Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen Endorses Rob Bresnahan for Congress

Pittston, PA – Congressman Rob Bresnahan’s campaign today announced that he has earned the endorsement of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) in his campaign for re-election to Pennsylvania’s 8^th District, citing his proven record supporting working families, workplace safety, and infrastructure investment.

In its endorsement, BRS praised Bresnahan as an ally for labor who understands the importance of protecting middle class jobs. The union highlighted Bresnahan’s record of advocating for safer workplaces, fair wages, strong retirement systems, and policies that uplift working families.

“The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen views Rob Bresnahan as a friend and ally,” said Michael S. Baldwin, President of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen. “He shares our values, understands what it takes to build a secure future for working Americans, and has consistently stood with unions to protect workers and strengthen our nation’s infrastructure.”

Bresnahan said he was proud to have earned the endorsement and emphasized his commitment to the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

“I am proud to have earned the endorsement of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen,” said Congressman Rob Bresnahan. “When I was sworn into Congress, I made a promise that I would always do what is best for the hardworking people of northeastern Pennsylvania. That means standing up for workplace safety, protecting retirement security, and fighting for infrastructure investments that support good paying union jobs. I take that responsibility seriously, and I will continue to put working families first.”

BRS also cited Bresnahan’s commitment to investing in rail and transportation infrastructure, strengthening job safety standards, securing retirement and pension benefits, and ensuring that labor’s voice remains central in regulatory and transportation policy decisions.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen represents thousands of skilled railroad workers across the country and advocates for job safety, workforce protections, and long-term investment in America’s rail infrastructure.

Full Text of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen Endorsement Letter

The Honorable Rob Bresnahan
U.S. House of Representatives
1133 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Bresnahan,

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) knows you as a tireless worker and supporter of labor. You are someone who understands what hard work means, what it takes to protect the middle class, and what is required to build a secure future for working Americans. During your time in Congress, you served your constituents of Pennsylvania’s Eighth Congressional District with integrity and dedication, advocating for safer workplaces, fair wages, strong retirement systems, and policies that uplift working families.

The BRS views you as a friend and ally. You share the commitment and values we hold strongly and know you will represent the people of Pennsylvania with strength and integrity. We believe Pennsylvania, and our nation, need leaders like you, people of conviction, people who put labor first, and people who fight every day for dignity, equity, and opportunity.

This is why the BRS proudly endorses you in your reelection campaign for Congress representing the 8th District of Pennsylvania.

We recognize that this campaign will be challenging. Political tides are shifting, and the terrain is tougher than ever. But your record of standing with unions, your policy achievements for working families, and your roots working with Pennsylvania’s labor movement give you the credibility and strength that truly resonate with working people.

We look forward to working closely with your campaign and staff on issues that matter most to railroad workers, including:

• Improving job safety and ensuring enforceable safety standards
• Strengthening and securing retirement and pension benefits for railroad Signalmen, now and in the future
• Investing in infrastructure, particularly rail, in ways that grow the industry while protecting workers
• Ensuring that labor’s voice remains central in regulatory, transportation, and trade policies

Sincerely,

Michael S. Baldwin
President
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen

Bresnahan’s Pro-Union Record in Congress

Since being sworn into Congress, Bresnahan has built a record of standing with organized labor and advancing policies that strengthen Pennsylvania’s workforce, including:

Votes, Floor and Committee Actions:

• Expressed strong support for transit worker 13c wage protections in a Transportation & Infrastructure Committee hearing.

• Voted for a Deluzio Amendment to the T&I Committee Reconciliation markup which authorizes Amtrak to enforce preference rights in court to enforce current law.  This will improve Amtrak’s on-time performance by allowing them to enforce current law that Amtrak receives preference on freight rail tracks.

• Voted for a Nadler Amendment to the T&I Committee Reconciliation markup which prevents the Sec. of Transportation from rescinding grant funds to  Amtrak Northeast Corridor (NEC) awarded before Jan. 20, 2025.  Amtrak NEC funds support Amtrak operations and over 3,200 PA Amtrak workers.

• Voted for a Scholten Amendment to the T&I Committee Reconciliation markup which restricts the Sec. of Transportation from removing projects in the Fed. Railroad Admin.’s Corridor ID program if it was included before Jan. 20, 2025.  The Corridor ID program identifies new passenger route services that will create good-paying jobs for railroad workers.

