Union Pacific CEO called to DC hearing on ‘disturbing’ use of embargo

The Surface and Transportation Board is calling Union Pacific management including CEO Lance Fritz to appear at hearings December 13-14 about the freight railroad’s use of embargoes.

The STB, an independent federal agency with oversight of surface transportation, wants to question Fritz and other Union Pacific top executives about UP’s increased use of embargoes that the regulatory body characterizes as “substantial.”

According to STB data, UP’s use of embargoes to control congestion has increased from a total of five in 2017 to more than 1,000 to date in 2022. The agency said it has received numerous reports that the embargoes are hampering shippers’ operations and adding to supply chain problems.

UP carries nearly 27 percent of freight served by rail and nearly 11 percent of all long-distance freight volume. 

“Disruptions in UP’s service levels have a significant detrimental impact on the supply chain and the nation’s economy,” the STB said in a release. “The Board has been closely monitoring UP’s usage of embargoes and has noticed a disturbing upward trend in their usage in recent years.”

UP could not be immediately reached for comment.

STB has been reviewing the service reliability of the railroads, including staffing levels and the use of embargoes to stop the flow of freight as a way to deal with congestion. Government data shows a decrease in rail employee headcount in recent years as the companies adopted a model known as Precision Scheduled Railroading, though the rails have presented data to show they have been more aggressively adding workers in 2022, but overall headcount levels remain close to flat compared to last year.

The attrition of labor from furloughs has been among the sources of anger from railroad unions in the current standoff with rail management over a new labor deal. The risk of a nationwide freight rail strike in December has been rising.

“They’ve cut us to the bone, they’re working us to death. We have quality of life issues,” said Jeremy Ferguson, president of SMART-TD, which on Monday voted to reject the labor deal, with a rail strike now potentially starting as soon as Dec. 9. “We have attendance policy issues, the morale is at an all-time low. It’s time for these CEOs to take a look at their culture,” Ferguson said. “If they want to be a good railroad they’re going to have to change their ways. The members are upset with the railroad management and the CEOs’ record profits for the last five years.”

Ferguson, similar to fellow union president Dennis Pierce of BLET, referenced a recent CNBC interview with Fritz, during which the Union Pacific CEO laughed when asked about the risk of a rail strike.

“It infuriated me and it infuriated my members,” he said. “Obviously, the CEOs are out of touch, you know? They’re not paying attention to what’s going on at what we call the ballasts’ level, which is where all the work is done.”

The unions have support for their concerns about rail labor cuts. Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin Oberman has said that rail carrier service has been impacted based on their own self-inflicted actions, and it is damaging the economy.

“You can’t just dump that many workers and expect to recall them when you need them, it just doesn’t work that way,” Oberman recently said on the Prospect podcast. “Corporate profits and buybacks have gone up while service has gone down dramatically.”

The STB previously called freight railroads including UP, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Berkshire Hathaway‘s BNSF, to testify in April about rail service deficiencies, which ultimately resulted in a June STB order directing rails to correct deficiencies, and referred to initial plans that had been submitted by the rails as “perfunctory” and lacking “the level of detail that was mandated by the Board’s order.”

In late October, STB noted in a release that recent data showed the four carriers meeting some of their six-month targets for service improvement, and many key performance indicators were trending in a positive direction. “However, the data continue to validate the anecdotal information that continues to be reported to the Board regarding significant service issues,” STB stated.

Richard Edelman, a top rail union lawyer who has testified before the STB, told CNBC the new business model only benefits the carriers.

“Those who now dictate the railroads’ business model do not care about ‘growing’ the business or even serving all those who currently desire rail service. They only want to serve those shippers who can be served at the target profit margin,” said Edelman, counsel for BMWED, BRS — both of which have voted to strike — and several other rail unions. “Rail workers and rail shippers are both victims of this new business model,” he said.

Ferguson has testified before the STB on the thin labor staffing. He told CNBC that union members are not only infuriated with not being able to take adequate time off, but shippers are also being disrespected.

“The railroad carriers have just about the same amount of respect for their shippers as they do for us,” Ferguson said. “The carriers don’t want to bring trains and carloads on time. They’re lagging. We wanted to give our testimony before the STB. The shipper groups could see we do care. We’re not in this just for the money, we take a lot of pride in our jobs.”

The BRS announced Tuesday it is aligning its status quo period through December 8 to align with the BMWED, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, SMART-TD, and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. If no agreement is made, a coordinated strike could start on December 9. Railroad unions who have voted for ratification have said they will not cross the picket lines and will support their fellow union workers.