SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

The Surface Transportation Board today announced the addition of Jeremy Ferguson to the Board’s Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council (RSTAC).  Mr. Ferguson joins as an at-large member.

Mr. Ferguson is the president of the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD).  He has nearly 30 years of railroad industry experience and began his career as a freight rail conductor.  Mr. Ferguson has been an advocate for improving communication between railroads and shippers, and prioritizing rail safety and working conditions for rail workers.

Chairman Martin J. Oberman’s statement:

“Since joining the Board, I have been a proponent of labor being represented on RSTAC, one of the Board’s most important advisory committees.  The Board and the members of RSTAC could have greatly benefitted from rail labor’s perspective in recent years as the Board and industry stakeholders have grappled with serious service issues across the freight rail network and the exacerbation of those problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  A labor voice on the committee would have provided us with an essential perspective on the causes and potential solutions to the significant degradations of rail service and would have ensured that we understood, firsthand, the fundamental role working men and women have in the essential functioning of the rail network and the problems those workers have faced as a result of the pandemic and working conditions at their railroads.  I am confident that Jeremy will fill that crucial role going forward.

“I am committed to giving rail labor a seat at the table, and I am delighted to appoint Jeremy to the at-large position on RSTAC.”

The ICC Termination Act of 1995 established RSTAC to advise the Board’s Chairman, the Secretary of Transportation, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure with respect to rail transportation policy issues RSTAC considers significant.  RSTAC focuses on issues of importance to small shippers and small railroads, including railcar supply, rates, competition, and procedures for addressing claims.  It is charged with developing private-sector mechanisms to identify, address, and prevent obstacles to effective and efficient interstate transportation.

More information about RSTAC can be located here.

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