Keeping America on Track: Railroading Powers the Economy and Provides Secure, Good-Paying Jobs

As Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern work to create America’s first transcontinental railroad, growth from the combination enables a pledge that is unprecedented in railroad history: Every employee with a union job at the time of the merger will continue to have one.

Union Pacific has formalized that pledge with groundbreaking jobs-for-life agreements with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division (SMART-TD), the nation’s largest rail labor organization, as well as National Conference of Firemen and Oilers (NCFO), Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC), International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) and United Supervisors Council of America (USCA).

Railroaders’ commitment to keep our nation moving comes with rewarding opportunities: railroading offers some of the best-paid industrial careers in America. Average compensation ranges from $135,000 to $190,000, with an average of $160,000 – roughly 40% above the national industrial average. Railroaders enjoy premium healthcare, paid leave and robust retirement plans. Employees average 13+ years of tenure, three times longer than the U.S. average, and retirement income is roughly twice that of the average Social Security recipient.

Employees of the combined company will gain access to some of the best benefits of both companies. Union Pacific empowers employees to advance their education through Union Pacific University, the railroad’s free college tuition program. Every employee across Union Pacific’s 23-state network has access to this opportunity starting on the first day they begin employment. Additional world-class benefits include free counseling and family-life services, company-supported employee assistance funds and an employee stock purchase plan with a company match giving workers a direct stake in the railroad’s success.