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2/22/2023
Brightline West recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition regarding the employment of highly skilled workers in critical jobs required to operate and maintain the planned 218-mile passenger-rail line between southern California and Las Vegas.
The coalition includes 13 rail labor unions that represent more than 160,000 freight-, regional-, commuter- and passenger-rail workers in the United States.
Expected to create more than 1,000 permanent jobs, Brightline West will operate within the Interstate 15 right of way with trains designed to reach speeds of 200 mph. The line will include stations near the Las Vegas Strip and in Rancho Cucamonga, Apple Valley and Hesperia, California.
The MOU demonstrates the support of unionized labor in the development of the high-speed passenger-rail system, and the company's commitment to providing the safest possible rail operations and high-quality working conditions for employees, Brightline West officials said in a press release.
"Our nation’s first high-speed rail system will be operated and maintained by union labor, a statement of the strength of the American workforce," said Mike Reininger, CEO of Brightline Holdings.
The coalition's members include the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Mechanical and Engineering Department; National Conference of Firemen and Oilers 32BJ/SEIU; Transportation Communications Union; International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; Brotherhood of Railway Carmen; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; Transport Workers Union of America; American Train Dispatchers Association; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Department; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
"Americans want high-speed rail, and Brightline West and the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition will deliver. Brightline West will be the catalyst for America's renaissance of travel by high-speed rail," coalition officials said.