The East Palestine Disaster Turns Two: SMART-TD Demands Action

East Palestine, OH – Two years have passed since the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio unleashed a hazmat-fueled fireball that redefined the lives of the residents and railroad workers alike. Despite the overwhelming support for stronger safety measures, little has been done. Unfortunate and inexplicable political roadblocks have kept meaningful railroad safety legislation from becoming law. Two acts, each designed to protect the lives, limbs, and livelihoods of rail workers and those living along the tracks, have been left out to dry as the railroads continue to profit. The irony could not be more apparent.

The United States deserves better.

The Railroad Safety Act of 2023 Trapped in Committee

The bipartisan Railroad Safety Act of 2023 (RSA) is a bill co-authored by then-freshman Senator and current Vice President J.D. Vance and former Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown. The RSA contains common-sense rail safety regulations that will prevent disasters like the one in East Palestine from happening again. Despite widespread backing from labor unions, including SMART-TD, and the public at large, the bill has been stalled in the U.S. Senate, a victim of Washington’s dysfunction and partisan gridlock.

Meanwhile, a companion piece of legislation appeared in the U.S. House of Representatives called the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2024 (RSEA). RSEA addresses the same critical safety issues exposed by the East Palestine derailment. Introduced by Congressman Troy Nehls (R-Texas), the bill was crafted with the same bipartisan framework as the RSA.

Rep. Nehls, alongside Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), worked in unison on the bill. It arguably represents an even stronger approach to addressing the current challenges facing rail safety than the RSA.

In any reasonable legislature the bill would have easily passed. The RSEA failed to clear the same bureaucratic hurdles as the RSA — it never even received a vote in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

RSEA’s failure to even be considered marks yet another example of how meaningful reform continues to be stifled by entrenched political forces.

Both bills, in their respective chambers, shared a bipartisan spirit. Senators Vance and Brown, like Reps. Nehls and Moulton, built a coalition of support on both sides of the aisle. This is the kind of government we all want as U.S. citizens, and it should have been celebrated. While these bills had the necessary support to pass, they never made it out of the starting gates.

Two Years, Too Little Action

Two years after the derailment, the tragedy still echoes in the lives of East Palestine residents and railroad workers. They were abandoned by a system that claims to protect them. A federal solution is still possible, but time is running out.

“East Palestine and every rail worker continue to get ‘railroaded,’” said one SMART-TD union member who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s been two years, and we’re still in the same dangerous position as before the derailment. Our lives, and the lives of those who live along these tracks, are still at risk. We can’t afford to wait any longer for politicians to do the right thing.”

“Every day that goes by without solutions to the loss felt by the community and without enhanced safeguards for our workers is a failure,” said SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson. “It’s a failure not only to address the problems at hand but also a failure on the part of national legislators to honor the promises made while the cameras were running, and this town and our issues were the fastest way to score a soundbite on the news.”

“We have watched as the promises made in the wake of the East Palestine disaster have not materialized into real change,” said Clyde Whitaker, SMART-TD’s State Safety and Legislative Director for Ohio. “We’ve seen the political machinery fail to act and in doing so, they’ve allowed corporate interests to continue to prioritize investors’ profits over workers’ safety.”

The two years that have passed since the derailment provided ample opportunity for Congress to rise above partisanship and do what was right for the people of East Palestine, rail workers, and all those who live along the tracks. Former Majority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) could have acted on the RSA. Instead, he was unable to bring it to the floor for a vote for nearly two years.

Railroad Tactics Undermine State Lawmakers

On the state level, Whitaker and other advocates have succeeded in securing important legislation to protect Ohio’s rail workers.

A new state law preserves the vital two-person crew requirement, ensuring that a sufficient workforce is on hand to respond to emergencies. Additionally, the law mandates that wayside defect detectors, which help identify mechanical issues before they lead to accidents, provide audible alerts in the cab of the locomotive, making it possible for crews to monitor train health.

While these are important steps forward, Whitaker acknowledges that the victory is bittersweet.

Railroads like Norfolk Southern and CSX have already begun to undermine the new safety measures. They took the State of Ohio to federal court to challenge the 2-PC law, and SMART-TD has received reports that these companies are lowering the volume of the defect detectors, so they are inaudible to the crew.

“Though the state law has been a win for our members, it’s clear that pushing for improvements state by state will never be enough,” Whitaker continued. “The industry continues to find ways around these regulations. A strong, enforceable federal law is what is needed. It’s time for Congress to step up and do the work with the same level of seriousness as Ohio’s legislature.”

John Thune Expected to Stymie Safety Legislation

Here’s the reality: despite widespread support for the bill, having the necessary votes only matters if the Senate President puts the bill on the floor for a vote. Senator Chuck Schumer failed us, and our prospects of current Senate President John Thune (R-South Dakota) supporting the bill are incredibly slim.

Prior to becoming a U.S. Senator, Thune was a lobbyist for the railroad industry. Not surprisingly, as a member of the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, Thune voted against the Rail Safety Act when it stood for a vote at the committee level. Fortunately, Thune was in the minority that day—following the testimony of then-Senator Vance and SMART-TD’s Whitaker, the bill did pass that hurdle with a bipartisan show of support.

Between Senator Schumer’s inaction and Thune’s conflict of interest, this bill has fallen on deaf ears in Washington.

Despite this, SMART-TD remains hopeful that with continued support from Vice President Vance and labor-friendly legislators cut from the same cloth as Sherrod Brown, the Railroad Safety Act will make its way through the politically-charged halls of Washington and become law.

Looking to the Future: Workers are Done Waiting

This union and all of rail labor continues to push for the passage of the Railroad Safety Act along with the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act. This year’s Congress features many new faces, and our National Legislative Department is working to meet with them as quickly as possible. SMART-TD will continue to advocate for the safety of its members and the communities they serve, demanding that the promises made after the East Palestine derailment be turned into concrete action. The lives of rail workers and their families depend on it.

As this union looks to the future, we feel compelled to issue a call to action to elected leaders across the country. “It’s time to stop letting politics dictate our safety,” Whitaker concluded. “We need a federal law that ensures the safety of every rail worker and every community that shares the tracks with us. The people of East Palestine, and every rail worker across this country, deserve better.”

On this, the two-year anniversary of the derailment that rocked the world of rail safety, SMART-TD calls upon our legislators to remember what is at stake and keep the promises that they made.