The bill, which was passed in both houses of the state legislature earlier this month and was signed into law on Thursday, was backed by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the SMART Transportation Division. Union officials say the law’s passage is a victory in their battle against single-person crews.
“This represents a significant legislative victory for all railroaders, especially our hard working engine and train crews,” says BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce. “In the event of an emergency situation, a lone crew member cannot properly assess the situation, secure the train, notify all necessary emergency responders and take other steps to mitigate the emergency in a timely manner.”
Similar legislation has previously been passed in California, Arizona, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
Railroads that violate the new law will be fined $250 to $1,000 for a first offense, $1,000 to $5,000 for a second offense committed within 3 years, or $5,000 to $10,000 for a third or subsequent offense committed within 3 years.
Two-person crew bills have been introduced in more than a dozen state legislatures this year.
Last week, two-person crew bills passed the Maryland House of Delegates and the Washington State House of Representatives and will now go before their respective state Senates. Wyoming’s House of Representatives also passed a two-person crew bill this spring but it died in the state Senate.
John Risch, national legislative director for SMART Transportation Division, told his members not to be discouraged when two-person crew legislation fails.
“Even when we come up a tad short in a state, it should not be viewed as a failure, but instead the building block to the next legislative session,” Risch writes.
On Friday, both unions announced their support for the introduction of a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would require two people aboard all freight trains in the country. The bill, dubbed the Safe Freight Act, was introduced by U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who has introduced similar bills in the past. All previous versions of the bill have failed although that could change with a Democratic held House.
In a joint news release announcing their support, leaders of SMART and BLET referenced the Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, oil train disaster and automated train derailments in Australia as reasons for the legislation.
“A clear message must be sent to our lawmakers and to the general public that multi-person crews are essential to ensuring the safest rail operations possible in their communities,” says SMART Transportation Division President John Previsich. “I would like to thank Congressman Young for his leadership on this critical issue as we continue to improve safety on our nation’s railroads for both our members and for the general public.”
While the unions say having two people on a freight train makes it safer, the railroads say there is no evidence to prove that.
“There simply isn’t a safety justification,” says Kristin Smith, vice president of communications for the Association of American Railroads. “It disregards freight rail’s strong safety record and stifles innovation. Rail staffing should be determined through collective bargaining, not through a complicated state-by-state patchwork.”
