SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 Transportation Trades Department (TTD), AFL-CIO President Greg Regan emphasized that the resurgence of labor unions\u2019 power has been very apparent as he addressed the general session Aug. 9, the second day of the SMART Leadership Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It began as the nation coped with the pandemic and then as the Biden administration set its sights toward accomplishing true action on infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe labor movement drove the response,\u201d Regan said. \u201cWe were the ones who delivered for working people every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the examples: Investments in the transportation sector through the CARES Act, which put SMART-TD members furloughed by Amtrak back on the job after the pandemic froze the nation\u2019s transportation system, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which outlaid a historic level of funding for Amtrak and public transportation, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is the type of legislation that every president since Richard Nixon has been trying to accomplish,\u201d Regan said. \u201cAnd it happened last year. That doesn\u2019t happen without the strength of the labor movement pushing that legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a rebirth for this country. We have a massive amount of opportunity for infrastructure in this country right here and we cannot skip over that. We might want to go on and move on to the next fight, but we should take a moment to reflect on what a major accomplishment that was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regan mentioned specifically the work of the legislative departments of both SMART and the Transportation Division on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, as national rail contract negotiations near the end of the line set forth by the Railway Labor Act and comment has opened for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by the Federal Railroad Administration to make a minimum two-person rail crew nationwide, transportation labor has a chance to flex its muscles again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regan took part, along with many unionized workers from multiple industries July 30 in Galesburg, Ill., as they stood together to draw attention to carriers\u2019 treatment of rail workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are not going to buckle. They are not going to be able to split us,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a level of strength and solidarity I see in freight rail right now that is unmatched.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for getting the Rule of 2 finalized by the Federal Railroad Administration, Regan said he\u2019s confident that the public and regulators will recognize that it\u2019s a safety issue and non-negotiable, especially as the comment period progresses to its conclusion in late September. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to back down. We\u2019re going to stay together, we\u2019re going to fight like hell and we\u2019re going to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 Transportation Trades Department (TTD), AFL-CIO President Greg Regan emphasized that the resurgence of labor unions\u2019 power has been very apparent as he addressed the general session Aug. 9, the second day of the SMART Leadership Conference. It began as the nation coped with the pandemic and then as the Biden administration set […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":6,"featured_media":68555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4826,4990,9,4893,18,4860,4333],"tags":[2526,4581,4643,426,2035],"member_types":[4845,4847,4850],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n