KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Last Friday, Kansas City Shuttlewagon workers sent a letter of voluntary recognition to their employer, Shuttlewagon Mobile Railcar Movers, to unionize with the Industrial Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council (DC) 3.
The union has also filed for an NLRB election, meaning that if the company declines voluntary recognition from the union, an election will be held where the workers can choose whether or not they want union representation.
Around 90% of workers have signed authorization cards. If successful, this effort would unionize 41 workers.
Josh Wyrick, the IUPAT DC 3 Director of Organizing, said that this organization campaign gave the workers a strong say in the process.
“We really take a worker’s approach to organizing,” Wyrick said. “We just facilitate for the most part. They are the ones that choose all of the actions. They point and we shoot. So, every decision that’s been made through this entire campaign has been made by the workers, not by ourselves.”
What are Shuttlewagon Workers
Workers at Shuttlewagon Mobile Railcar Movers build and move shuttlewagons, a specialized vehicle that moves railroad cars around rail yards, factories, warehouses, and other industrial sites.
What Workers Want from Unionization
One worker who chose to be anonymous said that she hoped to receive more stability and better pay in her job from the union.
“Definitely more pay,” she said.
She also said there was a divide between what salary workers and non-salary workers received. While salaried employees receive flexible vacation and PTO, other workers face strict attendance penalties and a point system for timekeeping.
“We get pointed if we’re a minute late from work,” she said. “If you clock in at 6:31 then they give you half a point.”
Andrew “AJ” Herrera is an organizer at IUPAT. Herrera said there’s no way for workers to track how many points they’ve accumulated from their absences and they’d like to unionize to give them a way to track them.
“They don’t have access to the point system to see how many points they’ve accumulated for absences,” Herrera said. “They have no way of tracking that. They’ve had three company policies in the last two years and they want some structure.”
IUPAT: Who Are They
IUPAT DC 3 represents around 1,100 workers across Western Missouri and Kansas. According to the union’s website, the union includes “painters/drywall finishers, lead abatement, sign & pictorial, paint makers, carpet, linoleum, resilient floor covering and soft tile layers, glaziers, architectural metal, auto glass and glass workers.”
Joey Flickner is the Business Manager and Secretary Treasurer of IUPAT DC 3. Born with humble roots in rural Kansas, Flickner said that he hoped his union would help these workers just as unions have helped his family.
“Raising my three children, my wife and I made a choice that I was going to continue to be involved in my union because that’s what gave my family the opportunity to raise our kids the way we do and give them the stuff that my parents were able to give,” Flickner said. “We all want better for our kids, I’m grateful for the union that gave it to me.”
Wyrick also noted that the union isn’t planning on stopping anytime soon, and that they hope to help more workers unionize.
“So we’re hoping to have more in the future. I really believe that the bottom-up elections have the potential to create active union members.”
Flickner added that above all, what makes his union great isn’t himself, but is instead his members.
“It ain’t Joey Flickner that’s the painter union, it’s our members. Our members are our union, we are only as strong as they are,” Flickner said.
In 2026, the Labor Beacon reported that IUPAT DC 3 was awarded the “campaign of the year” for their implementation of worker-driven unionization.
How You Can Help
The IUPAT says it would like people to express their support for unionization. The union says this can be done by signing your name to a letter of support for workers, which they say will come out soon; and by attending any future rally or job action in support of the Shuttlewagon workers.
Shuttlewagon Mobile Railcar’s Response
The Labor Beacon has reached out to Shuttlewagon for comment and has not yet received a response. This article will be updated when a response is received.
Patrick Sanders — an Independence native — is a student journalist from the University of Missouri-Columbia writing for the Labor Beacon. Before joining the Labor Beacon, he wrote for KBIA News, a Mid-Missouri NPR-affiliated news organization. Sanders's grandfather Bruce was a long-time member of the postal workers union, and his older cousin is currently in IBEW Local 124. In his free time, Sanders enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, and weightlifting. He hopes to bring his knowledge of policy to benefit workers in the greater Kansas City area and give working people a fighting chance.
