In today’s news and commentary, the Transport Workers Union denounces Amtrak’s new policy permitting passengers to carry guns onboard and Texas Democrat wins offer hope for labor in the state. 

Starting in January 2027, Amtrak will allow passengers to bring guns on trains that are stored in personal lockboxes. The Transport Workers Union (TWU)—which represents over 160,000 members across the railroad, airline, transit, university, utilities, and services sectors—has denounced the policy as “sheer lunacy.” TWU International Rail Division director John Feltz explained, “You can’t walk on to a plane with a gun, it has to be checked with your luggage and stowed away…. So why allow guns in passenger cars on trains where there are also passengers in confined spaces?” Amtrak previously noted it was considering the policy change in May 2026, after receiving pressure from Trump administration officials to reduce restraints on transporting weapons. Currently, Amtrak permits passengers to carry guns on a couple of long-distance trains with the weapons kept in secure baggage cars. The new policy would allow riders to take firearms to their seats in lockboxes on an additional 1,500 trains per day across the country, including routes that roughly 750,000 people travel on each day.

On Tuesday, Democrats in Texas broke the 32-year-long Republican stronghold on statewide offices. Gina Hinojosa defeated Governor Greg Abbott, the third-term governor who has held the office since 2015, for the governorship. James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton, the 51st Attorney General of Texas since 2015, for the Senate seat. Both victories offer promise for the state’s labor policies: Hinojosa was once a labor lawyer for AFSCME and while serving in the Texas legislature, Talarico authored legislation to raise Texas’ minimum wage to $15 per hour and to protect workers’ rights to organize in the state. Additionally, Hinojosa has appointed Ryan Pollock, a union electrician and Executive Director of the Texas State Building and Construction Trades, as a Co-Chair of her transition team. According to the Texas AFL-CIO, union members knocked on over 50,000 doors, made over 233,000 calls, and mailed over 280,000 letters as part of organized labor’s midterm election efforts in the state.