WASHINGTON — As the House of Representatives later this week decides whether to second-guess the expert National Mediation Board, lawmakers must ponder voting for a double standard. At issue is an NMB decision last year to make union representation elections more democr [...]
WASHINGTON — A doubling in the number of damaged or leaking hazardous materials containers shipped by rail has prompted the UTU and six other rail labor organizations to petition the Federal Railroad Administration for enhanced safety standards to protect rail workers a [...]
Say it ain’t so, governor. But it is. Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage has ordered removal from the Maine Department of Labor of a 36-foot, 11-panel mural depicting the state’s and nation’s proud labor history. Gone will be World War II icon Rosie the Riveter and [...]
Pursuant to a March 4 ruling of a federal district court judge, an arbitrator has been named to determine whether the merger agreement between the UTU and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA) is an enforceable agreement. Georgetown University law professo [...]
The Federal Railroad Administration’s ban on the use of cellphones and other electronic devices — personal and carrier-issued — becomes permanent Monday, March 28. The ban applies to all on-duty train crew members. Don’t let a railroad or federal safet [...]
KELSO, Wash. — A van shuttling BNSF workers to Vancouver, Wash., was struck by a BNSF freight train at a private crossing here Wednesday afternoon, March 23, killing two van passengers and the van driver, and critically injuring another passenger. Killed were conductor [...]
Why are many UTU members participating across America in rallies opposing attacks on collective-bargaining rights? Why have we created the Collective Bargaining Defense Fund to assist our union brothers and sisters under attack? Because we know that those who ignore the past [...]
It is said that “all politics is local,” and a hero co-pilot with U.S. Airways made a symbolic gesture in Madison, Wis., last week on behalf of the public employees whose collective bargaining rights are under attack. He withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars o [...]
Imagine baseball without rules against bean balls, football without helmets or rules against clipping, roadways without stop signs, and cars without seat belts. Rules have a purpose. On railroads the rules — developed over more than a century-and-a-half — are to s [...]
WASHINGTON — Federally mandated improvements to locomotive cab security and comfort, along with enforceable remote control operation (RCO) regulations, are being sought by the UTU and the BLET in joint comments filed with the Federal Railroad Administration. Significant [...]
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