The IAM Rail Division applauds the bipartisan vote to move the Railway Safety Act of 2023 out of Committee and on to the Senate floor for a full vote, but we don’t have the votes yet! We need YOUR help to get both the Senate and the House to pass this important legislation!

The bill includes the following:

1. Prohibits the railroad carriers from imposing time constraints on rail car and locomotive inspections, providing major work-life improvements for our Carmen and Machinists crafts.
2. Ensures that our highly-skilled and qualified Carmen and Machinists are the ones conducting these inspections (such as locomotive and pre-departure railcar inspections), rather than relying on operating crews or other untrained crafts.

“The Bipartisan Railway Safety Act is a common-sense piece of legislation that will create several important safety improvements to the nation's railways,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “This bill will make the rail industry safer for workers and the communities in which they work.”

Remind your legislators that railway safety is important to you by sending a letter asking them to vote in favor of this bill.

“It is good to see some common sense safety improvements come after the tragedy in East Palestine, which benefits both railroaders and the public. By requiring that properly-trained Qualified Mechanical Inspectors are being utilized, and by increasing the frequency of locomotive inspections, this bill ensures that our highly-skilled members are holding our nation’s locomotives to the highest standards,” said Josh Hartford, Special Assistant to the International President, IAM Rail Division.

“I applaud the bipartisan efforts of Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) as well as Ohio Senators J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and all the other Senators that have agreed to cosponsor this important legislation. Without their sense of urgency after the tragedy in East Palestine, we wouldn’t have such a timely and strong legislative response. However, we cannot and should not delay with this legislation, therefore I urge Leader Schumer to put this bill on the Senate floor as soon as possible,” said TCU National President Artie Maratea.

“The amended bill is a major step forward for freight rail safety in this country. By eliminating inspection time restrictions, and actually requiring properly-trained and qualified people to perform these inspections, we are finally putting the safety of employees and our communities ahead of massive corporate profits,” said Don Grissom, General President of TCU’s Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division.