SMART-TD Statement on Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2024

“I want to make it very clear that the SMART Transportation Division’s National Legislative Department has outdone itself with the announcement of House Resolution 8996, known as the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2024.

This legislation is the result of National Legislative Director Greg Hynes and Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity’s passion for railroad safety, which combined forces with the leadership and vision of Congressmen Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.). These men had the desire to get down to the ballast level and fix what needed to be fixed on America’s rails. SMART-TD was more than happy to provide the details and first-hand knowledge needed to produce comprehensive and effective safety legislation.

As president of the largest labor union in this great country, I want to personally thank these two representatives and their 7 colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have worked to realize this important bill. I also want to extend my appreciation to Greg, Jared and Jenny Miller for their dedication, fortitude, and the shoe leather worn through to make sure the RSE of 2024, when passed, will keep our brothers and sisters safe for years to come!”

Jeremy Ferguson, president, SMART-TD

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (July 24, 2024) — SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and TD’s National Legislative Department proudly endorse Congressman Troy Nehls’ bill known as the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2024.

Greg Hynes, SMART-TD’s National Legislative Director (NLD), noted that in his years of working toward rail safety legislation that “H.R. 8996 is the most complete and comprehensive rail safety bill I’ve seen on the Hill. With the bipartisan leadership of Nehls and Moulton and the coalition of co-sponsors they have put together, this bill is poised to change this industry for the better. It locks two-person crews in as a federal law and goes much further to remedy some of our most-important day-to-day safety concerns on this country’s rails. I can’t thank these two Congressmen and their staff enough. They engaged Jared and I early in this process, and they were relentless in their pursuit of a bill that made sense and fixed our industry’s problems organically from the ground up.”

Hynes went on to say that he was honored to be selected by Congressman Nehls to represent the operating employees of rail labor in the House’s first hearing for the RSE of 2024.

“The congressman has been working directly with Brother Cassity and I every step of the way on this bill, and I was proud to stand for every SMART member and every railroader past, present, and future to discuss the safety enhancements we aim to accomplish by passing H.R. 8996.”

Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity had this to say: “This bill and the legislators behind it deserve the support of every man and woman in this union. Some of the highlights include:

• Two-person crews aboard Class I railroads becoming federal law with penalties to railroads in the range of $5,000 – $1 million;
• Strict regulations on blocks of empty cars in mixed-freight trains;
• Buffer cars being required between locomotives and hazardous commodity trains;
• Amtrak and all six Class I railroads will have 60 days to enroll in the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) run by NASA and FRA;
• Comprehensive studies to be done on train length and weight aimed at putting federal limits on both;
• Managers directly causing federal hours-of-service violations will be fined between $100 and $1,000;
• Accurate real-time updates will be provided to ensure consistent information is electronically maintained by carriers and made available to all first responders in emergencies;
• Phase-out of DOT 111 tank cars that have proven to be prone to puncture in derailments, putting our crews in harm’s way, will be expedited;
• Carriers’ practice of limiting the time taken to inspect locomotives and cars by Qualified Mechanical Inspectors (QMIs) will be banned;
• Mandates that class one brake tests on originating trains must be conducted by QMI employees (not conductors);
• The Department of Transportation secretary will change rail accident reporting forms to include train length and weight data as part of an effort to regulate the size of trains;
•  The National Academy of Science will conduct a study to determine the effect longer trains have on community safety by creating more blocked crossings;
• Railroad managers will face personal fines for interfering with engineers’ inspections of locomotives;
• Hot bearing defect detectors will be regulated and no more than 15 miles apart on main lines. They will be strategically placed within 10 miles of population centers;
• Rail crews will be notified of the results of all defect detectors;
• Railroads will be required to notify state emergency services about hazardous load locations and quantities.

All labor unions in this country are founded on the principle of increasing the safety of their membership. SMART-TD is proud to stand on our record in this arena. President Jeremy Ferguson, along with our National Legislative Department, have been pushing hard to get Congress’s attention to address day-to-day issues creating unsafe conditions for our members and the communities we travel through.

The RSEA and the leadership of its sponsors stand to do just that. SMART-TD looks forward to ensuring this bill reaches President Biden’s desk for a signature.

If you’re interested in speaking more about the legislation, we’d be happy to connect you with:

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson

President Jeremy Ferguson, a member of Local 313 in Grand Rapids, Mich., was elected president of SMART’s Transportation Division in 2019.

President Ferguson, an Army veteran, started railroading in 1994 as a conductor on CSX at Grand Rapids, Mich., and was promoted to engineer in 1995. Ferguson headed the recent national rail negotiations for the Union with the nation’s rail carriers.

SMART Transportation Division National Legislative Director Gregory Hynes

Greg Hynes is a fifth-generation railroader and was elected national legislative director in 2019.

Hynes served on the SMART Transportation Division National Safety Team that assists the National Transportation Safety Board with accident investigations, from 2007 – 2014.

In 2014, he was appointed to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC), which develops new railroad regulatory standards.

Hynes was appointed the first chairperson of the UTU Rail Safety Task Force in 2009 and served in that capacity until being elected SMART Transportation Division alternate national legislative director at the Transportation Division’s 2014 convention.

SMART Transportation Division Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity

Jared Cassity, a member of Local 1377 (Russell, Ky.), was elected to the office of alternate national legislative director at the Second SMART Transportation Division Convention in August 2019 and became director of the TD National Safety Team in June 2021.

Cassity started his railroad career with CSX in September 2005 and was promoted to engineer in 2008.

In addition to his elected roles, he has been a member of the National Safety Team since 2014, where he was subsequently elected to the position of Alternate Director (East) for the NST in 2016. Likewise, he was elected by his fellow peers of state directors to serve as the directors’ representative on the CSX Safety Model Executive Board in 2013.