Safe Rails/Secure America
Lead Group(s):
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Support Group(s):
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division
Description of the Problem the Campaign is seeking to address (50 word max):
To improve rail safety and security systems to adequately protect rail workers and the communities they serve.
Description of the Victory (30 word max):
The Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2095) provides sweeping reforms to railroad safety regulations. Passed the House and is under consideration in the Senate.
A Brief Description of the long-term impact of the victory (150 word max):
The Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 provides sweeping reforms to railroad safety regulations and vastly improve the quality of life for all railroad workers.
Among the bills many provisions are
- A restructuring of the Federal Railroad Administration, placing greater emphasis on its safety role and increasing substantially the number of qualified inspectors.
- Elimination of limbo time for operating crews;
- Creation of fatigue management programs;
- Strengthened whistleblower protections;
- Implementation of positive train control;
- Vastly improves the safety of operations in dark territory;
- Establishment of training standards for all rail workers;
- Certification of train conductors;
- A study of locomotive cab ergonomics;
- A requirement for emergency breathing apparatus in all locomotive cabs; and,
- New regulations that would put an end to the harassment and intimidation of rail workers who report personal injuries.
