Asbestos Bill Defeated In Senate

Asbestos Bill Defeated In Senate
April 26, 2004 – The Republican controlled Senate was unable to secure enough votes to cut off debate of the Asbestos Bill. For this reason the bill was pulled from further consideration by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN).

This is a victory for all working people and particularly for railroad workers. The asbestos bill would have allowed the nation’s railroads to avoid paying rail workers with asbestos related disease under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). This would have been grossly unfair to our members working for the railroads and put them at a disadvantage in receiving meaningful compensation and coverage for asbestos disease.

Thank you to all of you who wrote your Senators asking them to vote against the asbestos bill. The parties will now try to negotiate a better bill for workers and we will continue to watch what happens.

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