WASHINGTON — Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, President and Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), issued the following statement to commemorate Rail Safety Week, which runs from September 15-21, 2025:
“As America’s largest transportation labor federation, representing the totality of rail labor and a voice for hundreds of thousands of skilled rail workers, we renew our calls for comprehensive federal legislation and regulatory action that meaningfully enhances rail safety.
“In recent months, rail labor has sounded alarms about dozens of deregulatory measures at the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration that would undo progress on railroad safety, putting workers and communities at risk. We assert that federal regulations such as hands-on training, high-standard certification requirements for conductors and locomotive engineers, and accident reporting regulations exist to prevent injury, damages, and even death. Additionally, current proposals to diminish or potentially eliminate visual safety inspections of railroad track by trained experts in favor of unproven automation technology would simultaneously further public risk and jeopardize the safety of rail workers on the job. In repealing or weakening these and other longstanding rules, we take several steps back on safety progress in the rail industry.
“Following Norfolk Southern’s catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, then-Senator J.D. Vance stood up to the all-powerful railroad industry and authored the bipartisan Railway Safety Act to protect other small towns and communities from experiencing what the residents of East Palestine had to endure. This bill, which earned the support of President Trump, would codify the two-person crew rule, require use of defect detectors to prevent derailments, and ensure that railroads are held accountable in the event of a safety violation. We urge the Trump administration and Congress to seize the opportunity in the upcoming Surface Reauthorization Bill to create a safer rail system, and prioritize investment in workforce training, modernization, and safety.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Railroad Administrator nominee David Fink, who both committed to protecting the two-person crew rule during their respective Senate confirmation hearings in January and May. Secretary Duffy publicly pronounced his support for Congress enacting the Railway Safety Act, as well as reaffirmed his commitment to the two-person crew rule in a congressional hearing earlier this summer. It is imperative that skilled, trained workers can respond in emergency situations. With union voices at the table, we can better protect frontline workers and the communities they serve daily.
“As transportation labor, we know that the nation does not run without the rail industry, and the rail industry does not run without workers. For rail workers, every hour, day and week that they are on the job is spent with rail safety on their minds. During Rail Safety Week we continue to advocate for rail safety through a holistic approach, from preventing catastrophic derailments to ensuring that workers return home safely to their families each day.”
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