July 02, 2025
Cleveland, Ohio – As President Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” budget reconciliation heads back to the House of Representatives (after being passed by the Senate on July 1) most members of the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) will not benefit from one of its most popular tax-cut provisions: The overtime wage deduction. This is because the overtime section of the bill excludes all workers covered by the Railway Labor Act (RLA). Most ATDA members work under the authority of the RLA, and those who do will not qualify for the exemption. The exclusion’s impact, however, is not limited to union railroaders, as the RLA covers approximately 800,000 union workers in both the airline and railroad industries.
ATDA President Ed Dowell responded to the news with sharp concern:
“The exclusion of RLA-covered workers from this tax relief is a direct slight to the union men and women who sacrifice so much to keep America’s transportation systems running safely. Our members work under difficult conditions and willingly take on the rigors of railroad life to put food on the table for their families, and this is their reward? Instead of sorely needed tax relief, union transportation workers are being left out.”
While some may point to the RLA exclusion as an oversight, this is not the case. Washington Senator Maria Cantwell (D) exposed the exclusion and attempted to change it prior to passage, through the proposal of Amendment #2613. The Senate did not allow a vote on the Amendment however, and instead passed the bill with each of its supporters knowingly excluding union railroaders from one of its key benefits. ATDA President Dowell commented on this, by saying “As angered as I am by the exclusion of our members from the overtime exemption, I do sincerely appreciate Senator Maria Cantwell’s efforts to remedy the issue.”
ATDA urges its members to contact their U.S. House Representative and tell them to vote NO on any version of the bill that does not correct the exclusion of Railway Labor Act workers from the overtime tax exemption.
Find your Representative by clicking HERE.
