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EXCLUSIVE: Top AFL-CIO official says rail safety within one GOP vote of Senate OK

By Admin

Reported by Mark Gruenberg for People’s World.

Six months after the Norfolk Southern freight derailment released a mushroom cloud of fumes over the small town of East Palestine, Ohio, the U.S. Senate is within one Republican vote of passing a bipartisan and comprehensive freight rail re-regulation bill, AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Greg Regan says.

The Senate’s 48 Democrats, three independents, and eight of the 49 Republicans apparently favor re-regulation. But the freight rail safety bill is not a money bill, so it needs 60 votes to pass—and now has 59. That means it needs another Senate Republican, and workers should lobby lawmakers for that last vote.

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NS’s Shaw: ‘We Will See This Through’

By Admin

Reported by Marybeth Luczak for Railway Age.

Six months after the Norfolk Southern (NS) train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, NS President and CEO Alan Shaw wrote an open letter reflecting on the Class I’s “ongoing progress, support and commitment to making things right.”

Railway Age reproduces the complete Aug. 3 letter below:

“How can we help? It’s a question my Norfolk Southern colleagues and I have been asking for the past six months.

“How can we help East Palestine?

“How can we help Darlington Township?

“How can we help the communities impacted by February’s train derailment?

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Rail Unions Renew Push for Safety Reforms 6 Months After East Palestine Disaster

By Admin

Reported by Brett Wilkens for Common Dreams.

Six months after a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed and burned in East Palestine, Ohio, railroad workers on Thursday urged Congress to pass comprehensive safety legislation to stop their employers from “choosing Wall Street over Main Street.”

“On this somber occasion, rail labor unions once again renew our calls for safety reforms,” the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL-CIO, which represents 37 unions, said in a statement. “For years, workers have sounded the alarm about deadly safety conditions in the freight rail industry. The industry’s safety failures contribute to more than 1,000 freight train derailments a year.”

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Six months after East Palestine wreck, NS reiterates long-term commitment to Ohio town and safety improvements

By Admin

Reported by Trains.

Six months after the disastrous hazardous materials derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has penned a letter to area residents outlining the railroad’s ongoing commitment to the community and to improving its safety culture.

“We promised to make things right for you and your neighbors, and we’ve made a lot of progress. Our work isn’t over, which is why we will keep asking you how we can make things right,” Shaw wrote.

The railroad continues to clean the derailment site, where ongoing environmental monitoring shows that air and drinking water are safe. Some residents, however, continue to report health problems in the wake of the wreck that spilled and burned toxic chemicals.

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All eyes on Vena as he takes helm at Union Pacific

By Admin

Reported by Joanna Marsh for Freightwaves.

Freight rail stakeholders will be watching closely as Union Pacific’s incoming CEO Jim Vena takes over the company, especially given how labor and operational dynamics have changed over the last three years since the industry veteran was last at UP as chief operating officer and later strategic adviser.

Vena, whose appointment came amid hedge fund pressure to change leadership, will assume his new role Aug. 14, replacing outgoing CEO Lance Fritz. Beth Whited, who is currently UP’s executive vice president for strategy and sustainability, will be promoted to the railroad’s president that same day.

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Rail groups, union urge Congress to maintain Railroad Retirement Board funding

By Admin

Reported by Progressive Railroading.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR), American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) and Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD ) have united to write to U.S. Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) and U.S. Reps. Kay Granger (R-Texas) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) to oppose cuts to administrative funding for the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).

The cuts are included in the fiscal-year 2024 House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill. The letters urged the lawmakers to support the limitation included in the FY24 Senate Labor-HHS bill instead.

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AFL-CIO Pushes for more rail safety rules (Video)

By Admin

Reported by WFMJ.

Greg Regan, President of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, joined WFMJ to discuss the renewed push for rail safety on the 6 month anniversary of Norfolk Southern’s toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

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6 months after the East Palestine train derailment, Congress is deadlocked on new rules for safety

By Admin

Reported by Stephen Groves and Josh Funk for AP News.

Congress responded to the fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio earlier this year with bipartisan alarm, holding a flurry of hearings about the potential for railroad crashes to trigger even larger disasters. Both parties agreed that a legislative response was needed.

Yet six months after life was upended in East Palestine, little has changed.

While President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have praised a railroad safety bill from Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and JD Vance, a Republican, the Senate proposal has also encountered resistance. Top GOP leaders in Congress have been hesitant to support it, and the bill has faced some opposition from the railroad industry, which holds significant sway in Washington.

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TRANSPORT BRIEF: Rail Safety Bill Waiting Six Months After Crash

By Admin

Reported by Lillianna Byington and Andrew Small for Bloomberg Government.

Today marks six months since a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio drew national attention to rail safety — and workers want the anniversary to jump-start action.

“On this somber occasion, rail labor unions once again renew our calls for safety reforms,” the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO said in a statement Thursday. “To the people of East Palestine: we have not forgotten you.”

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What Attys Should Know 6 Mos. After Ohio Train Derailment

By Admin

Reported by Matthew Santoni for Law 360

In contrast, the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, representing U.S. freight rail workers, issued a statement on the anniversary of the derailment supporting additional regulations.

“Rail companies have lobbied to evade or weaken safety provisions, such as the two-person crew minimum staffing standard in legislation pending before Congress. They have also sought to gut proposed safety requirements for rail inspections, defect detectors, and more,” the statement said.

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