July 21, 2023

In response to an increase in high-impact derailments, there has been a bill moving through the legislative process in the USA. It is a new law increasing rail safety regulations.

In response to this bill that would increase the number of workers on the trains and force companies to implement some long-established safety systems, the Republican far-right is calling for it to be scrapped.

A collection of 30 groups aligned with far-right, libertarian, and free market causes have written a letter denouncing any increase in regulations for rail. It is clear that some of the push back is being coordinated by the rail companies who see an increase in regulation hurting profits.

• Freight Waves article
• Politico Article

The impact on rail safety regulation is part of the attempt to start changes in regulation to AI, electrification, and automation. If standard safety regulations cannot be implemented even in response to derailments like in East Palestine, Ohio, many fear that responses to safety and regulation of new technology implementation is going to be impossible.

The new area for automation that actually has a chance of disrupting current work processes (unlike automated long-distance trucking which is being opposed in California under Assembly Bill 316) is Yard Management in the warehouse industry.

Warehouse yards are on private property and involve many repetitive processes. This is similar to mines where dump truck services automation have turned what were trucks in to conveyor belts of automated driverless bins operated remotely.

As we have seen in the mining and energy sector, the issue is safety of workers on the ground working around automated trucks. Instead of trucking avoiding running-over or interacting with workers, workers have to suddenly avoid the conveyor belt. In warehousing the smaller distances and cramped workspaces increase the chance of interaction between large automated vehicles and workers.

While technology companies are in full swing on implementing warehouse automation from packing, storage, movement, and short shipping, it is important for unions to ensure proper regulation of automated conveyor-type trucking on private property.