Rail unions tell Biden officials workers have fallen ill at Norfolk Southern derailment site

The presidents of U.S. railroad unions told Biden medication officials that obstruction workers person fallen sick astatine the Norfolk Southern derailment tract successful East Palestine, Ohio, successful a propulsion for much bid safety.

Leaders from 12 unions met with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Amit Bose, head of the Federal Railroad Administration, successful Washington, D.C., Wednesday to sermon the derailment, aftermath and needed information improvements.

"My anticipation is the stakeholders successful this manufacture tin enactment towards the aforesaid goals related to information erstwhile transporting hazardous materials by rail," said Mike Baldwin, president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen. "Today's gathering is an accidental for labour to stock what our members are seeing and dealing with time to day. The railroaders labour represents are the employees who marque it harmless and they indispensable person the tools to bash so."

The gathering comes connected the heels of letters sent to some the DOT and the FRA Wednesday successful which national representations claimed obstruction workers had gotten sick astatine the derailment site. CNBC obtained the letters, addressed to Buttigieg, Bose, East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, from the wide president of the American Rail System Federation of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

According to the letter, Norfolk Southern obstruction workers who person worked oregon proceed to enactment the cleanup tract person reported experiencing "migraines and nausea." One idiosyncratic reportedly asked his supervisor to beryllium transferred disconnected the derailment tract due to the fact that of his symptoms, but ne'er heard backmost from his supervisor and was near astatine the occupation site.

The missive besides claims workers are not being provided due idiosyncratic protective instrumentality specified arsenic respirators, oculus extortion oregon protective clothing.

A Norfolk Southern spokesperson told CNBC successful a connection that the bid institution was "on-scene instantly aft the derailment and coordinated our effect with hazardous worldly professionals who were connected tract continuously to guarantee the enactment country was harmless to participate and the required PPE was utilized, each successful addition to aerial monitoring that was established wrong an hour."

Earlier connected Wednesday a radical of bipartisan senators introduced The Railway Safety Act of 2023, aimed astatine preventing aboriginal bid disasters similar the derailment that devastated East Palestine, Ohio.

The authorities includes a fig of information protocols for the proscription of hazardous materials. It would besides make requirements for wayside defect detectors, found a imperishable request for railroads to run with astatine slightest two-person crews, arsenic good arsenic summation fines for wrongdoing committed by obstruction carriers.

"If this authorities is adopted, the [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen] supports those efforts and looks guardant to moving collaboratively connected communal consciousness regulations that proceed to amended safety," Baldwin said.

Present astatine the gathering with Buttigieg and others were:

• Jeremy Ferguson, of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division (SMART-TD)
• Tony Cardwell, of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWED)
• Edward Hall, of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET)
• Don Grissom, of the Brotherhood Railway Carmen (BRC)
• Michael Baldwin, of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS)
• Robert Martinez Jr., of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)
• Lonnie Stephenson, of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
• Arthur Maratea, of the Transportation Communications Union (TCU)
• Dean Devita, of the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers (NCFO)
• Leo McCann, of the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA)
• Newton Jones, of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Blacksmiths, Iron Ship Builders, Forgers and Helpers (IBB)
• John Samuelsen, of the Transport Workers Union (TWU)