Policy

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I write to comment on FRA and FMCSA’s joint Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on evaluating certain safety-sensitive transportation workers for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). By way of background, TTD consists of 32 affiliated unions representing workers in all modes of transportation, including those who FMCSA and FRA may consider safety-sensitive and would be impacted by this proceeding.[1] We therefore have a vested interest in this rulemaking.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to provide comments on the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Train Crew Staffing. By way of background, TTD consists of 32 affiliate unions representing workers in all modes of transportation including those employed in the passenger and freight rail industries. We therefore have a vested interest in this proceeding. In addition, we endorse the comments filed by a TTD affiliate, The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division (SMART-TD).

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I write to comment on the Railroad Retirement Board’s (RRB) proposed renewal and revision of its G-251 form. By way of background, TTD consists of 32 affiliated unions that represent workers in all modes of transportation, including those employed in the railroad industry. We therefore have a vested interest in this proceeding.

Dear Senator: I urge you to sign on to the letter being circulated by Senator Amy Klobuchar which asks the Secretary of Transportation to reject the application of Norwegian Air International (NAI) for a foreign air carrier permit. This letter is in response to a show cause order issued by the Department of Transportation (DOT) […]

Cosponsor H.R. 5090 and Sign the Garamendi-Collins letter Dear Representative: I urge you to cosponsor H.R. 5090, which was introduced by Reps. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) and Rick Larsen (D-WA). This bipartisan legislation is necessary to correct a significant misinterpretation of the U.S.-EU Air Transport Agreement (ATA) by the Department […]

Through this notice, FMCSA is seeking to define a “curbside bus operator” for the purpose of implementing section 32707 of MAP-21, which requires an annual safety fitness assessment of certain motor carriers of passengers that serve primarily urban areas with high passenger loads. The Agency has specifically identified curbside operators as the intended subject of that requirement, and proposes that these carriers should be defined as those that use 25% or more of their motorcoaches for operations involving pick-ups and drop-offs at curbside locations or parking lots.

In its March 2, 2016 filing, CPRL requests the STB to provide a declaratory order on whether it would be potentially permissible for CPRL to hold its own subsidiaries in trust while it acquires ownership and control of NS and seeks regulatory approval of a CP-NS merger. CPRL has not submitted an actual voting trust proposal for STB’s review but rather requests the agency’s opinion on a theoretical trust. CPRL’s petition also requests a ruling on whether it would be permissible for CP’s chief executive officer (CEO) to divest from CP and assume a comparable position at NS where he would implement various substantial operational and structural changes.

As labor organizations representing transit workers throughout the country, we urge the Department of Transportation (DOT) and your Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to issue a rule to protect bus drivers and other transit operators from the physical assaults that are plaguing this industry. As you know, Section 3022 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, builds upon FTA’s authority to regulate the safety of public transportation and requires the agency to issue a rulemaking on transit operator assaults. We believe that given the gravity of the problem, the clear Congressional directive, and DOT’s own engagement on this issue, that a rule to mitigate assaults should be finalized this calendar year.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to comment on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Minimum Training Requirements for Entry-Level Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators. By way of background, TTD consists of 32 affiliated unions that represent workers in all modes of transportation, including those whose members maintain a commercial driver’s license (CDL) for employment. We therefore have a vested interest in this rulemaking.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) I urge you to vote YES on the Cantwell amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Act. This amendment expands the current law that protects airport security personnel from assaults to also protect airline customer service representatives, including gate and ticket agents. The inclusion of this language in the FAA Reauthorization would make great strides toward ending the troubling rise in violent behavior directed at front line airline employees.