News and Media

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Bob Casey, D-Penn., introduced the Energizing American Shipbuilding Act. This legislation would increase the United States’ exports of liquified natural gas (LNG) and crude oil on American built, flagged, and crewed vessels, and, subsequently, it would expand our domestic shipbuilding […]

WASHINGTON – Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issued the following response to Overseas Shipping Group CEO Sam Norton’s remarks, in which he called for replacing U.S. mariners with low-wage foreign workers to solve the maritime industry worker shortage: “As the nation’s largest transportation labor federation, […]

Reported by John Oliver for HBO.

John Oliver discusses freight trains and railroads, how they’ve put profits over safety, and, crucially, what shows he watched as a child that explain…everything.

Reported by David Lassen for Trains.

President Joe Biden and passenger rail advocates on Friday hailed announcement of two major Federal Railroad Administration programs — one providing $8.2 billion in grants for construction of passenger-focused projects [see “FRA announces $8.2 billion in Federal-State Partnership passenger grants,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 8, 2023] and the other announcing routes selected for further passenger development, either as new or extended routes, or with increased frequencies [see “Full list of passenger routes …,” News Wire, Dec. 8, 2023].

Biden highlighted the $6.1 billion for the Brightline West and California high speed projects included in the Federal-State Partnership funding during an appearance Friday in Las Vegas, Nev., saying “world-class high speed rail” had been one of his commitments as a presidential candidate. “Today I’m here to deliver on that vision,” he said. “You have no idea how much this pleases me.

WASHINGTON – Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issued this statement applauding the Department of Transportation’s decision to award $3 billion each to California High-Speed Rail and Brightline West through the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program, , as part of $8.2 billion in […]

WASHINGTON– Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issued the following statement applauding the inclusion of language that would strengthen domestic content preferences for major defense programs in the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA): “As the nation’s largest transportation labor federation, we represent thousands […]

WASHINGTON – Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issued this statement in response to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) proposed rule to require drug and alcohol testing for safety-sensitive workers at foreign air repair stations: “For more than 20 years, we have called for greater federal […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Zach Nunn (IA-03) and Don Davis (NC-01) today introduced legislation to protect Iowa’s jobs in the face of increasing automation in the workforce. The bipartisan Workforce DATA Act requires the U.S. Department of Labor to develop a plan to ensure that automation is a tool to make work easier, not an excuse to eliminate jobs. […]

Reported by Joanna Marsh for Freightwaves.

Prospects for rail safety legislation in Congress to move forward in the waning weeks of 2023 appear dim, given other pressing national issues and even “mental exhaustion” among politicians, according to a former U.S. Department of Transportation official who now heads a consulting firm.

“I think the bottom line is that it’s probably unlikely at this point that we’re gonna see any legislation this year. And next year — being an election year — is also looking pretty grim as far as prospects for the bill,” said Loren A. Smith Jr., president of Skyline Policy Risk Group, a research and consulting firm focused on the supply chain. Smith previously served as deputy assistant secretary for policy at DOT.

President of the Transportation Trades Department, Greg Regan, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the ongoing battle for rail safety improvements, safety legislation and a high-speed rail system working with unions in California.

Rail safety is still a major concern for the TTD. Despite the best efforts of the administration and Railroad Safety Administration, until there can be actual legislation passed, Regan doesn’t believe changes will be made. The Rail Safety Act, is currently in the U.S. Senate, and is about two or three members shy of having the support needed to pass. Until the industry can put safety ahead of profits, the needed changes to make railroads safer won’t happen, he said.