The vision and mission of Railroad Workers United (RWU) is to unite all railroad workers in solidarity across craft, union, and carrier in North America thereby creating a vital movement that has the power to confront the rail carriers and win improved wages and benefits, along with safer and more desirable working conditions.

Who is Railroad Workers United?

We are a diverse group of railroad workers, family members and retirees from throughout North America that evolved from Railroad Operating Crafts United (ROCU) We have members from all the rail crafts and all of the railroad unions. RWU also allows for "Solidarity Members" from different walks of life - mostly in rail related industries - who support our efforts. RWU membership is open to all railroad workers, who are not managers or supervisory personnel,  in North America- - Canada, the US and Mexico. Click Here to read our Annual Activity Reports. These are brief summaries of our activities and accomplishments in recent years.

The vision and mission of Railroad Workers United (RWU) is to unite all railroad workers in solidarity across craft, union, and carrier in North America thereby creating a vital movement that has the power to confront the rail carriers and win improved wages and benefits, along with safer and more desirable working conditions. We strive to modernize and expand the existing freight and passenger rail system, generating thousands of good-paying union jobs while safeguarding the environment. Our goal is to ensure accessible passenger rail and to bring the benefits of a robust rail system to everyone, benefitting shippers, passengers, communities large and small, the environment, and railroad workers.

RWU Steering Committee

The Railroad Workers United International Steering Committee (ISC) has evolved into a diverse group of railroad workers from coast to coast. Over the years, the Steering Committee has included lots of engineers and trainmen from dozens of states across the U.S., and also a trainman/engineer from Canada; a contract locomotive servicing worker from Chicago; conductors from unorganized regional railroads in Wisconsin and Oklahoma; a hostler/laborer from Chicago; track workers from Ohio; electricians from California, Virginia, and Missouri;  machinists from New York and Kansas City; car knockers from Chicago, Indiana, Wisconsin and Georgia, and a signalman from Florida.

Seniority among the current group has ranged from 2 to 44 years. Crafts represented have included: engineer, conductor, switchman, machinist, electrician, signal maintainer, car inspector, hostler, laborer, track workers, buildings/bridges, Over the years, the ranks of the ISC has been drawn from fellow workers from the following unions: Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET); Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED); Industrial Workers of the World (IWW); International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW); International Association of Machinists (IAM); National Conference of Firemen & Oilers (NCFO); SMART (formerly the United Transportation Union - UTU); Teamster Canada Rail Conference (TCRC); and the Transportation Communications Union (TCU).

Over the years, members on the Steering Committee have worked for a number of rail carriers including: Amtrak (AMTK), Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), Canadian National (CN), Canadian Pacific (CP), CSX, Norfolk Southern (NS), Stillwater Central, Union Pacific (UP), and KEOLIS

Likewise, the ISC members and the Trustees have been drawn from numerous states/provinces: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. (View the listings of previous Steering Committee members).

International Steering Committee

Jason Doering- General Secretary

Brother Jason was hired by Union Pacific Railroad in 2005 after attending the University of Montana and Cornell University. Furloughed in 2009, he worked on the Alaska Railroad (UTU #1626) as a brakeman before returning to his seniority in Las Vegas, NV (Local #1117) as a locomotive engineer and conductor. Jason has served as the Nevada State Legislative Director for SMART-TD since 2011 and has been involved in the legislative department since 2006. He was appointed as a commissioner to the California-Nevada High Speed Rail Commission by Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval; he sits on the Federal Railroad Administration's Rail Safety Advisory Committee; he is a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine's Transportation Research Boards - Railroad Operational Safety Committee; and he is actively involved in the rail industry.

Gab Christenson - ISC Co-Chair

Brother Gabe Christenson was hired out on the Union Pacific in 2004 and currently works as a brakeman on a traveling switcher job in Sparks, NV. Brother Gabe is also licensed as a conductor and engineer. He has boomed around the Roseville Service Unit, working freight and local service from Klamath Falls, Oregon, to San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, to Elko, Nevada, and all points in between. Gabe currently serves as the President and Legislative Representative for SMART-TD Local #1043 and is the Nevada State Assistant Legislative Director. He serves on the RWU Media Outreach Committee and the Public Ownership Committee. This is his first term on the RWU Steering Committee. 

