Southern
states had blocked westward rail expansion before 1860, but after
secession the The
Pacific Railway Act of 1862
was finally passed by Congress. It authorized the Union Pacific
Railroad to build westward from the Missouri River to the California
boundary or until it met the Central Pacific Railroad. Government
aid took the form of land grants and subsidies. The Act led to the
completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869.
In
response to monopolistic practices and other excesses of some
railroads and their owners, Congress created the Interstate
Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1887. The ICC
indirectly controlled the business activities of the railroads
through issuance of extensive regulations.
Congress
also enacted antitrust legislation to prohibit railroad monopolies,
beginning with the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890.
In
response to union strikes, Congress passed the Arbitration Act of
1888, which authorized the creation of arbitration panels
with the power to investigate the causes of labor disputes and to
issue non-binding arbitration awards. The Act was proved
ineffective, with only one panel ever convened under the Act.
Safety
Appliance Act - This law was enacted on March 2, 1893 and
took effect in 1900 after a 7 year grace period. It made air brakes
and automatic couplers mandatory on all trains in the United States.
The act is credited with a sharp drop in accidents on American
railroads in the early twentieth century. Amended a number of times
over the years.
Congress
attempted to correct shortcomings of the Arbitration Act by passing
the Erdman Act in 1898. This law likewise provided for
voluntary arbitration, but made any award issued by the panel
binding and enforceable in federal court. It also outlawed
discrimination against employees for union activities.
A
successor statute, the Newlands Act, passed in 1913 proved
more effective, but was largely superseded when the federal
government nationalized the railroads in 1917.
Hours
of Service Act - Originally enacted in 1907 to promote the
safety of workers and the public by limiting the hours a
person engaged in movement of a train could remain on duty.
Initially the law allowed for a 16 hour work day, which was lowered
to 14 hours in 1969.
In
1908, the Federal Employers' Liability Act was passed. Most
railroad workers injured on the job fell under the act.
Accident
Reports Act - In 1910, Congress enacted this law that
requires that railroad carriers to file reports to the federal
government on all accidents and incidents resulting in injury or
death to an individual or damage to equipment or a roadbed arising
from the carrier’s operations during the month.
Originally
passed in 1910, the Signal Inspection Act grants the Federal
Railroad Administration (FRA) authority to regulate the maintenance,
testing, removal or modification of signal systems.
In
1911, Congress passed the Boiler
Inspection Act,
bringing all locomotive steam boilers under Federal auspices.
Over the decades since then the Boiler Inspection Act has evolved
into the Locomotive
Inspection Act
as it currently exists. See
http://www.trainnet.org/libraries/lib001/lia.txt
In
1916, the Hours of Service Act passed and the Railroad
Brotherhoods won the fight for an 8-hour work day.
In August 1916, the
U.S. Congress passed the Army
Appropriations Act which included clause
that allowed the President to take control of any system of
transportation during times of war. The
U.S. Railroad Administration (USRA) then temporarily took over
management of railroads during World War I. President Woodrow Wilson
issued the order for nationalization
on December 26, 1917. Federal control of the railroads ended
in March 1920, under the Esch-Cummins
Act.
The
Esch–Cummins Act of 1920 created a Railway Labor Board
(RLB) to regulate wages and issue non-binding proposals to settle
disputes. In 1921 the RLB ordered a twelve percent reduction in
employees' wages, which led to the 'Great Railroad Strike of 1922'
Congress
passed the
Railway
Labor Act
of
1926 to rectify the shortcomings of the RLB procedures. It
also required employers, for the first time and under penalty of
law, to bargain collectively and not to discriminate against their
employees for joining a union. It provided also for mediation,
voluntary arbitration, fact-finding boards, cooling off periods and
adjustment boards.
In
1935, the National Labor Relations Act, also known as the
Wagner Act, clearly established the right of all workers to
organize and to elect their representative for collective bargaining
purposes. The following year the Washington Job Protection Agreement
was passed.
In
1937, the Railroad Retirement Act was passed.
In
1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act advocated by President
Roosevelt was passed making certain minimum wage, maximum weekly
working hours, and anti-child labor provisions permanent.
The
Landrum
Griffin Act of 1959,
also known as the Labor
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), defined
financial reporting requirements for both unions and management
organizations. Landrum-Griffin also seeks to prevent consultants
from spying on employees or the union. However, because of
Landrum-Griffin's vague language, attorneys are often able to
directly interfere in the union-organizing process without any
reporting requirements.
The
Taft-Hartley
Act of 1947
was a major revision of the National
Labor Relations Act of 1935 [the Wagner Act], passed by the
Republican-controlled Congress over President Truman's veto. The law
established 'unfair labor practices' which can be charged against
both unions and employers. It broadened an employer's arsenal to
fight union activities and organizing drives. Presidents have
invoked the Taft-Hartley Act thirty-five times to halt work
stoppages in labor disputes.
In
1963, the Equal Pay Act was passed prohibiting wage
differences based on sex in the U.S.
In
1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed prohibiting many forms
of job discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, or
religion. The Mass Transportation Act was also passed in
1964.
In
1966, the Department of Transportation Act was passed,
creating the Federal Railroad Administration to promulgate and
enforce rail safety regulations and conduct R&D in support of
improved rail safety. The U.S. Department of Transportation
officially came into being on April 1, 1967.
Federal
Railroad Safety Act of 1970 - This comprehensive law
authorized the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe regulations
for all areas of railroad safety (supplementing existing rail safety
statutes and regulations) and to conduct necessary research,
development, testing, evaluation, and training.
In
1970, Congress passed the Rail Passenger Service Act creating
a government corporation to take over operation of selected
inter-city passenger services from other private railroads. The
government corporation, Amtrak, began operations in 1971.
The
Occupational and Safety Health Act (OSHA) was passed in 1970.
Congress
passed the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 to
salvage viable freight operations from bankrupt companies in the
northeast, mid-Atlantic and midwestern regions of the country,
creating the government owned Consolidated Rail Corporation
(ConRail). Conrail began operations in 1976. The Act also formed the
U.S. Railway Association, which took over the certain powers of the
ICC with respect to bankrupt railroads and abandoned lines.
Hazardous
Materials Transportation Act (Hazmat Act) of 1975 - The primary
objective of this Act is to provide adequate protection against the
risks to life and property inherent in the transportation of
hazardous material in commerce.
Under
the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of
1976, Amtrak acquired most of the right-of-way and facilities of the
Penn Central Northeast Corridor from Washington, D.C. to Boston. In
addition to freight railroads, Conrail inherited unprofitable
commuter rail operations from several railroads in the northeast.
In
1980 Congress enacted the Staggers Rail Act to revive freight
traffic, by removing restrictive regulations and enabling railroads
to be more competitive with the trucking industry.
The
Northeast Rail Service Act of 1981 authorized additional
deregulation of northeast railroads. Among other things, these laws
reduced the role of the ICC in regulating the railroads and allowed
the carriers to discontinue unprofitable routes.
-
In
2001, the Railroad Retirement & Survivors' Improvement Act
was passed.
-
- The comprehensive
Rail
Safety Improvement Act
was also passed in 2008 – For details, see
http://www.utu.org/worksite/safety/safetyact2008.htm
