America’s freight rail industry, deregulated by the 1980 Staggers Rail Act, has spent four decades investing private capital to move goods more efficiently across a continent-sized economy. The proposed $71.5 billion merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern to create the nation’s first coast-to-coast single-line railroad represents the logical culmination of that progress. Predictably, some elements of Big Labor oppose it. Recommended Stories Specifically, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters came out against the transaction in December, with General President Sean O’Brien vowing that the union will “do everything in our power to block this harmful merger.” Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, meanwhile, have responded to labor concerns by offering unionized rail employees an unprecedented guarantee they are calling “Jobs for Life.” Every union employee working at either railroad on the closing date is guaranteed employment for the length of his career, with all merger-related efficiencies achieved solely through attrition rather than layoffs. Six national rail unions, including SMART-TD, the industry’s largest, have already reached “Jobs for Life” agreements and now support the deal. The Teamsters have not, and the reason deserves some real scrutiny. As an initial matter, consider the composition of the Teamsters’ 1.3 million members. Somewhere between 45% and 55% work in trucking, parcel, freight, and warehouse operations. Roughly 20% to 25% hold public sector jobs. Airline employees account for 8% to 10%. Manufacturing, healthcare, construction, and sanitation fill in another 15% to 20%. Rail workers? Just 6% to 10% of the total membership. Put differently, for every Teamster who works on the railroad, there are roughly six who drive a truck, load a parcel or work a warehouse. Now, the opposition begins to make more sense. It is not really about rail workers at all through this merger. It is about protecting the union’s much larger trucking,