DC Bans Hazmat Transport

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

DC City Council yesterday overwhelmingly passed emergency legislation to ban the transport of highly toxic cargoes through the city. The vote capped a highly effective grassroots lobbying campaign in which labor unions joined with environmental and community groups to lead a last-minute push. Councilmember Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7) said that he received more e-mail on this legislation than any other issue in his brief tenure on the Council (hundreds of Streetheat activists deluged all 13 Council members with upwards of 2,000 letters). The bill has been the subject of discussion and debate in City Council for nearly a year and yesterday’s action was spurred in part by the rail accident last month in rural South Carolina in which nine people were killed by a toxic chlorine gas cloud, and the derailing of a commuter train last week in Los Angeles when a man allegedly abandoned his SUV on the tracks, causing 10 deaths. “Area workers and residents will breathe a sigh of relief when this ban takes effect,” said Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams. Councilmember Carol Schwartz [R-At Large], the lone vote against the bill, predicted that it will be challenged in court on constitutional grounds, but the bill's lead sponsor, Kathy Patterson [D-Ward 3], said that she’s confident the legislation will withstand a legal challenge. (NOTE: a shorter version of this report was published yesterday where you can always check for the latest local labor news and events!)