| Union Pacific Tried to Conceal 'Offhand' Remarks Threatening Shippers Read the top story of the day in your inbox. Sign up for the Daily Prospect newsletter here. It was the annual conference of the Southwest Association of Rail Shippers (SWARS), held this March. Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena was delivering the keynote address to hundreds of shippers, and the question of customers who oppose the railroad's $85 billion merger with Norfolk Southern, which would create the largest freight rail company in American history, came up. |