Legislation Introduced to Nullify FRA Two-Person Crew Mandate
The Train Crew Choice Act, according to a press release from the office of Rep. Burlison, “repeals the FRA’s two-person crew rule and restores flexibility for railroads to make staffing decisions based on safety, technology, and efficiency.”
“This bill is about stopping union bosses from using Washington to get what they can’t win at the bargaining table,” said Burlison. “Previously, in 2019, the FRA concluded that ‘accident/incident data does not support a train crew staffing regulation.’ Yet the Biden-Harris administration went ahead with this mandate, which burdens small railroads with increased costs with no benefit except inflating union membership.”
“Freight rail is one of the safest ways to move goods in America,” Burlison continued. “We should be encouraging innovation, not imposing unnecessary regulations that benefit special interests.”
“Mr. Burlison ignores the irony of his doing on behalf of railroads precisely what he complains rail unions are doing,” commented Frank N. Wilner, Railway Age’s Capitol Hill Contributing Editor. “A similar legislative attempt by Burlison in 2023 failed, as have almost a dozen rail-labor-backed bills to mandate two-person crews.
“The FRA’s 2024 regulatory mandate drew court challenges from numerous railroads that were consolidated into a single case now before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. The railroad lawsuit alleges the FRA two-person crew mandate has two fatal flaws: 1) It runs afoul of a Supreme Court holding that regulatory agency edicts have ‘a rational connection between the facts found and the choice made;’ and 2) It violates Executive Orders No. 12291, 12866, and 12563 requiring federal agencies, before publishing new rules, prove expected benefits exceed anticipate costs,” Wilner concluded.
“This bill by Rep. Burlison is out of sync with the administration and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and David Fink, who has been nominated to serve as FRA Administrator, both pledged to support the two-person crew regulation during Senate confirmation hearings. Vice President Vance who introduced the Railway Safety Act, which contains language to mandate a minimum crew size, also reiterated his continued support for this important safety regulation during a press conference earlier this year,” commented Mark Wallace, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) National President.
