IAM Rail Division Applauds Bipartisan Senate Introduction of Railway Safety Act

BRC National Representative Jason Cox and BRC Local Lodge 6760 Chairman James Ramey meet with Sen. Husted’s office, along with rail labor, to advocate for the Railway Safety Act

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2026 – Today, U.S. Sens. Jon Husted (R-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Railway Safety Act in the Senate.

This legislation largely resembles previous bipartisan legislation led by then-Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) that passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee and received the endorsements from President Biden and President Trump. This legislation comes as safety continues to deteriorate across the rail industry, with derailments per million train miles have substantially increased across the major Class I railroads along with yard derailments as well.

The IAM Rail Division, which includes IAM District 19, the Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM) and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC) Division, have been sounding the alarm for years on the unsafe practices of the railroads, often allowing trains to leave the yards with known safety defects.

The bill makes a number of critical safety reforms, including:

Closing a loophole to ensure that highly-trained and skilled Carmen are ones tasked with performing pre-departure mechanical safety inspections – as the regulations intend.
Prohibiting railroads from placing impossible time limits on safety inspections.
Ensuring that qualified mechanical inspectors (QMIs) are performing locomotive inspections.
Requiring a minimum of two crew members on-board every Class I freight train
Regulating the minimum use of critical wayside detector technology
Improving community and first responder safety
…and much more!

“IAM Rail Division members see firsthand the consequences of precision-scheduled railroading and Wall Street-driven cost cutting that have hollowed out safety practices across this industry,” said Josh Hartford, Special Assistant to the International President for the IAM Rail Division. “This legislation restores common-sense safety standards by ensuring that trained, qualified railroaders — not the lowest-cost alternative — are performing critical inspections. Our members have been raising these concerns for years. Congress must move swiftly to advance this bill and put safety ahead of corporate profits.”

TCU National Legislative Director Dave Arouca testifies in front of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Railroad Subcommittee on rail safety legislation.

“I’d like to thank this bipartisan group of Senators for introducing the Railway Safety Act in the Senate,” said Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM) National President Matt Hollis. He added, “TCU has been advocating for this legislation for years. It’s time for Congress to act and pass this bill to not only ensure our members can perform the jobs they are trained to do, but to improve the safety and reduce the risk of another East Palestine for every community that our trains roll through.”

“This legislation is important to every Carman at every Class I railroad,” said Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division General President Don Grissom. “Every safety-sensitive industry knows how important it is to have the right person doing the right job. This bill does just that. Right this minute we have unsafe trains that have not been properly inspected rolling through communities. Statistically, it is very likely that either today or tomorrow there will be a derailment in this country that could’ve been prevented if our Carmen are simply allowed to do their job. That should scare the hell out of everyone. It’s time for Congress to step in.”

“On the ground, our members are being pressured every day to rush inspections or allow trains to depart with known defects,” said Reece Murtagh, IAM District 19 President and Directing General Chair. “The Railway Safety Act reinforces what railroaders have always known: thorough inspections by skilled Carmen and Machinists save lives and prevent disasters. Congress must act to protect railroad workers and the communities we serve.”