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TTD Voices Safety Concerns in Autonomous Railcar Hearing

By Admin

WRITTEN STATEMENT OF GREG REGAN, PRESIDENT TRANSPORTATION TRADES DEPARTMENT, AFL-CIO ________________________________________ FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC HEARING ON PARALLEL SYSTEMS TEST PROGRAM March 12, 2024 On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and our 37 affiliated unions, I want to thank the FRA for scheduling today’s public hearing. The members represented by TTD-affiliated unions […]

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Rail Labor Opposes Ancora’s Proposed Ouster of Norfolk Southern CEO

By Admin

March 8, 2024  Norfolk Southern Shareholders:  I am writing on behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO and the unionized workers on Norfolk  Southern as represented by our affiliated unions. We are gravely concerned by recent news reports that a hedge  fund, Ancora Holdings, has amassed a $1 billion stake in Norfolk Southern with the […]

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Rail Labor & Industry Urge Senate Budget Committee to Pass the REEF Act

By Admin

March 4, 2024 Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Chairman Committee on the Budget U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 Senator Chuck Grassley Ranking Member Committee on the Budget U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Chairman Whitehouse and Ranking Member Grassley: As representatives of the freight and passenger railroad industry and the highly-trained, hardworking railroad workforce, we thank you […]

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Support Firearms Safety Act to Protect Airports

By Admin

March 1, 2024 The Honorable Mike Johnson Speaker U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries Minority Leader U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 The Honorable Charles Schumer Majority Leader U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 The Honorable Mitch McConnell Minority Leader U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Schumer, […]

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Rail Labor Urges FRA to Conduct Inspections & Repairs After BNSF Mechanical Furloughs

By Admin

February 29, 2024 The Honorable Amitabha Bose Administrator Federal Railroad Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 Re:       FRA Safety Actions in Response BNSF Mechanical Furloughs Administrator Bose: On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO and the totality of rail labor as represented by our affiliated unions, we are writing to urge […]

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Rail Labor Supports CA High-Speed Rail’s Request for RAISE Grant Program Funding

By Admin

February 26, 2024 Honorable Pete Buttigieg Secretary United States Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Secretary Buttigieg: On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), and the hundreds of thousands of workers we represent in the passenger rail and building trades sectors, I write to express my support for […]

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TTD Urges Senate Committee to Advance Julie Su’s Nomination for Labor Secretary

By Admin

February 26, 2024 Dear Senator: On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and our 37 affiliates representing millions of workers across the transportation industry, I urge you to vote yes on the nomination of Acting Secretary Julie Su to the office of Secretary of Labor when the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor […]

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Congress Must Act Quickly to Fund Critical Transportation Programs and Avert a Government Shutdown

By Admin

February 23, 2024 The Honorable Mike Johnson Speaker of the House H-232, The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Chuck Schumer S-221, The Capitol Senate Majority Leader Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Kay Granger House Appropriations Committee H-307, The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Patty Murray Senate Appropriations Committee S-128, The Capitol Washington, DC […]

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Reject BNSF’s Request for Permanent Waiver from Safety Measures

By Admin

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to respond to the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) notice regarding BNSF Railway Company’s petition to make permanent its existing waiver from certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR parts 232 (Brake System Safety Standards for Freight and Other Non-Passenger Trains and Equipment; End-Of-Train Devices), and 229 (Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards). Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and Union Pacific Railroad (UP) are also requesting relief under the existing waiver. TTD consists of 37 affiliated unions representing the totality of rail labor, including freight rail employees.[1] For the reasons outlined below, we ask that the FRA deny this petition. In addition, we endorse the comments filed in this docket by our affiliates, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD).

The existing waiver allows BNSF, CPKC, and CSX to test extending the air flow method (AFM) test intervals from 92 days to 184 days on locomotives equipped with the New York Air Brake (NYAB) CCB–II and Fastbrake air brake systems. The most recent petition requests that the relief granted under the existing waiver be extended to CN and UP. In addition, BNSF is requesting that this relief be made permanent.

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Workers Must Be Front and Center in Clean Energy Transition

By Admin

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to respond to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) request for information (RFI) on the progression to net-zero emission propulsion technologies for the rail sector. TTD consists of 37 affiliated unions representing the totality of rail labor, including both passenger and freight rail workers.[1] We therefore have a vested interest in this RFI and encourage the DOE to take our input into consideration.

Our affiliate unions represent the vast majority of railroad industry workers engaged in train operations, train dispatching, signal, maintenance of way and mechanical maintenance, inspection, testing, and repair on passenger and freight railroads throughout the United States. Each of these crafts will be impacted in some way by the transition to net-zero rail propulsion technology. Workers in the mechanical crafts, who are responsible for the maintenance, inspection, testing, and repair of locomotives and rail cars, will likely experience the most significant changes to their day-to-day jobs as the rail sector begins to transition to net-zero technology and the technology used in locomotives changes from the current diesel based setup.

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