UPDATE: At 11:37 AM on July 6th, 2026, this story was updated to include a comment from Tom Gerend, Executive Director of the Kansas City Streetcar Authority.
Kansas City, MO. — On July 2, RideKC streetcar workers announced a campaign to unionize with Teamsters Local 955 in a “march on the boss” to their employer, Herzog.
Workers gathered outside their employer’s building and held a “march on the boss,” a public demonstration where workers present union demands or formation to their employer. They cited increased workloads due to the FIFA World Cup and Riverfront expansion, stagnant wages, a lack of benefits, and desires for investment from their multinational employer as reasons for their unionization.
Jerry Wood, the president of Teamsters Local 955, attended the march in support of the streetcar workers. In an interview with the Labor Beacon, he said that Herzog wasn’t treating their workers as well as they could.
“Herzog has done some, I think, nefarious things with them,” Wood said. “They’re not treating them properly. I think some of their pay is low, and I got a letter from one of our drivers who has a heart condition that has to use his phone for a heart monitor, and they won’t allow him to have the phone on him when he’s running the streetcar.”
Wood also stated that over 90% of Kansas City streetcar workers have signed up in both Missouri and Kansas, including streetcar operators, maintenance workers, and mechanics.
Context you should know for this story
Kansas City’s RideKC Streetcar is a rail transportation service in Kansas City and, according to its website, it had around 1.7 million riders this year alone as of the end of May.
Essentially, Herzog was contracted by Kansas City and the Kansas City Streetcar Authority to administer the day-to-day operations of the RideKC rail services. Because Herzog is their direct employer, streetcar workers took their demands directly to the company’s doorstep.
Although both the RideKC’s rail and bus services share the RideKC brand, there are important distinctions which separate them: The bus services are run by the KCATA (Kansas City Area Transportation Authority) and their workers are members of the ATU Local 1287; the rail services are run by Herzog and, until recently, were not represented by a union.
In other words, the bus services are entirely separate.
What workers are facing and what they hope to gain from unionization
Streetcar workers are dealing with an unprecedentedly high number of riders due to the FIFA World Cup and an expansion of streetcar routes. Workers noted that this meant an increased workload for themselves, and that they didn’t feel as though they were being helped.
In May alone, workers dealt with 474,000 riders, that’s over double of what it was just one year ago, according to the RideKC website.
One streetcar maintenance worker who attended the march chose to be anonymous out of fear of retaliation. The employee echoed concerns regarding increased workloads and a lack of help from their employer.
“Our workload has increased by so much more,” the employee said. “Streetcars are breaking down faster because of the amount of stress that’s being put on them, its made things ten times harder. The workload keeps increasing and increasing and increasing. I love the growth the streetcar has but our pay and benefits are not matching the amount of ridership we that we have.”
Julian Araiza is a streetcar driver who also attended the march; he said that his pay wasn’t sufficient for what he’s being asked to do
“Under Herzog, we feel that we are paid unfair wages,” Araiza said. “There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with moving a train with people in it, a lot of responsibility, and because of that responsibility we believe we should be compensated more than we are.”
Another streetcar driver who chose to be anonymous hoped unionization would bring unity between himself and his peers.
“We try to make better living standards and also being able to afford the rising cost of living,” the worker said. “I feel that all of us are not asking for much, we’re just asking for the things we provide. I’m always here to support my fellow operators, I’m always for it, and if it’s to show unity that we can all be one for a common goal that’s what I’m all for.”
Wood said that his union would fight hard for better pay and working conditions.
“Get them representation, get them taken care of, get them better working conditions, treat them correctly”
He also noted that, if Herzog resists voluntary unionization, his team wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“I do not believe Herzog’s gonna do a thing without us twisting their arm.”
They’ll be joining the roughly 14.7 million Americans who are members of labor unions. Including 9.8% of Missouri workers and 6.2% of Kansas workers according to statistics from the US Bureau of Labor.
Kansas City Street Car Authority & Herzog’s response
The Labor Beacon has reached out to Herzog 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.
