Rail workers got the short end of the stick when Congress passed the massive federal spending and tax package — known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBB) — on July 3. The bill’s “No Tax on Overtime” provision (Section 70202) was crafted in such a way as to exclude railroad workers.
One of Donald Trump’s campaign promises was to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay for working Americans. However, that’s only partially the case. As crafted, the OBBB will only provide overtime exemptions for workers governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA specifically exempts several different types of employees from its overtime provisions, including railroad workers, who are covered by the Railway Labor Act (RLA). BLET and Teamsters Rail Conference have been working on this issue for months. Click here to read a summary message from the BLET. In early 2025, BLET and Teamsters Rail Conference representatives worked with Sen. Roger Marshall (Kansas) to develop language that included BLET members in the “No Taxation on Overtime” provision. When the reconciliation legislation was introduced, however, the Marshall language was not included.
The BLET, working with other unions, got Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, who is the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, to offer an amendment that would have righted this wrong by making RLA workers eligible for the tax exemptions on overtime pay. BLET President Mark Wallace and the entire National Division leadership team thanked the 7,265 members who responded quickly to the BLET’s Take Action and contacted their Senator, asking them to support the Cantwell amendment. Unfortunately, the Senate did not allow Senator Cantwell’s amendment to be considered or voted on.
BLET will work on a national campaign in the future to fix that section so rail workers receive equal treatment as other workers who are covered by the “No Tax on Overtime” provision in the Reconciliation legislation.
One win for railroaders and working families — the OBBB was amended by a vote of 99-1 to eliminate the 10-year moratorium banning states from regulating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and autonomous vehicles. The BLET and Teamsters had lobbied Senators to drop the AI moratorium. If included in the legislation, it would have potentially prohibited states from passing railroad safety laws that regulate the use of railroad technology that utilizes AI. Teamsters condemned the AI moratorium as nothing more than a power grab by Big Tech that would hurt working families. In an op-ed published by Fox News, Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said the AI moratorium “…isn’t policy. It’s a payoff.”
It is expected that President Trump will sign the bill into law on July 4.