Washington, DC—Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issued the following statement in support of the Rail Safety Enforcement Act, which seeks to improve safety in our nation’s freight and passenger rail industry:
“Today, Rep. Rosa DeLauro continued her commitment to improving rail transportation safety by advancing legislation that seeks to reduce employee fatigue and beef up safety standards.
“We are pleased that this legislation seeks to minimize one of the rail industry’s most severe safety hazards – chronic employee fatigue – by requiring that workers be provided a defined start time or at least ten hours’ notice before having to report for work. Currently, railroads can provide their workers as little as an hour and 15 minutes’ notice to report for a 12-hour shift. Thankfully, the DeLauro bill ensures more predictable work and rest schedules.
“As carriers install cameras in the locomotive cab, the DeLauro bill provides better protections for workers from undue harassment by employers using footage or audio from these devices.
“This legislation also holds the industry more accountable for its actions by ensuring railroads pay fines for violations. Currently, rail carriers may negotiate and reduce the amount of the penalty they must pay when they violate safety regulations.
“While Congress made improvements to rail safety in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act enacted late last year, critical issues remain unaddressed. We applaud Rep. DeLauro for pushing legislation that will make rail transportation safer for employees, passengers and the communities through which freight and passenger trains travel.”
CONTACT: Jonna Huseman, jonnah@ttd.org, 202-628-9262
TTD Supports DeLauro Bill to Make Railroads Safer (187kb)
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