Ross Grooters - ISC Co-Chair

Ross Grooters has more than a decade of experience with Union Pacific Railroad and currently works in Des Moines, IA, as a locomotive engineer. This is their fourth term as Railroad Workers United Co-Chair. They is a member of BLET #778 in Des Moines, IA, and serves as the Legislative Representative for the BLET Iowa State Legislative Board. As a member leader with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a non-profit dedicated to putting people before profits, Ross' work is wide-ranging and includes workers' justice issues such as stopping wage theft and promoting a $15/hr. minimum wage. As a railroad worker, they follow in the footsteps of their grandfather, who was employed as a Missouri Pacific car repair worker in Omaha, NE. Ross currently serves on the City Council of Pleasant Hill, IA. Ross also serves on the Social Media, Media Outreach, and Public Ownership Committees of RWU.

Andrew Weir - ISC Co-Chair

Brother Andrew Weir worked thirty five years for Canadian National Railway (CN) and is currently retired from CN. Andy hired out with the CNR in 1988 and has been a union rep since 1997. He is married with two kids. This is Andy’s sixth term on the RWU Steering Committee, Brother Andy is a Lifetime Member of RWU.

Nick Wurst - Recording Secretary

Brother Nick Wurst is a trainman based in Massachusetts. After a few years working in a non-union warehouse and a year as an IBEW apprentice, Brother Nick started working for the railroad in 2019 as an intermodal worker and member of the Transportation Communication Union (TCU/IAM). As someone who has been active in the labor movement and local activism his entire adult life, Nick joined Railroad Workers United shortly after starting at the railroad. He currently works as a freight conductor and is a member of SMART-TD Local #1473. Nick serves on the RWU Media Outreach Committee.

Hugh Sawyer - Treasurer

Brother Hugh Sawyer was elected one of the original three Co-Chairs of RWU in 2008 and, after a two-year hiatus from the Steering Committee, returned to that position in 2012. In 2014, he took on the Treasury position. He is the former president of BLET #316, NS, in Atlanta, GA. A former local chairman, Hugh, and his division were instrumental in the struggle to win—and then preserve and protect—one-member, one-vote officer elections in the BLET. Brother Hugh has served on the Steering Committee of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) and has been active in BLET national affairs.

Ron Kaminkow - Organizer

Brother Ron Kaminkow has served as the RWU Secretary and now as General Secretary since 2008. Prior to hiring out as a brakeman with Conrail in 1996, he served as President of AFSCME Local #634 in Madison, WI. In 2005, Brother Ron helped found Railroad Operating Crafts United (ROCU), an RWU predecessor. A former brakeman, conductor, and engineer for Conrail and later NS in Chicago (UTU #168) and Elkhart, IN (UTU #194), Ron formerly worked for Amtrak in Milwaukee (BLET #27) and Chicago (BLET #40). He is retired from working as an Amtrak engineer in Reno, NV, where he was the Vice President and Delegate of BLET #51. This is his seventh term on the ISC. Brother Ron serves on the Newsletter, Website, Store & Merchandise, and Rail Union Unity Committees.

Chuck Abbate - Steering Committee

Brother Chuck Abbate has a railroad career that spans more than three decades. He first worked in the Maintenance of Way Department and then interned for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). In addition, Chuck has worked stints at both Conrail and Amtrak. For the past 20 years, he has been employed as a conductor while working for MBTA/Keolis/Amtrak/MBCR out of Boston, Massachusetts, where he is a member of SMART-TD Local #898b. Chuck holds a BS in Transportation Management from Northeastern University, which, as a union member, provides him with insight into the behavior of railroad management.

