IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. wrote a letter to members of the U.S. Senate urging support for the Bipartisan Railway Safety Act as amended and passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee.
The letter supports the legislation that would improve freight rail safety in the U.S. The IAM believes this common-sense legislation will create several essential safety improvements to the nation’s railways while providing significant work-life improvements for our Carmen and Machinists’ crafts.
“We support the Railway Safety Act because it will dramatically enhance rail safety in a number of ways,” IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. wrote in the letter. “For our members specifically, the bill prohibits the railroads from placing impossible time constraints on rail car and locomotive inspectors, as detailed in the Wall Street Journal’s front page expose on March 30, 2023. The bill would also require more frequent locomotive and rail car safety inspections, while ensuring that these inspections are performed as intended and by highly trained and qualified personnel.”
The IAM was founded as a railroad union in 1888 and represents more than 35,000 railroad workers across the country. These members include the IAM’s original craft, the locomotive Machinists, and various rail crafts represented by our merged affiliated, the Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM) and their Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division (BRC).
Read the complete letter here.
