July 3, 2019 - Freight Waves -

Rail union workers are at odds with other members of the freight rail industry over how cross-border rail operations are run at Laredo, Texas.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) wants any post-North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to include a provision stating that only U.S. citizens should operate freight trains originating from Mexico.

That request is in response to a current NAFTA provision in which only Mexican nationals can operate U.S.-originated trains that have crossed the border into Mexico.

BLET President Dennis R. Pierce said the union has approached the White House and U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer to include such a provision in the next free trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, but that the union hasn’t received a response.

Read more: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-union-seeks-u-s-crews-on-mexican-cross-border-trains