 Matt Weaver - Steering Committee

Brother Matt Weaver was hired onto a CSX production bridge gang in 1994 with new railroad bridge construction in Kentucky and Missouri as a certified bridge welder, then transferred to the track department in 2003 to obtain seniority on all rosters. Currently, Brother Matt works as a B&B Carpenter Foreman and is a member of BMWED Lodge #2624. He currently serves as the union’s Ohio Legislative Director. Matt worked to achieve a temporary elimination of the RRB sequester of sick pay and unemployment benefits with Senator Portman and is a National Labor College (NLC) trainer for HazMat derailment awareness for Rail Labor. Brother Matt actively campaigned to eliminate “Right-to-Work” in Ohio and Missouri and has testified in Columbus for 2-person train crews and crossing safety measures. He is a Founding Member of Railroad Workers United in 2008. and currently serves on the Media Outreach Committee. This is his third term on the RWU Steering Committee.

Michael Paul Lindsey II - Steering Committee

Beginning his railroad career in Roseville, California, in 2006, locomotive engineer Michael “Paul” Lindsey has worked extensively across the Union Pacific Railroad in 10 states. Based in Pocatello, he enjoys shaking up the railroad for the better by bringing attention to corporate abuses within the industry. He is passionate about the railroad and aggressive about his desire to see the industry and its workforce grow and thrive long into the future. He is a member of BLET #228. With multiple published letters to the STB, news interviews, podcasts, and a channel with millions of views, Paul also serves on the RWU Media Outreach Committee and, through public exposure, is fighting to make the industry work for the betterment of employees and the nation as a whole rather than simply the enrichment of Wall Street executives. This is his first term on the RWU Steering Committee.

J.P. Johnson - Alternate

Brother J.P. Johnson is a 5th generation railroader from Butte, Montana, whose great-great uncle was a member of the American Railway Union (ARU). He started his railroad career as a steam locomotive fireman while attending college at Montana Tech. Brother JP was then hired out on Union Pacific as a conductor in 2007, working in Bill WY, Rawlins WY, and Cheyenne WY until 2017. That year, he hired out with Amtrak in Shelby, MT, as a conductor, then transferred to Milwaukee in 2022 and is currently working as a fireman, soon to be a locomotive engineer. J.P. has been a member of UTU/SMART in various locals since 2007, and is currently a member of SMART-TD Local #248.

Eric Basir - Alternate

Brother Eric Basir is a steward and elected Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Delegate. He has worked at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) since 2018. He is currently a carman. Previously, he worked as a customer assistant, flagman, and train operator at the CTA. He has been a member of RWU since 2018. In 2019, he took inspiration from RWU and founded the Chicago Transit Justice Coalition, a rank-and-file caucus that educates and organizes Chicago-area transportation workers around workplace issues. Some of their initiatives include a member-created collective bargaining agreement and helping co-workers organize petitions and protests on various issues. www.ChicagoTransitWorker.com.

Ian Kaminski - Alternate

Brother Ian Kaminski started railroading at age 17 at the Old Colony and Newport Railway as a coach cleaner and trackman. Brother Ian has also worked for Pan Am Railways as a conductor, Seaview Railroad as a conductor, engineer, and signal maintainer, and for the Newport Dinner Train as a road foreman of engines, trainmaster, rules examiner, and roadmaster (lots of hats to wear when there's just a handful running the show!). More recently, Ian has worked as a conductor for contractor KEOLIS on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) out of Boston, MA. He currently works as a passenger locomotive engineer for KEOLIS and is a member of BLET Local #57. He has worked at MBTA for 8 years.

Tim Miller - Alternate

Brother Tim Miller hired out with Conrail in 1998 at the diesel shop in Conway, PA, as a first-generation railroad worker at age 20. He went on to work for Norfolk Southern following the Conrail carve-up in 1999. He has been a member of the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers (NCFO) #1218 throughout his railroad years of service and has held office as the local recording secretary for two terms (6 years). Tim fuels, sands, cleans, hostels, and otherwise services locomotives, switches out, and builds locomotives in preparation for their next tour of duty. This is his first term on the RWU Steering Committee.

