IAM Rail Division representatives joined members of Congress and leaders from fellow U.S. rail unions in calling on Congress to act on rail safety two years after the toxic East Palestine train derailment.
“On behalf of all our members, our hearts still go out to the people of East Palestine. They want answers, they want results and so do we,” said Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM) National Legislative Director David Arouca. “The so-called Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) era has been nothing short of just cutting head counts to the bone and then harassing those who remain to pick up the slack.”
TCU/IAM represents various crafts, one of the largest being carmen, who maintain, repair and critically inspect rail cars all across the country.
“Whether it’s our carmen being harassed to perform safety inspections on insane timelines or signalmen maintaining our national network of safety detectors, we’ve all been saying the same thing: PSR is going to kill people,” said Arouca. “We need legislation passed now to reduce the risk of another East Palestine. The time to act was yesterday. Rail safety is not, nor should it ever, be a partisan issue.”
IAM District 19 President and Directing General Chair Reece Murtagh was also present to answer questions for the press. Members of Congress joining rail included House Transportation Committee Vice Ranking Member Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio), House Rail Ranking Member Dina Titus (D-Nev.), House Transportation Committee Member Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and House Transportation Committee Member Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.).
The rail leaders demanded that Class I railroad companies adopt the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), which allows rail workers to report safety concerns without retaliation from employers.
While addressing the public with his own press conference in East Palestine, Ohio on the disaster’s anniversary, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who co-sponsored the bipartisan Railway Safety Act as Senator, said that passing legislation “is a very viable and a very reasonable goal.”
Senator Maria Cantwell sent a letter to U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chairman Ted Cruz urging him to “advance the re-introduced Railway Safety Act to ensure President Trump and Vice President Vance have the tools they need to hold the railroads accountable for improving safety.“
“Rail safety is not a partisan issue or a regional issue, it is a human issue,” said Congresswoman Sykes. “I am proud to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on and off the Transportation Committee to put forth a piece of legislation we can be proud of, but we can only truly make it right for the people of East Palestine if we actually pass meaningful rail safety legislation.”
“I think we have a real opportunity here,” said Congresswoman Titus. “I think we can get it done, just reintroduce those bills, bring it together in a package, and move it forward. I’m committed to it, other members of Congress and the great representatives from unions are, so I’m leading this with optimism.”
