Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced legislation Friday that would require personal protective equipment and sanitation procedures to protect transportation workers nationwide.
Cantwell, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said the legislation was necessary to protect transportation workers and the transit system.
“Transportation workers are critical for getting people to and from work, getting life-saving goods out to hospitals and first responders, moving food for our kitchen tables, and essential goods to stock our stores,” Cantwell said. “The Essential Transportation Employee Safety Act will require passenger and freight transportation companies to abide by the CDC recommendations, including mandatory cleaning, disinfecting areas, and personal protective equipment to keep our frontline workers safe.”
The legislation would require U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEM) to support state and local efforts for making the testing of transportation workers a priority. Additionally, it would require owners and operators of transportation equipment or facilities to provide personal protective equipment to transportation employees as well as regulations surrounding disinfection and sanitization procedures.
Previously, Cantwell called on Chao to release uniform federal COVID-19 safety guidelines for the aviation industry in May.
The proposed legislation is endorsed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Transportation Trade Department of the AFL-CIO.
“Millions of working people have been putting their lives on the line and continue to put themselves in harm’s way to keep our country running during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Larry Willis, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD). “The Essential Transportation Employee Safety Act is necessary legislation that would ensure the government and transportation employers are taking the meaningful actions we know are needed to keep workers safe on the job.”