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Retired member conducts, but with baton in hand

May 17, 2013 Retired BNSF conductor and UTU member of Local 311 Art Ingalls, 69, is conducting again. This time, instead of trains, he’s conducting music. Every year the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra of La Crosse, Wis., chooses five people to represent them and go out to the public and col [...]

At L.A. motorcycle show, this ‘knucklehead’ is tops

April 2, 2013 Hundreds of motorcycle enthusiasts who entered custom bikes in the Easyriders® 2013 Bike Show in Anaheim, Calif., were apparently barking up the wrong tree. When it was all said and done, Howard “Tree” Slayton’s replica 1947 Knucklehead Harley-Davidson Radical Chopper was the [...]

SMART will boost UTUIA financial strength

February 16, 2012 By UTU International President Mike Futhey – Congratulations go to Art Rayner, the United Transportation Union Insurance Association’s man of the year for 2011. Art was recognized for his sales and leadership performance – attributes that helped propel the UTUIA last year to [...]

Tags Art Rayner, Mike Futhey, SMART, UTUIA

DOT ‘hero’ awards to 2 Amtrak conductors

November 4, 2011 Heroism has no timetable, no expectation, no formula. It is displayed instantaneously and accompanied only by rare courage. Enter, center stage, two UTU heroes – Amtrak conductors Richard d’Alessandro and Loxie Sanders – a couple of regular rails, represented by the UTU and s [...]

Tags Amtrak, DOT, heroes, Laurette Lee, Local 1525, Local 166, Loxie Sanders, Ray LaHood, richard d'alessandro

2 Amtrak conductors: A story of selfless bravery

June 29, 2011 This is a story about heroes. It is a story about two UTU conductor heroes in Fallon, Nev., June 24. In utter disregard of their own safety, these UTU conductor heroes braved intense flames and choking smoke, repeatedly returning inside two burning Amtrak passenger cars to sa [...]

Tags Amtrak, Boardman; d'Alessandro, bravery, conductors, Fallon, heroes, Laurette Lee, Reno, Sanders

UTU member personally aides striking Teamsters

May 20, 2011 SAN ANTONIO — For the scores of Teamster Union members in their fourth week on the picket line here in a strike against Pioneer Flour Mill, times are tougher than usual. UTU Local 756 (UP, San Antonio) Chairperson John Dunn understands the hardship, and as so often occu [...]

Tags gatorade, John Dunn, Local 756, Pioneer workers, strike, teamster, Union Pacific, UP

Former NFL player secure in NS cab

May 16, 2011 Football season is long over. The New York Jets never made it to the Super Bowl. National Football League players are locked out by their owners. The upcoming football season could be in jeopardy. And how about Norfolk Southern conductor and former Jets defensive back Keith F [...]

Tags fitzhugh, football, nfl, Norfolk Southern

‘Safety’ is middle name of UTU D.C. legislative director

April 13, 2011 For UTU District of Columbia Legislative Director Willie Bates the recognition and honors keep rolling in. The latest is from the State of Virginia, which on April 7 bestowed upon Bates the Governor’s Transportation Safety Award in the category of rail safety. His accom [...]

‘He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother’

March 11, 2011 COVINGTON, Va. — The Jackson River, a tributary of the James, meanders east through the hollows of west-central Virginia. Flowing under CSX tracks in Covington, some 200 miles west of Richmond, the Jackson is only about two-feet deep — which partially save the lif [...]

Tags Boguess, Burdette, Dale Smith, hero, Jackson River

UTU GC Draskovich honored by NMB

March 11, 2011 UTU General Chairperson Rich Draskovich (Union Pacific, GO 953) has been recognized by the National Mediation Board (NMB) for “a special achievement” in helping reduce the agency’s backlog of rail-labor grievances. In presenting the award, NMB Chairman Harry Hogla [...]

Tags award, Draskovich, grievances, hoglander, National Mediation Board, NMB