Legislation strengthening workplace protections for railroad yardmasters was reintroduced by U.S. Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) recently.
The Railroad yardmaster Protection Act would provide yardmasters with the same protections as other railroad yard workers. Yardmasters are the traffic controllers of rail yards and terminals. Carbajal, senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the legislation would protect vital members of the railroad workforce.
“Yardmasters are the traffic controllers of our country’s railroad network. Like their counterparts in aviation, they play a vital role in ensuring the safety of everyone traveling by train,” Carbajal said. “My bipartisan legislation will improve working conditions and support the professionals who keep America’s railroads running safely and efficiently.”
The legislation would include railroad yardmasters under federal hours of service requirements which cover rail workers like locomotive engineers, conductors, switchmen, dispatcher and signal employees. The bill ensures that yardmasters cannot be required to remain on duty for more than 12 hours, and that after they have been on duty for 12 hours, they must be off for a minimum of 10 hours. The legislation was first introduced in 2019, and passed in the House in 2020 as part of the INVEST in America Act.
“I’m proud to join Rep. Carbajal in reintroducing the Railroad Yardmaster Protection Act, a commonsense, bipartisan bill that closes a long-overdue gap in rail safety policy. Yardmasters are essential to the safe and smooth operation of our freight rail system, and it’s only right that they receive the same duty hour protections as other rail employees. This legislation is about protecting workers, improving safety, and ensuring our rail network continues to serve communities and commerce across the country effectively,” Lawler said.