Brothers and Sisters -

I wanted to take a moment to call to your attention what we should all celebrate as a considerable legislative victory for rail labor at the federal level.  Earlier today, the President signed into law the “Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.”   This comprehensive piece of legislation includes significant Rail Security measures which had originally been introduced in such stand alone bills as H.R. 1269 and H.R. 1401, “The Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007.”  The BLET-Teamsters Rail Conference testified numerous times on behalf of this legislation, and many of our State Legislative Board Chairmen visited DC to lobby on behalf of these bills. The new law is also a very big first step in addressing many of the concerns we raised in our High Alert report.

If we often refer to the legislative process as “making sausage,” this is the final product, and while not perfect, I think it can be fairly stated that from our point of view, it tastes pretty good – particularly considering the political environment in D.C. over the last decade.  I have attached the relevant section of the final bill to this email in a .PDF, for everyone to look at, but I just wanted to briefly mention a number of the items that we specifically asked for which were included in some way, shape, or form.  They include:

·        $1.2 Billion in authorized funding over the next four years for general Railroad Security Enhancements

·        $650 Million over the next four years for Amtrak Security Enhancements

·        Requirement for the development of a “National Strategy for Railroad Transportation Security” within the next 9 months

·        Requirements for Railroad Carrier Security Assessments and Plans

·        Requirements for the Development and Implementation of a Railroad Security Training Program in consultation with Rail Labor

·        Due Process for Railroad Workers Subject to Security Checks

·        Employee Whistleblower Protections

Simply put, I do not think that many of these measures would have been addressed, to the degree they have been addressed, without the diligent work of rail labor by first fighting to elect a Congress that would finally address our concerns, and then following through with that Congress to keep the pressure on to pass this important legislation.  There will be a considerable amount of additional work to do with regards to the some of the regulatory requirements the law stakes out, as well as in the appropriations process where designated money actually gets sent out and spent, but all in all, this is a strong, solid step in the right direction.   It was also a major goal in our ambitious legislative agenda this year, and we have met it.  It was a tough fight, but in the end a bi-partisan bill was overwhelmingly passed by both houses of Congress and was signed by the President.  If throughout the summer and in the early fall, we can accomplish the same with regards to Rail Safety Legislation (H.R. 2095 & S. 1889) our membership, as well as the industry and our country will be well served.

I congratulate all of the BLET and BMWED members of the Teamsters Rail Conference for their victory and thank you all for your hard work.

Frat

John