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

Nick Wurst - General Secretary

Brother Nick Wurst is a trainman based in Massachusetts. Nick started working for the railroad in 2019 as an intermodal worker and member of the Transportation Communication Union (TCU/IAM). Nick joined Railroad Workers United shortly after starting at the railroad. He currently works as a freight conductor and locomotive engineer and is a member of SMART-TD.

Cory Aaron - ISC Co-Chair

Brother Cory Aaron serves as a section foreman in St. Louis, MO, affiliated with BMWED Local #745. His railway career began in 2007 in Jasper, AL, but after a layoff in 2009, he relocated to St. Louis. In 2015, Cory faced wrongful termination but was reinstated 30 days later thanks to a successful appeal, highlighting the importance of active union participation. This experience inspired him to get involved in the CAT program, mentored by Carey Dall, where he learned the significance of collective action. His dedication to the union's mission led to his election as lodge president for two terms and later to a role on the ATSFF Executive Committee in 2021. In 2022, he played a pivotal role in founding BMWED Rank and File United and led a spirited campaign to promote rank-and-file representation on the executive committee, though it was not successful. This marks Cory's first term on the ISC.

Stuart Wallenburg - ISC Co-Chair

Brother Stuart, a second-generation railroader, has been with the railroad for 28 years. He has spent that last 25 as a locomotive engineer on the Sooline/CP/CPKC.  He is a former local chairman # 1433 -E and Vice General  Chairman -Smart TD. This is Brother Stuart’s first term as an ISC chair for RWU.

Cameron Slick - Recording Secretary

Brother Cameron Slick is a conductor/switchman based in St. Paul, MN, for the Union Pacific Railroad in the SMART-TD union #1614. In 2017, during the trial of locomotive engineer Tom Harding in Quebec, Cameron organized a benefit concert for Harding's defense. He has been a member of RWU since first starting his railroad career in 2014. This is Brother Cameron’s first term on the ISC.


 Matt Weaver - Organizer

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 fourth term on the RWU Steering 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.

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.

Gabe Christenson - Steering Committee

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. 

Jason Doering - Steering Committee

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.

Ross Grooters - Steering Committee

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 are a member of BLET #778 in Des Moines, IA, and serve 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.

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.

Tom Nelson - Alternate

Brother Tom Nelson has been an Amtrak conductor since 2004. He has spent most of his railroad career working in the Oakland, California, crew base. He has also worked out of Sacramento, California; Reno, Nevada; Battle Creek, Michigan; and Chicago, Illinois. Currently he works in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He’s been qualified on the rules and signals of UP, BNSF, Caltrain, CN, NS, CSX, AMTK Chicago Terminal, and AMTK Michigan Line — all different, of course.
Tom has been a member of RWU since 2009, when he met co-worker and RWU co-founder Ron Kaminkow while working out of Reno. He was instantly drawn to the causes of RWU, remembering the constant fighting and backstabbing between the BLE and UTU from around the time he hired out. This is his first term on the RWU Steering Committee.

Ryan Black - Alternate

Alex Nantell - Alternate

Link to Past Steering Committee Members HERE

RWU Trustees

  • Fritz Edler

    Fritz Edler is a 40+ year veteran railroader. He was a long time officer of both BLE-T Div 482 in Washington DC and the BLE-T DC State Legislative Board. He is an RWU delegate to the Labor Network for Sustainability (LNS) and Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED). He is an International Special Representative of RWU.

  • Ron Kaminkow

    Prior to hiring out as a brakeman with Conrail in 1996, Brother Ron served as President of AFSCME Local #634 in Madison, WI. In 2005, Ron co-founded Railroad Operating Crafts United (ROCU), and in 2008, was a Founding Member of Railroad Workers United (RWU), serving on the Steering Committee until 2024 as General Secretary and Organizer. A former brakeman, conductor, and engineer on Conrail and later Norfolk Southern in Chicago (UTU #168) and Elkhart, IN (UTU #194), Ron has worked for Amtrak in Milwaukee (BLET #27), Chicago (BLET #40), and Reno, NV (BLET #51) where he recently retired (2023) after 20 years as a passenger engineer with the company. Ron recently served as his Division's Vice President and Delegate, and continues to represent the local as Delegate to the Northern Nevada Central Labor Council (NNCLC). He remains active in RWU.

  • Andy Weir

    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.

Meet Our Staff

  • Adam Barrington - National Organizer for Public Rail

    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.

  • Sigrid Peterson - Admin Support

    Sigrid Peterson is our 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.

  • Maddock Thomas

    Maddock Thomas is a researcher and organizer, originally from Georgia, currently finishing his studies at Brown University. He is the author of Putting America Back on Track: The Case for a 21st Century Public Rail System, a 95-page white paper published in July 2024. In his role as PRN's researcher, he has attended numerous conferences and union meetings to present on the rail industry. Additionally, he has supported local campaigns related to public rail and helped PRN to connect disparate groups around the need for a robust rail system in the United States.

  • Tabitha Tripp- Fundraising and Development, Campaign Director

    Tabitha Tripp is an artist, activist, and railroad wife of a track foreman in Southern Illinois. Tripp assists with fundraising and development for both organizations to build capacity for systemic change through a worker-led movement. Her main focus is directing the Public Rail Now campaign, building the coalition of impacted stakeholders, engaging new volunteers, and moving the campaign ahead. She comes to RWU with nearly a decade of experience in grassroots advocacy and organizing in rural IL for a just transition. She is a family member of Railroad Workers United and served as our recording secretary in 2021–2022.

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