TWU EFFORTS GET RESULTS
The federal government for the first time is proposing minimum safety standards to protect trackworkers from on-the-job injuries and deaths – a move The Transport Workers Union has advocated for over many years.
Under a Federal Transit Authority rulemaking proposal, local transit agencies around the country would be mandated to follow the federally prescribed standards, which initially would include worker safety briefings, training sessions, and reports detailing near-miss incidents. Significantly, workers would have a right to refuse unsafe work.
“This is a massive breakthrough, an unprecedented leap forward in terms of worker safety,” TWU International President John Samuelsen said. “Instead of being neutral, the FTA is saying it intends to be an active ally in our efforts to protect workers who do inherently dangerous jobs on and along the tracks.”
Previously, the Federal Transit Administration spoke to transit agencies in generalities, directing them to provide a ‘safe work environment,’ Samuelsen said. Now, the FTA is getting specific. One of the standards being put forth by the FTA, for example, would enshrine a worker’s right to refuse an unsafe work order. This is extremely significant, particularly among workgroups that do not have contractual language providing for good-faith safety challenges, union officials said.
The FTA proposal comes less than three months after a Trackworker was fatally struck by a subway train in NYC. It will have to go through a series of public comment periods before going into effect. If formally adopted, it would open the door for the FTA to start imposing a wide array of safety rules and regulations pertaining to track work, union officials said.
Samuelsen praised Acting FTA Administrator Veronica Vanterpool for making worker safety a top priority. President Joe Biden’s administration elevated Vanterpool to the top post in February. She was previously the deputy administrator.