everybody’s rates that said they didn’t want a seamless railroad by three or four extra percent to teach you a lesson.”

Baldwin has warned for months that this merger will raise costs and worsen already poor rail service for American businesses and consumers. Senator Baldwin’s work to scrutinize this merger – in Senate testimony and public letters – led to federal regulators heeding her calls and ordering the video of Union Pacific’s threats of retaliation be made public. She has called on the Surface Transportation Board to reject the merger.

“For years, I’ve heard from Wisconsin businesses, farmers, and manufacturers about how consolidation in Class I rail has led to unreliable service and high costs that are passed onto Wisconsin families. That’s why I’ve called on the Trump Administration to reject this megamerger and protect American consumers, not the billionaire class and corporations who are just looking to stamp out competition and pad their profits,” said Senator Baldwin. “Today, we can see for ourselves that Union Pacific’s CEO is openly talking about retaliating against shippers who are rightfully concerned that more consolidation in Class I rail will lead to worse service and higher costs for businesses, farmers, and families. That’s no laughing matter to my constituents. I’m calling on the Surface Transportation Board to reject a megamerger that will hurt our Made in Wisconsin economy.”

In March 2026, reports emerged that Union Pacific (UP) CEO Jim Vena threatened retaliation at the Southwestern Association of Rail Shippers annual meeting with rate increases against shippers who oppose the merger. Following these reports, Senator Baldwin questioned Surface Transportation Board (STB) nominee Karen Hedlund about whether federal regulators would take these threats seriously. Hedlund stated that any kind of retaliation against shippers would be “utterly unacceptable.” Senator Baldwin followed up her questioning by calling on the STB to take Union Pacific’s threats seriously. Yesterday, the STB forced Union Pacific to make those remarks public.

Since the 1950s, the rail industry has consolidated from over 100 Class I freight railroads to only six today, leaving U.S. manufacturers, utility companies, agricultural producers, and small businesses paying excessive rates despite poor service and reliability. For months, Senator Baldwin has been urging federal regulators to thoroughly scrutinize this merger’s impact on competition, shipping costs, and service reliability for Made in Wisconsin businesses who rely on freight rail:

• July 2025: Baldwin and Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas urged the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to closely examine the proposed merger’s impact on competition, costs, and reliability.
• November 2025: During a Senate Commerce Committee nomination hearing, Baldwin pressed Surface Transportation Board member nominees Richard Kloster and Michelle Schultz on whether they would act independently of President Trump when making regulatory decisions.
• December 2025: Senator Baldwin called on the STB to reject the merger application filed by Union Pacific to acquire Norfolk Southern.
• June 2026: During a Senate Commerce Committee nomination hearing, Baldwin questioned STB nominee Karen Hedlund on CEO Jim Vena’s past comments. She also asked for clarification if Union Pacific could disregard its burden to prove the merger satisfies the public interest statute.
• July 2026: Baldwin urged the Surface Transportation Board to take Union Pacific’s threat of retaliation against shippers who do not support its merger with Norfolk Southern seriously. Her letter came as Union Pacific’s CEO previously visited President Trump in the Oval Office and committed to helping fund the President’s $400 million White House ballroom.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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