TTD in the news

Reported by Joanna Marsh for Freightwaves.

Congress should consider implementing an annual “stress test” for the railroads to ensure that railroads have adequately invested in their infrastructure and people, according to policy position papers approved by the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) at a biannual meeting this week.

These position papers serve as policy action guidelines for the coalition for the upcoming months, according to TTD, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. These viewpoints have the support of the group’s 37 member unions, including member railroad unions. 

Reported by Lillianna Byington for Bloomberg Government.

Addressing staff shortages at air traffic control facilities and stopping airlines from misusing visa programs are among the top priorities for transportation unions next year.

The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO brought together 37 unions on Thursday, including the Air Line Pilots Association and Transport Workers Union, to vote on an agenda of advocacy goals for 2023 for aviation, transit, maritime, rail, and other transport workers. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh also spoke to the unions and answered questions about their priorities at the closed meeting.

Reported by David Shepardson for Reuters.

A group representing self-driving car companies is appointing a former U.S. Senate aide as its new head as the industry works to convince U.S. policymakers to speed the deployment of autonomous vehicles and jumpstart stalled legislation.

The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association (AVIA) has tapped Jeff Farrah as its first executive director, the group told Reuters.

U.S. lawmakers have been divided for years over how to amend current auto safety regulations to encompass self-driving cars, including the scope of consumer and legal protections.

America’s Wortk Force Podcast.

AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Greg Regan joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed why the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is the most pro-worker infrastructure law ever passed by Congress.

Regan recently testified before Congress about the importance of the act.

Reported by Eleanor Mueller and Tanya Snyder for Politico.

Fears of a disruptive rail strike are roaring back to life, less than a month after President Joe Biden took a highly visible victory lap for averting a pre-election economic meltdown.

No strike will happen before the end of the so-called cooling-off period in late November — after the midterm elections — and negotiations are continuing between the freight railroad industry and a dozen unions. But one labor organization’s vote this week to reject a contract with the railroads threatens to undo the White House’s efforts to avert a strike — efforts that included a compromise the administration brokered Sept. 15.

Reported by Ian Kullgren and Rebecca Rainey for Bloomberg Law.

Ian Kullgren: Remember the rail strike that consumed the Biden administration’s attention last month? Well, it’s not over, and the threat of a nationwide disruption is still very real, according to Greg Regan, the AFL-CIO’s infrastructure czar.

Three unions so far have approved collective bargaining agreements with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, the group representing large freight carriers. Nine more unions need members to vote to ratify agreements to avert a strike entirely.

Reported by Eugene Mulero for Transport Topics.

The trucking workforce’s contributions during the pandemic were again recognized by the chairman of the transportation panel in the U.S. House of Representatives.

At a Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing Sept. 29 that focused on the freight industry, Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) pointed to the women and men who toiled to ensure supplies and services were provided during the height of COVID-19. At that time, public officials and industry stakeholders largely credited truckers with keeping critical economic engines viable.

Reported by Joanna Marsh for Freightwaves.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin has introduced legislation that seeks to clarify what the railroads’ obligations are in providing good service.

The bill, called the Reliable Rail Service Act, aims to better define the common carrier obligation, which are the terms a railroad must abide by when working with a bulk commodities rail shipper to haul goods.

The common carrier obligation bonds railroads to transport any freight that has been properly tendered on reasonable terms and conditions, according to the Association of American Railroads.

American Work Force Union Podcast.

AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Greg Regan joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the importance of maintaining U.S. maritime ships as a matter of national security.

Newsy YouTube Video.

Greg Regan, President of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, joined Newsy to discuss the surge in air travel complaints and explain why consumers should be frustrated with the airlines instead of the workers.