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6/9/2021
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is endorsing the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act (INVEST Act), which is expected to be marked up in the U.S. House of Representatives today.
The bill would authorize $547 billion in spending over five years on surface transportation and triple funding for Amtrak.
The bill also would mandate a minimum crew size of two people for freight train operations, a provision the union has supported for several years.
Other union-backed measures in the bill include:• a requirement that railroads report all positive train control system failures to the Federal Railroad Administration;• mandatory train crew changes at the U.S.-Mexican border; and• a requirement that the U.S. Department of Transportation conduct fatigue management pilot projects.
BLET National President Dennis Pierce praised the bill for its "pro rail-worker" measures.
"While many of our elected officials remain divided on some of the ideological issues contained in this bill, we strongly support the two-person crew provision as well as the additional pro-rail worker and pro-rail safety provisions in this proposed legislation, which would go a long way toward improving the lives and safety of our members," said Pierce in a press release.