The U.S. High Speed Rail Coalition today praised the Southern California High Desert Corridor bullet train project for approving two landmark labor agreements that will create thousands of good union jobs and are another example of the growing momentum to build high-speed rail across America.
The 54-mile High Desert Corridor from Palmdale to Victorville will connect the nation’s two major bullet train projects now underway—California High-Speed Rail in the Central Valley and Brightline West which will run from Las Vegas to Southern California (see map below)—and help create a high-speed rail network in the West.
These agreements will help put the High Desert Corridor on track to become another link in a nationwide high-speed rail network — which is critical to meeting the transportation challenges of the 21st Century. Bullet train projects are now underway or being planned in California, Nevada, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, Midwest and Southeast.
U.S. High Speed Rail worked with the High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency (HDC JPA) to negotiate the agreements, which will provide jobs to build, operate and maintain the bullet train. The agreements will serve as a model for other high-speed rail projects as the nation moves toward an integrated national electric bullet train system.
"We were delighted to help facilitate these two landmark labor agreements, which will create thousands more good, union jobs in the growing high-speed rail industry," said Ezra Silk, Political Director of the U.S. High Speed Rail Coalition.
“We are grateful to U.S. High Speed Rail for their help in making these crucial labor agreements a reality,” said High Desert Corridor CEO Arthur Sohikian.
The HDC Board of Directors unanimously approved a Community Workforce Agreement with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, and Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, the San Bernardino-Riverside Building and Construction Trades Council and the Signatory Craft Councils and Unions.
The Board also unanimously agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding with The High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition for the Operations and Maintenance of the project. Labor Coalition members include: the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers- Mechanical and Engineering Department; National Conference of Firemen and Oilers 32BJ/SEIU; Transportation Communications Union; International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; Brotherhood of Railway Carmen;
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; Transport Workers Union of America; American Train Dispatchers Association; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Department; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
The U.S. High Speed Rail Coalition is focused on helping to build a grassroots movement for a national high-speed rail network. It recently commissioned a roadmap to guide local officials and stakeholders who want to get bullet train projects off the ground in their areas.
The High-Desert Corridor creates a vital link from t
Popular support for high-speed rail is strong. A recent survey by Public Policy Polling for the Coalition found that 72% of U.S. registered voters support the creation of a nationwide HSR network in the U.S.
About USHSR
The U.S High Speed Rail Coalition mobilizes leading labor unions, companies, and public servants to advance investments and policies that are making high-speed rail a reality in America. The Coalition has aggressively advocated for funding for Brightline West, California High Speed Rail, and other key projects in recent years.
he Antelope Valley in Los Angeles County with
the Victor Valley in San Bernardino County. The first phase of the project will connect the areas
through a new high-speed, intercity rail system—providing access to housing, jobs, entertainment,
and cultural opportunities across Southern California while reducing freeway congestion.
Eventually, the corridor will connect Southern California to high-speed rail lines in California’s
Central Valley and to Brightline West, which will run from Las Vegas to Southern California and is
scheduled to be operating by 2028.
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