In June, unions representing a wide range of crafts of railroad workers testified before the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on the state of the rail workforce and worker safety in the industry. Without fail, each labor witness spoke to safety issues that freight carriers and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) are at best choosing to ignore, and at worst actively exacerbating.
The belief that the carrier’s regional expansion must come at the expense of its national network isn’t just concerning – this idea goes against Amtrak’s own mission and purpose.
On Thursday, June 20, rail unions, including many TTD affiliates, will testify before Congress about the most pressing safety issues facing the industry and its workforce today. From recent decisions by the FRA to pressures from Wall Street that threaten safety, here is a preview of what will be discussed.
Our federal government recently prioritized the profits of the freight rail industry over safety by refusing to set standards for crew train size. The same agency — the federal railroad administration — also declared state laws that do set crew size null and void, paving the way for freight trains, which can be up to […]
Each year, hundreds of Americans are seriously injured or killed by locomotives when they intentionally or accidentally wander onto tracks or drive into the path of oncoming trains. While much has been done in the last two decades to mitigate these fatalities, it is clear more must be done to ensure rail grade crossing and […]
This summer, the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) allowed the freight carrier Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCSR) to operate freight trains in the United States with crews from Mexico. TTD President Larry I. Willis joined America’s Workforce Radio host Ed “Flash” Ferenc to discuss this concerning decision, and its implications, in a recent interview. The decision […]