The IBEW is linking up with other unions and environmental groups to back a bill improving the nation’s rail network with climate-saving electrification investments.
What is the All Aboard Act? Sponsored by Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey and Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, the bill introduced on July 29 would dedicate $200 billion over five years to build high-speed rail, expand passenger service, and electrify the most polluted railyards.
How would it affect IBEW members? In addition to the construction jobs created by the bill’s projects, the legislation would invest $300 million to establish freight and passenger rail training centers run in partnership with unions to develop the workforce.
IBEW already counts 12,500 members in the rail sector, including the country’s passenger line, Amtrak, and freight companies like CSX, Norfolk Southern, BNSF, and Union Pacific.
Why does the rail sector need an upgrade? Today, the transportation sector accounts for over a quarter of all emissions in the United States. Trains are already the least carbon intensive kind of transportation. With additional investments, the sponsors say it could become entirely zero emissions.
“In 2025, the people of this great country should have a rail system that is safe, fast, affordable, and keeps the economy moving,” Deluzio said in a statement. “This bill will make American passenger and freight rail a lot safer and cleaner, slash road traffic, and invest in the rail workers who make it all happen.”
Nearly 40 percent of all freight in the United States travels by rail, making it essential to the economy and infrastructure.
The All Aboard Act would also:
- Create a first-of-its-kind dedicated rail formula for states to plan for maintenance, operations, and capital investment
- Dedicate $50 billion over five years to electrify highly polluting rail yards, support electric high-performance passenger rail projects, and electrify high traffic rail corridors
- Address air pollution by providing $500 million in grants to communities near diesel-powered locomotive railyards
On track for high-speed passenger trains. Work continues on Brightline West, the high-speed passenger train that will connect Los Angeles to Las Vegas in just two hours. Construction of the line is expected to create 10,000 union jobs.
This legislation is supported by IBEW and a broad coalition of labor, transportation, and environmental groups, including:
- Transportation and Trades Division of the AFL-CIO
- Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED)
- Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BLET)
- Teamsters Rail Conference
- Transport Workers Union (TWU)
- International Association of Machinists (IAM)
- United Electrical Workers (UE)
- Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation (SMART-Transportation)
- Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation Mechanical Division (SMART-Mechanical)
- International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB)
- Transportation Communications Union (TCU)
- Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS)
- American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA)
- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
- Sierra Club
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Green New Deal Network
- Solutionary Rail
- Moving Forward Network
- Earthjustice
- Rail Passengers Association
- Transportation for America
- Union of Concerned Scientists