Washington, DC – Larry Willis, president of the Transportation Trades Department, of which TCU is a member, AFL-CIO (TTD), issued a statement in response to the Federal Railroad Administration’s decision not to regulate crew size and to preempt current state laws that require two-person crews:
“The FRA’s announcement that it will pull back a proposed rule to require two-person crews on freight and passenger trains while at the same time preempting states from regulating in this key safety area is both absurd and dangerous. It places the profits of the rail industry over the safety of rail workers and the tens of thousands of communities through which freight railroads travel. We do not understand how political appointees in Washington can say they will do nothing and tell state governments they can no longer regulate the safety of the freight trains that run in their own backyards.
Click here to read the full release from the TTD.