• Voted against an amendment to the Nat Defense Authorization Act on the House floor that would prohibit the development of offshore wind energy projects under the bogus argument that they somehow interfere with radar capabilities, causing the loss of thousands building trades jobs.

• Voted for H.R. 2550, the Protect America’s Workforce Act, which would nullify Trump’s Executive Order striping collective bargaining rights for a majority of federal employees working in non-national security positions, departments and agencies. This bill was forced to the House floor through a successful discharge petition. Bresnahan signed that petition to get it to the floor. 

• Signed onto three discharge petitions (H. Res. 486, H. Res. 910, and H. Res. 780) to force House floor votes on legislation to extend expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) health care subsidies. Voted on the House floor in favor of a three-year extension to help prevent premium spikes for working families.

Bills:

• Original Cosponsor of H.R. 2353, the Safer Skies Act, which would direct the Administrator of TSA to update and tighten security screening and pilot training and qualification rules for certain public charter airlines which frequently skirt those requirements. 

• Cosponsored of H.R. 2550, the Protect America’s Workforce Act, which would nullify Trump’s Executive Order striping collective bargaining rights for a majority of federal employees working in non-national security positions, departments and agencies.

• Cosponsored H.R. 743, the Tim Hart Wetland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act, which would bring federal wetland firefighter flagging wages, work schedules, pensions and health care in line with non-federal fire fighters around the country.

• Cosponsored H.R. 1269, the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, which expands access to federal support for the families of firefighters and first responders who pass away from cancer caused by carcinogenic exposure during their exposure. 

• Cosponsored H.R. 759, the Federal Firefighters Families First Act, which would ensure federal fire fighters are eligible for the same full and fair retirement benefits as their state and local counterparts. 

• Co-Led and Original Cosponsor of H.R. 2974, the Training and Nutrition Stability Act, which would amend the Food and Nutrition Act to exempt workforce training dollars, such as money made in an apprenticeship program, as income for supplemental nutrition assistance (SNAP).

• Original Cosponsor of H.R. 5408, the Faster Labor Contract Act, which would provide that if a local union wins a representation election and cannot negotiate a fair contract with an employer, the negotiations would go to federal mediation and ultimately binding arbitration.

• Co-Led and Original Cosponsor H. Res. 575, which would support the designation of Journeymen Lineworkers Recognition Day to honor and recognize the work of countless individuals who often place themselves in harm’s way to provide reliable electric service to the American public.

• Original Cosponsor of H.R. 5024, the Federal Operating Support for Public Transit Act, which would enable federal funding from the Highway Trust Fund to support transit worker pay, benefits, and training in addition to hard infrastructure construction and maintenance.

• Co-Led and Original Cosponsor on H.R. 7033, the Federal Correctional Officer Paycheck Protection Act, which would significantly increase pay rates for federal correctional officers to improve recruitment and retention of federal correctional officers.

• Cosponsored H.R. 3438, the Fair Wage Act, which would index the federal minimum wage to the cost of living in geographical areas, gradually phase in a minimum wage floor based on 50% of the national average hourly wage and sets fair wage baselines for tipped workers and workers 18 and under.

• Co-Let and Original Cosponsor on H.R. 4588, the Supporting Apprenticeship Colleges Act, which would provide grant funding to apprenticeship colleges to expand outreach to potential students and employers, improve academic advising programs and address common barriers to degree completion.

• Cosponsored H.R. 5475, the No Tax on Overtime for All Workers Act, which would allow a federal tax deduction for overtime worked by those in sectors who where left out of the OBBB when it was enacted.

• Cosponsored H.R. 1065, the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act, which would facilitate the implementation of security measures undertaken by the U.S. Postal Service to protect postal letter carriers.

• Cosponsored H.Res. 70, which expresses the sense of the House that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the U.S. Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the federal government and should not be privatized.

• Introduced and led H.R. 5836, the Keep WIC Working Act, which would fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) during the federal government shutdown until the president signs a stopgap bill to fund the government or Congress appropriates funds to the Dept of Agriculture.

• Cosponsored the Shutdown Fairness Act, which would ensure federal employees continue to be paid during future government shutdowns.

Letters:

• Signed on to a Langworthy letter to the incoming Secretary of Homeland Security encouraging her to continue the FAA’s process of developing regulations to make certain charter flight operations subject to the same levels of security screening as that of regular passenger airlines.

