[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced the bipartisan Passenger Rail Crew Protection Act to enhance public safety by ensuring passenger rail crew members are provided the legal protections that have been afforded to flight crew members and attendants for decades. Specifically, just as it is a federal crime to interfere with flight crews, the bipartisan Duckworth-Hoeven bill would prohibit interfering with intercity and passenger rail crew members by establishing a uniform criminal prohibition against assaulting or intimidating engineers, conductors, onboard personnel, employees performing safety-sensitive functions and other personnel responsible for operations, functions or customer service at a rail station.
“No one in America should experience what my constituent Michael Case endured when he was shot and critically injured simply for performing his job as an Amtrak conductor,” said Senator Duckworth. “Congress rightfully recognized decades ago that flight crew members deserved uniform legal protections against assault and intimidation, and it’s past time we grant our passenger rail crew members with the same legal protections that apply to flight crews.”
“Anyone who assaults a crew member or interferes with travel, whether by rail or in the air, should be held to the same standard,” said Senator Hoeven. “This bipartisan legislation will provide the same protections for rail crews that currently exist for airline crew to ensure that’s the case. In addition to crewmember safety, this effort will also better ensure the safety of those traveling by rail.”
The full text of the bill can be found on Senator Duckworth’s website.
A broad range of passenger rail stakeholders endorsed the bipartisan Duckworth-Hoeven Passenger Rail Crew Protection Act: SMART Union, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO (TWU), Transportation Communications Union/IAM (TCU) and the American Association of Railroads (AAR).
“There’s no justification for abusing, threatening or assaulting onboard service workers just doing their job,” said John Feltz, Transport Workers Union Railroad Division Director. “No one should have to worry as they head to work that they might wind up in the emergency room or worse. This bill rightly extends federal protection to this vital workforce and should be adopted without delay.”
“Our members have long sought the same protections afforded airline personnel: that assaulting or intimidating a crew member should and must be a federal offense,” said Greg Kocialski, TCU National Secretary Treasurer and 30-year Amtrak employee. “We’re confident this legislation will force people to think twice before assaulting passenger rail employees. On behalf of over 10,000 customer-facing passenger rail employees, we are proud to endorse the bipartisan Passenger Rail Crew Protection Act (PRCPA) and we thank Senators Duckworth and Hoeven for supporting the safety and dignity of our members.”
“No worker should ever go to work wondering if today is the day that someone might try to hurt them,” said Jared Cassity, SMART Transportation Division National Safety and Legislative Director. “Yet, just like in the airline industry, rail workers face that unfortunate reality every single day, which is why our members, the onboard conductors and assistant conductors, have long fought for parity with airline crew protections. Today, thanks to Senators Hoeven and Duckworth, we take a giant step forward to achieving that goal with the introduction of the bipartisan Passenger Rail Crew Protection Act, which makes it a federal offense to interfere with the duties of onboard train crews and station personnel.”
“As America’s largest transportation labor federation, we applaud Senators Duckworth and Hoeven for authoring legislation to help keep passenger and commuter rail workers safe on the job,” said Greg Regan, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO. “Passenger and commuter rail trains routinely move through multiple jurisdictions, and these workers deserve the same protections from assaults afforded to flight crew.”
Duckworth was originally inspired to author and introduce this bipartisan bill in 2018 after her constituent, Mr. Michael Case, was critically injured in a shooting while performing his duties as an Amtrak conductor.
As a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST), Duckworth has long advocated that every American should receive the dignity and respect they deserve while traveling. Duckworth authored the ASAP Act provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provide $1.75 billion over a five year period to help build ramps, install elevators and make other improvements to help ensure our nation’s transit systems are actually, finally usable for those with disabilities.