WASHINGTON — Two members of Congress have introduced legislation to place railroad yardmasters under the same hours-of-service regulations that cover workers such as train crew members and dispatchers.
U.S. Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Mike Lawler (R-Pearl River, N.Y.) on Tuesday introduced the Railroad Yardmaster Protection Act, which would limit a yardmaster to 12 hours of duty, after which the individual must receive at least 10 hours off.
“Yardmasters serve a critical role in our nation’s railroad network. They oversee the operations of a rail yard and manage the duties of various rail workers,” Carbajal said in a press release. “They not only direct the activities of their fellow workers but also passenger and freight trains when they arrive and depart. But currently, there are no limitations to the number of hours a yardmaster can work in a day, week, or month. This is not only dangerous for the well-being of the yardmasters but the safety of workers on the yard and train passengers.”
A version of the bill previously passed the House in 2020. It has been endorsed by the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART).
The full text of the bill is available here.
Can these two concerned legislators point to any specific examples of injuries, deaths, derailments or collisions caused by excessive yardmaster overtime, or are they just blowing smoke to pander to some constituency and get headlines? Plus, there is always the question of how much personal in-depth knowledge and experience these two actually have with railroads and railroading.