Category: Amtrak/Commuter

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Trucker in Amtrak crash: 9 traffic tickets since 2007

June 28, 2011 FALLON, Nev. – The truck driver who died when his tractor-trailer slammed into Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr here June 24, had accumulated nine traffic tickets since 2007 – five for speeding in a commercial vehicle, twice for speeding in his personal automobile, once f [...]

Tags Amtrak, Fallon, Laurette Lee, National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, richard d'alessandro, Valli, Weener

UTU member dead in Nevada Amtrak-truck crash

June 26, 2011 FALLON, Nev. – An Amtrak conductor was killed and an assistant conductor seriously injured here June 24 when a tractor-trailer combination rammed the side of a double-deck passenger car of Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr in a fiery crash at a highway-rail grade crossing. [...]

Tags Amtrak. Local 166, rankin, richard d'alessandro

Supreme Court declines to weaken FELA

June 24, 2011 WASHINGTON — In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court June 23 declined to tighten the standard of proof injured rail workers must demonstrate to win an award under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). The ruling is a significant victory for injured rail workers. The [...]

Tags designated legal counsel, DLC, Federal Employers' Liability Act, FELA

Futhey pointing; Mike Futhey; Futhey, Mike; Pointing

State of the union: ‘Stronger than ever’

June 23, 2011 International President Mike Futhey SAN ANTONIO — Stronger protections for members, improved finances, successful organizing drives and superior wage and benefits agreements characterize the United Transportation Union in 2011, International President Mike Futhey told s [...]

Tags dues increase, Futhey, state of the union

Amtrak privatization bill: ‘A rat hole worth watching’

June 23, 2011 WASHINGTON – Legislation to privatize Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, as a first step toward destruction of Amtrak, will almost certainly be dead-on-arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and will face a tough challenge in the Republican-controlled House; but the authors o [...]

Tags Amtrak, Lautenberg, Mica, privatization, Rahall, Shuster

Conductor cert, passenger HOS regs on tap

June 22, 2011 WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration will soon publish final rules instituting conductor certification and imposing new hours-of-service limitations on intercity passenger-train and commuter employees in safety sensitive positions. FRA Associate Administrato [...]

Tags Brooks, conductor certification, FRA, HOS, hours-of-service, John Risch, Lesniewski, Mann, Parsons, RSAC, Stem, strang, Szabo, Tessitore

House Republicans launch assault on Amtrak

June 16, 2011 WASHINGTON — An assault on the future of Amtrak and its employees was launched June 15 by the chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), and the chairman of the House Rail Subcommittee, Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) The UTU and other [...]

Tags Amtrak, boardman, British Rail, Downs, Economist, Gunn, Hutchison, LaHood, Lautenberg, Menendez, Mica, Northeast Corridor, privatization, Rahall, Shuster

Wisconsin decision will embolden extremists

June 15, 2011 MADISON, Wis. – A divided state supreme court here June 14 ruled in a 4-3 decision that the state’s controversial law revoking collective-bargaining rights for public employees may go into effect – overturning an injunction issued by a lower court. This is important to UTU me [...]

Tags collective bargaining defense fund, Ohio, political extremists, UTU PAC, Wisconsin

Have you experienced unruly passengers?

June 15, 2011 The UTU, Amtrak and other labor organizations have designed a survey to aid in the development of training and awareness programs to assist Amtrak employees deal with unruly, disorderly or aggressive passengers. While development of this program is intended for Amtrak, all UT [...]

Tags Amtrak, passengers, survey, unruly

Cubs not alone with problems in Chicago

June 14, 2011 CHICAGO — Newspapers and television and radio stations here June 14 were asking Union Pacific, “Is this any way to run a railroad?” after a shortage of UP engineers caused the cancellation of six morning Metra commuter trains and inconvenienced thousands of passengers t [...]

Tags Chicago, Metra, scheduling, UP