By UTU International President Mike Futhey The right of workers to join a labor union and bargain collectively with employers over wages, benefits and working conditions is the foundation of workplace democracy. Brave and dedicated trade unionists before us risked their lives [...]
BOSTON — Some 450 UTU-represented conductors and assistant conductors on Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad (MBCR) have a tentative new agreement covering wages, benefits and working conditions.A ratification vote is currently underway, with ballots to be counted March [...]
Florida has become the third state to reject federal stimulus funds to help create a high-speed rail system. Florida Gov. Rick Scott Feb. 16 joined Republican governors in Wisconsin and Ohio in saying “no” to the federal funds — all saying state finances are [...]
As we celebrate Black History Month in February, here are some inventions by African-Americans of interest to rail and bus members: * Andrew Jackson Beard, born a slave in Alabama, became a railroad employee and invented the Jenny coupler in 1897 after losing a leg using the [...]
WASHINGTON — Since its creation four decades ago, Amtrak has perennially teetered on the edge of financial extinction, annually fighting down to the wire for minimal funds to keep it operating.This year is no exception. And while UTU member and retiree phone calls ̵ [...]
WASHINGTON — The White House fiscal year 2012 budget request submitted to Congress Feb. 14 is unexpectedly generous toward the various modes of transportation. That said, the FY 2012 budget that emerges from a Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Democrati [...]
WASHINGTON — The House Appropriations Committee this week will consider a proposal to cut more than $200 million from Amtrak’s current fiscal year 2011 federal subsidy, which could result in reductions of Amtrak service and layoffs of Amtrak workers. Also under co [...]
UTU members employed by Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) have ratified two new four-year agreements affecting wages, benefits and working conditions. Conductors, engineers, trainmen and yardmen ratified their tentative agreement by a 75 percent plurality, while Florida East C [...]
By Assistant President Arty Martin As I travel the nation attending local and regional meetings, I am often asked, “What has the union done for me?” Brothers and sisters, there is no “me” in “union.” Your union cannot make agreements for on [...]
The Federal Railroad Administration has a stark message for rail workers with safety-related duties: Only use your cell phone when allowed or you could lose your job. Emergency Order No. 26, which went into effect in October 2008, restricts the use by train crews and others i [...]
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