WASHINGTON — Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, President and Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), issued the following statement after the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced in the Federal Register that it will reestablish the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC). In August 2025, the Department of Transportation disbanded 25 federal safety advisory committees, including RSAC:
“As America’s largest transportation labor federation, representing 40 unions and hundreds of thousands of skilled rail workers, we welcome the reestablishment of the Rail Safety Advisory Committee. Since the moment this committee was disbanded, we have staunchly advocated for its return and the full reinstatement of labor representatives, who served as an important counterweight to industry members on the committee.
“However, we are concerned about the reformed committee’s new membership level of 25 representatives, roughly half of previous membership levels. It’s difficult to see how this skinny version of the safety committee will allow FRA to maintain a balanced perspective between the powerful rail industry and those who advocate for the safety of workers and communities.
“Yesterday, an independent analysis of railroad accident data revealed that the rail industry has used its lobbying power to stymie federal safety reforms, with rail regulators failing to fully implement nearly all of the safety recommendations that emerged from accident investigations. In fact, the Federal Railroad Administration has the lowest implementation rate of any regulatory agency in the Transportation Department.
“Often, the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee was the only transparent forum for employers, workers, and regulators to come together and address urgent safety concerns. We remind DOT and FRA of the unique insights that frontline rail workers bring to safety challenges facing their industry, and urge them to ensure a balanced makeup of labor and industry representatives on the new committee.”
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