On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I write in opposition to the petition that several truck companies jointly filed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). By way of background, TTD consists of 32 affiliate unions that represents workers in all modes of transportation and are subject to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) drug and alcohol testing standards.[1] This includes members who work in the bus and truck industries and who comply with FMCSA’s testing regulations. We therefore have a vested interest in this proceeding.
The truck companies’ petition seeks exemption from 49 CFR 382.301, FMCSA’s regulations governing pre-employment controlled substances testing, and from 382.105, requiring that employers’ drug (and alcohol) testing programs comply with the procedures of DOT’s Part 40 standards. The petitioners seek these exemptions so that they can test prospective employees’ hair specimen, in lieu of urine specimen, in pre-employment drug tests.
On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I write to comment on NHTSA’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning vehicle-to-vehicle communications. By way of background, TTD consists of 32 affiliate unions that represent workers in all modes of transportation who will be impacted by the development and deployment of automated transportation. We therefore have a vested interested in the rulemaking.
Through this NPRM, NHTSA proposes to require that all light duty vehicles be equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle communications (V2V) systems. As proposed, these systems would transmit information including a vehicle’s speed, heading, and brake status from vehicle to vehicle in order to warn drivers of potential hazards. Critically, NHTSA states that the fusion of V2V and other technologies will “advance the further development of vehicle automation systems, including the potential for truly self-driving vehicles.”
On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I write to comment on DOT’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning changes to DOT’s drug and alcohol testing regulations. By way of background, TTD consists of 32 affiliate unions that represents workers in all modes of transportation, many of whom are required to undergo DOT drug and alcohol testing. We therefore have a vested interested in the rulemaking.
Through this NPRM, DOT proposes to add four semi-synthetic opioids, (hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone), which are commonly prescribed painkillers to its testing panel. DOT also proposes several other changes to Part 40, including expanded fatal flaws in sample collection, the elimination of blind specimen testing, and changes to regulations concerning Medical Review Officer (MRO) verification.
On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I write to comment on TSA’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) implementing frontline transportation worker security training provisions mandated by Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (9/11 Act). By way of background, TTD consists of 32 affiliate unions that represents workers in all modes of transportation, including frontline employees in freight and passenger rail, public transportation agencies, and over-the-road bus (OTRB) service who would be subject to this training. We therefore have a vested interested in the rulemaking and can offer some unique perspectives as TSA seeks to implement this important and overdue requirement.
On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I write to comment on MARAD’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning revisions to the American’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). By way of background, TTD consists of 32 affiliate unions that represents workers in all modes of transportation, including employees in the maritime shipping industry. We therefore have a vested interested in the rulemaking.
Working people are living in a time when it is more and more difficult to make ends meet. Wages are stagnant, and the jobs created during the slow economic recovery are doing little to reduce inequality in the workplace. Meanwhile, attacks on unionization, offshoring, employee misclassification, convoluted corporate structures and technological change are threatening the […]
Transportation unions have long believed that our federal policies should incentivize the use of public transportation funds to maximize U.S. job creation and revive what became a moribund transportation manufacturing sector. It is why we have pushed successfully for stronger domestic content, or Buy America, rules. It is also why we have waged an aggressive […]
The U.S.-flag international commercial fleet has long served the nation, operating as a naval auxiliary during times of war and as an economic tool for maintaining domestic and international waterborne commerce. To meet these strategic objectives, Congress has long required that government-impelled cargo – or preference cargo – be carried on U.S.-flag oceangoing vessels that […]
In February of 2016 the TTD Executive Committee called for federal lawmakers to pass new policies that combat the rapid and troubling rise in violent assaults on airline customer service agents (CSAs). The Executive Committee recommended a multifaceted approach that included a change in federal law to ensure that all CSAs are covered by the […]
The freight railroads have played a critical role in our national freight network and economy, serving as a major driver of job creation and economic expansion. That is why transportation labor has always fought for smart policies that ensure this industry remains strong and continues to support middle class jobs. Some of the policies we […]