Teamsters and BLET Push New House Bill Mandating US-Only Rail Crews

Mexican rail crews would be barred from operating trains inside the United States. The limit would apply after trains cross the U.S.-Mexico border. It is part of a bipartisan House bill. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The Protecting American Railroad Workers’ Jobs Act was introduced on April 23. Its sponsors are U.S. Reps. Chris Pappas and Lance Gooden. Pappas is a New Hampshire Democrat, while Gooden is a Texas Republican. The measure would require trains entering from Mexico to stop at the border. They would undergo crew interchange and safety testing. In the United States, only U.S. citizens or permanent residents could operate those trains. Their reporting location would have to be in the U.S.

Border crew changes and safety testing

“Reestablishing these commonsense guidelines for rail crew changes and inspections will improve rail safety, protect American rail workers’ livelihoods, and help law enforcement safely interdict dangerous drugs,” Pappas said in a press release. “Our bipartisan legislation will ensure existing standards are and will continue to support efforts that combat drug trafficking and save lives.”

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Gooden also presented the proposal as a jobs and safety measure, saying: “This America-First bill puts an end to Mexican exploitation of U.S. rail standards that threatens American railroad jobs and undermines rail safety. Freight moving through the United States should be operated by workers legally authorized to work here and held to American safety standards.”

Pappas’ release points to a federal case involving drugs smuggled by mail, vehicle, and train. Still, the Justice Department’s sentencing release does not mention train crew involvement.

Union Pacific FRA waiver and cross-border trains

The proposed legislation follows a Federal Railroad Administration waiver granted to Union Pacific last year. The Union Pacific FRA waiver allowed Mexican crews to bring trains across the border. The waiver applied to moves to UP’s Clark Pass Yard in Eagle Pass, Texas. The yard is 7 rail miles from the single-track bridge over the Rio Grande. Crew changes had previously been made there.

Officials said the move could double capacity at the border crossing. Meanwhile, CPKC was already using international crews on moves to Laredo, Texas.

Barely a month later, the FRA increased enforcement of English proficiency requirements. Those requirements applied to cross-border crews at both Union Pacific and CPKC. The agency said inspectors had encountered crews who appeared to have difficulty interpreting track bulletins. The same crews also appeared to have difficulty communicating safety requirements in English.

Mark Wallace, president of the Teamsters Rail Conference and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said the bill addresses “a critically important issue. … In repeated visits to the southern border, I heard one consistent message from BLET members: railroad jobs in America should be done by Americans.”

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