Transportation Trades Department

FRA proposes minimum 2-member crew size for most trains

Two freight trains sit on train tracks in a rail yard. City skyscrapers are in the background.

A train crew would typically have to include at least two people under a rule proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration.

The proposal — which drew conflicting responses from the Association of American Railroads and the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO — comes as labor unions and the railroads are at loggerheads over a labor contract, while questions about technology’s role in freight rail operations loom large. The requirement would reverse a May 2019 decision that a rule...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fra-proposes-minimum-2-member-crew-size-for-most-trains

Rail union urgest senators to revise common carrier obligation

The Transportation Trades Department is asking Congressional senators to consider revising the common carrier obligation so its meaning is more clear and enforceable.

The common carrier obligation defines the freight railroads’ role in delivering bulk goods, and the Surface Transportation Board uses it as a basis in rendering decisions. 

“It is clear that the major U.S. freight railroads are failing to meet their statutory ‘common carrier’ obligation to provide freight rail customers with...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-union-urgest-senators-to-revise-common-carrier-obligation

TTD and Union Pacific disagree over safety technology deployment

A close-up of train wheels running on track track.

The debate about how to manage visual inspections in the face of advances in safety technology continues. This time it’s railroad carmen defending the importance of visual inspections for brake testing and maintenance.

Union members are responding to Union Pacific’s request to the Federal Railroad Administration to extend a waiver governing UP’s test program for wheel temperature detectors (WTDs). 

UP (NYSE: UNP) is asking FRA to allow the use of WTDs on intermodal trains operated on segments of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ttd-and-union-pacific-disagree-over-safety-technology-deployment

FRA requiring railroads to submit worker fatigue management plans

A worker sitting down with his hands behind his head. In front of him is a hard hat.

The Federal Railroad Administration is now requiring the Class I railroads, Amtrak and commuter railroads to include fatigue risk management plans as part of their larger system safety and risk reduction programs.

The rule was published Monday in the Federal Register. The Federal Railroad Administration will review the plans annually, per the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, and it will also conduct periodic audits. 

FRA said this rule is one of several ongoing initiatives to address the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fra-requiring-railroads-to-submit-worker-fatigue-management-plans

Unions critical of BNSF’s new adjustments to attendance policy

BNSF locomotives lined up in a rail yard.

Two unions are still critical of BNSF’s controversial attendance policy, saying recent adjustments aren’t enough to overcome its shortcomings.

“BNSF’s proposed changes to its HiViz attendance policy are unimpressive. These changes do nothing to address the policy’s fundamental flaws,” said Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. 

BNSF implemented the “HiViz” policy, which stands for high visibility, on Feb. 1. The railroad has said the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/unions-critical-of-bnsfs-new-adjustments-to-attendance-policy

‘Industries dependent upon the railroads’ service are forsaken’

The Surface Transportation Board has scheduled a hearing for April 26-27 in response to a letter sent by the National Grain and Feed Association about worsening rail service. 

The March 24 letter has gotten support from various rail unions and other stakeholders in recent days. These stakeholders are also asking the STB to examine the causes behind the service delays. 

Here’s a roundup of what’s been said recently:

Unions criticize headcount reductions, blame service issues on lack of adequate...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/industries-dependent-upon-the-railroads-service-are-forsaken

Transportation union wants federal action against Class 1 railroads’ attendance policies

The Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL-CIO is urging federal agencies to rein in Class I railroads’ attendance policies, which TTD says force union employees to work long hours without adequate rest.

TTD wants the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Transportation to determine whether the attendance policies should incur statutory or regulatory violations, according to a new policy brief issued by the group, whose leaders are meeting in Washington this week to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/transportation-union-wants-federal-action-against-class-1-railroads-attendance-policies

Lawmakers raise driver privacy concerns on Capitol Hill

Stakeholders debated at a congressional hearing Tuesday the extent to which the government should be involved in protecting the workforce against potential negative consequences of vehicle automation.

As the trucking industry advances from semi-automation to driverless trucks, one concern drivers have raised is their eroding privacy as autonomous systems make increasing use of in-cab video monitoring.

“Heavy-duty truck driving is already a highly surveilled occupation; can you speak to the impact...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lawmakers-raise-driver-privacy-concerns-on-capitol-hill

Democrats want look at precision scheduled railroading’s impact

A photograph of a train at a railroad crossing.

Democratic leaders with the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure want the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the impacts that precision scheduled railroading (PSR) has had on shippers and freight and passenger rail operations.

PSR is an operational model that all of the Class I railroads except BNSF (NYSE: BRK.B) have publicly embraced. The model seeks to streamline operations and cut costs. Proponents say PSR enables greater network efficiency, which will...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/democrats-want-look-at-precision-scheduled-railroadings-impact

Labor to DOT: Scrap Trump administration’s automated vehicles plan

Two prominent labor unions want the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to reject the Trump administration’s automated vehicle (AV) strategy for relying too much on the viewpoint from industry without enough attention paid to potential damage to worker safety and jobs.

The 38-page Automated Vehicles Comprehensive Plan (AVCP), one of the last documents released for public comment by DOT under Secretary Elaine Chao before she left the administration in January, laid out the previous...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/labor-to-dot-scrap-trump-administrations-automated-vehicles-plan

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