Congressional Testimony

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and our 37 affiliated unions, including the totality of rail labor, I first want to thank Chairman Oberman and the other Members of the Surface Transportation Board for the opportunity to speak before the Board today on the issues facing our freight rail network. The employees represented by TTD-affiliated unions are on the front lines of these challenges and have been sounding the alarm on the state of the freight rail industry for years. It is deeply unfortunate, but also completely predictable, that we would find ourselves here today. As both railroad employees and customers sit before you today to express a shared simple fact – that today’s freight rail network is simply not working for anyone other than railroad investors – we hope that the Board embraces this opportunity to effectuate positive change for rail employees, shippers, and the American public.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), and our 36 affiliated unions, I want to first thank Chairman Brown and Ranking Member Toomey for inviting me to testify before the Senate Banking Committee this morning about advancing public transportation under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
TTD and our 36 affiliated unions have long called for the historic investments that were finally delivered in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). We especially want to applaud the leadership of President Biden and the members of the Senate who put partisanship aside and showed Americans that we can still work together.

WRITTEN STATEMENT OF GREG REGAN, PRESIDENT TRANSPORTATION TRADES DEPARTMENT, AFL-CIO ________________________________________ BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & MARITIME SECURITY “Concealed Carry-Ons: Confronting The Surge in Firearms at TSA Checkpoints” February 15, 2022 On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and our 36 affiliated unions, I first want to thank […]

WRITTEN STATEMENT OF GREG REGAN, PRESIDENT TRANSPORTATION TRADES DEPARTMENT, AFL-CIO ________________________________________ BEFORE THE SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION, MARITIME, FREIGHT, AND PORTS  “Uncharted Waters: Challenges Posed by Ocean Shipping Supply Chains” December 7, 2021 On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and our 33 affiliated unions, I first want to thank […]

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and our 33 affiliated unions, I first want to thank Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves for inviting me to testify before the Committee today on the extremely timely issue of supply chain challenges and congestion. The employees represented by TTD-affiliated unions have had a front-row seat to the serious challenges facing America’s supply chain—including the workers directly engaged in freight transportation at railroads and ports, and who work in industries that have been hamstrung by the inability to procure key materials in a timely manner.

WRITTEN STATEMENT OF GREG REGAN, PRESIDENT TRANSPORTATION TRADES DEPARTMENT, AFL-CIO ________________________________________ BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE “ASSESSING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S COVID-19 RELIEF AND RESPONSE EFFORTS AND ITS IMPACT – PANEL II” September 30, 2021 Good morning. Thank you, Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves for inviting me to testify before the Committee today. […]

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), and our 33 affiliated unions, I want to thank Chair Schakowsky and Ranking Member Bilirakis for inviting me to participate in today’s hearing. I also want to acknowledge that, while not an affiliate of TTD’s, we have worked closely with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on automated vehicle (AV) policy, and my testimony fairly characterizes our shared positions on this topic. Hundreds of thousands of union members face a future of technology-enabled change and their voices must be a part of any debate over the deployment of AV and other transportation technologies.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and our 33 affiliated unions, I want to first thank Chairman Payne and Ranking Member Crawford for inviting me to testify before you today. I also want to recognize that this is the Chairman’s first hearing since taking over the gavel—TTD and our rail unions are looking forward to your leadership on the Subcommittee and working together on an ambitious pro-rail and pro-worker agenda.

This week, the Committee will be holding a hearing entitled “Passenger and Freight Rail: The Current Status of the Rail Network and the Track Ahead.” On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and our affiliated unions representing passenger and freight rail workers, we appreciate the Committee’s focus on the industry at an extremely timely moment. Across the sector, the pandemic continues to wreak havoc, threatening both the health and livelihoods of employees. At the same time, freight railroads, at the insistence of Wall Street investors and hedge fund managers, have pursued operating practices that undermine basic tenets of rail safety, ask frontline workers to do more with less, and threaten the reliable and efficient customer service that should be the hallmark of this industry. Given the critical nature of these issues, TTD would like to submit the following for your consideration.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), and our 33 affiliated unions, I want to first thank Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves for inviting me to testify today on the impacts of COVID-19 on the transportation workforce. I am also proud to be here today with witnesses from two TTD-affiliated unions; Susannah Carr, a United Airlines flight attendant on behalf of the Association of Flight Attendants, CWA and Tom Shaw, a transit operator at SEPTA on behalf of the Transport Workers Union.