WASHINGTON — U.S. House of Representatives Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California, the third-ranking House Republican, told McClatchey Newspapers March 8 that California should not be the recipient of additional federal funds for construction of a high-speed rail li [...]
Shortline holding company Watco is seeking regulatory approval to acquire 43.6 miles of track from Norfolk Southern in Alabama between Maplesville and Autauga Creek, and 10.1 miles of track between Autauga Creek and Montgomery for creation of a new shortline railroad. The new [...]
A BLET special representative was charged by the U.S. Justice Department March 8 in a continuing investigation into alleged corruption involving bribery. Thomas E. Miller, 64, of Dunlap, Tenn., was charged in a “criminal information” with one count of conspiracy t [...]
As right-wing extremist lawmakers in Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin continue their drive to push through anti-union legislation, a status-quo remains this week. But what is moving forward is a public revolt against the union busters. Almost $1 million in political donations from [...]
Donald F. “Monk” Markgraf, a former UTU general chairperson on Chicago & North Western Railway (now part of Union Pacific) died March 3 at age 81. A native of Antigo, Wis., Markgraf hired on at C&NW as a switchman in Milwaukee, and initially was a member o [...]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has agreed to a request by railroads to scale back the number of rail route miles over which positive train control (PTC) must be implemented before January 2016. Railroads asserted that since the Rail Safety Improvement [...]
WASHINGTON — Late Friday, March 4, U.S. District Court Judge John Bates issued several rulings regarding the pending cases regarding the UTU and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association — SMWIA v. UTU and Murphy et al. v. SMWIA. Initially, Judge Bates gra [...]
LOS ANGELES — A Thursday morning in February started like most for bus operator and UTU Local 1564 member Darwin Dawson — making fruit and vegetable protein shakes for fellow Division 18 workers as part of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authori [...]
PHOENIX — The UTU’s Arizona State Legislation Board and UTU members participated in a lobbying day at the Arizona state capitol here to protest the attack in numerous states on collective-bargaining rights, the right to join a union and payroll deduction of union [...]
WASHINGTON — Railroads soon will be required by the Federal Railroad Administration to establish toll-free telephone numbers to allow the public to report malfunctioning highway-rail grade-crossing warning signals, disabled vehicles blocking crossings and other unsafe c [...]
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