Matthew Groulx - Alternate

Brother Matthew Groulx was first hired out on the railroad. In 2019, I worked as a trainman on the Portland & Western, a short-line railroad based in Portland, OR. From there, he moved across the country and relocated to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he took a job with Norfolk Southern as a conductor and was a member of BLET Local #272. In 2021, he relocated to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, ultimately landing in Conway, PA, where he works as a conductor and is a member of BLET #325. This is his second term serving on the RWU Steering Committee.

Link to Past Steering Committee Members HERE

RWU Trustees

  • Bill Connell

    Bill Connell is in his 32nd year in the railroad industry. He started with Amtrak in 1992 as a clerk and is now in his 18th year as a conductor for CSX. Brother Bill is active in his Local as a Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer for SMART/UTU Local 1473. He currently lives in North Smithfield, RI and works out of Middleboro, MA.

  • Ed Michael

    Ed Michael started working for the railroad as a telegrapher at age 18 in 1970 for the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railway (C&EI), became a locomotive engineer, and went on to work for Missouri Pacific and then Union Pacific through a series of mergers. He is a founding member of RWU and held membership in both BLET #724 and UTU #979 before retiring in 2012. Brother Ed helped lead the effort to prevent the takeover of the UTU by the SMWIA from 2007 to 2014.

Meet Our Staff

  • Sigrid Peterson - Admin Support

    Sigrid Peterson is the new, part-time administrative staff support person for Railroad Workers United, officially beginning her post in September 2021. She comes to RWU with strong ties to the labor movement, serving as membership secretary for AFT Local 3220 (the University of Wisconsin-Madison Teaching Assistants’ Association, or “TAA”) during former Governor Scott Walker’s assault on public sector bargaining rights and subsequent “right to work” campaign against all unions in Wisconsin. Sigrid has also built broad-base coalitions and conducted research with unions, technical colleges, and workforce development boards to train workers into higher-wage, high-quality jobs in the Midwest while serving as a policy associate for six years at the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) in Madison. Sigrid will assist with the day-to-day computer tasks, phone calls, membership drives, and fundraising for RWU. She has experience with media and creating newsletters, as well as organizing volunteers, along with a rich history working with and among the working class and their labor struggles.

  • Tabitha Tripp- Grant Research & Assistant Organizer

    Tabitha Tripp is an artist, activist, and railroad wife of a track foreman in Southern Illinois. Tripp is contracted with RWU to research and write grants that will help build grassroots capacity to impact systemic change through a worker-led movement. She is also working on funding sources for several campaigns, including the Campaign for Public Ownership of the Railroads, solidarity between crafts and unions, and our documentary film series. She is a family member of Railroad Workers United and served as our recording secretary in 2021–2022.

  • Will Maus- Executive Secretary

    Between the Rail Electrification Coalition, Solutionary Rail, and OnTrack North America, Will has been involved in exploring the electrification of the US freight rail network while using railroad right-of-way to run high-voltage power transmission lines for more than a decade.

    Previously, Will was Director of Strategic Initiatives for Strategic Rail Finance, as well as for the firm’s sister nonprofit transportation consultancy practice, OnTrackNorthAmerica. Will played key roles in OTNA/SRF projects ranging from the Nevada State Rail Plan to rail equipment finance and business brokerage to the introduction of foreign technologies to the US freight rail system. For OTNA, Will produced a freight rail summit in the US Capitol that connected railroads, shippers, labor, and government entities.

  • Adam Barrington

    Adam Barrington is a labor organizer, author, and amateur historian and sociologist from Cleveland, Ohio. As lead organizer for RWU’s Public Rail Ownership campaign, Adam hopes to help RWU build worker power and solidarity while nurturing collaboration between unions, environmentalist groups, activists, and community organizations. Prior to joining RWU, Adam served as an executive board member for SEIU District 1199 in Cleveland, and earlier as president of the Washoe chapter of AFSCME Local 4041 in Reno, Nevada. Adam’s first book, The U.S. Labor Movement in the 20th and Early 21st Century: A Critical Analysis, was published in 2023 by Palgrave Macmillan.

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