• Signed on to a Fitzpatrick/Bacon-led letter to Speaker Johnson urging robust funding and no cuts for Amtrak and the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program in the FY 2026 federal budget.  This is a response to calls from some Members for massive funding cuts for passenger rail operations around the country.

• Signed onto a Republican sign-on letter to the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee urging him not to cut energy tax credits in the upcoming 2025 Reconciliation bill.

• Authored an open letter to the members of the Northeast Pennsylvania Building Trades Council expressing strong support for Class A Apprenticeship programs.

• Signed on to a PA Republican letter to the Bureau of Prisons Director expressing serious concern about cutting retention pay for BOP Correctional Officers (CO) and medical personnel which will lead to a crisis in staffing at federal prisons which is already short over 8,000 COs of what has been authorized by Congress.

• Signed onto a Republican letter to President Trump asking him to rescind his Executive Order stripping most federal employees in non-national security positions of collective bargaining rights, destabilizing several important departments and agencies including the Social Security Administration and the Transportation Security Administration.

• Signed onto a Republican letter to President Trump asking him to exempt the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) from his federal agency hiring freeze, four-to-one staff reduction to hiring ratio (the RRB is already 33% understaffed) and Gen Services Admin requirement to downsize by 50% federal field offices.

• Signed on to a bipartisan letter to the Secretary of Defense urging him to exempt Dept of Defense Education Authority teachers and employees from the Administration’s EO stripping DoD employees of collective bargaining rights, as they are not on the front lines, have security clearances or handle sensitive military information.

• Signed on to a Republican letter to the House Rep Leadership expressing strong support for Medicaid and reiterating that they will not support a reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations.

• Signed on to Republican letter to the Chair of the W&M Committee urging him to maintain federal investment in the existing nuclear energy fleet while accelerating deployment of new nuclear power technologies. The existing nuclear plants support over 300,000 high paying jobs.

• Signed on to a bipartisan letter to the Chair and RM of the Approps Transportation Subcommittee urging full funding in FY26 for the Maritime Security Program. The program supports and sustains our U.S. Merchant Marine manpower and saves the federal government up to $13 billion in replacing that vessel capacity.

• Co-Led an bipartisan letter to the Chair and RM of the Approps Interior Subcommittee urging the to allocate funding for critical water infrastructure programs that strengthen national security, support economic growth, ensure that water remains accessible for all Americans and promote jobs in the maritime, longshore and other supply chain sectors.

• Signed on to a bipartisan letter to the Chair and RM of the Approps Labor Subcommittee urging them to provide funding levels to allow Job Corps campuses to sustain fill operational capacity, prevent future closures or reduction in services and address safety-related identified by the US DOL. This will also insure the continuation of apprenticeships in the Job Corps jobs and services.

• Signed on to a bipartisan letter to the Approps Transportation Subcommittee Chair and RM urging full funding for Amtrak in the FY26 appropriations process.

• Signed on to a bipartisan letter to the Chair and RM of the Approps THUD Subcommittee requesting them to include $7.5m for the Fed Transit Admin’s (FTA) Technical Assistance and Training account to support frontline transit workforce training programs for bus and transit drivers, as well as operators. 

• Signed on to a Republican letter to the Chairs and RMs of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees urging them to retain the language in the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that restores collective bargaining rights a the Dept of Defense and reaffirms Congress’s commitment to protecting civilian employees whose work is essential to our national defense.

• Signed on to a Republican letter urging Piedmont Airlines to bargain in good faith in accordance with the Railway Labor Act, and to work expeditiously to ensure a timely and fair resolution of its contract negotiations with passenger service agents.

• Signed on to a bipartisan letter to the Senate and House top leaders requesting that they ensure that the Honoring our Fallen Heroes Act (Also a Cosponsor of the bill itself) is retained in the final NDAA conference agreement and into law.

• Signed a letter to Secretaries Hegseth and Burgum regarding the pause on offshore wind projects, raising concerns about impacts to domestic energy production and union jobs.

• Signed onto a Republican-only letter to Speaker Johnson ahead of the January 30 government funding deadline underscoring the importance of continued federal investment in Amtrak and the Federal-State Partnership.

Learn more at www.RobForPA.com. 

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