It’s winter — the three months of the year during which a significant number of yard fatalities and career-ending injuries occur. The FRA says risk is concentrated in cold-weather states, but those in warmer climates are not immune, because darkness is a factor al [...]
WILLMAR, Minn. — A 31-year old BNSF conductor , a UTU Local 1177 member, suffered a leg amputation in a yard accident here Feb. 3 — the second UTU member to endure such an accident in 2011. Corey Lynn Kluver, the father of three young children, reportedly was maki [...]
FedEx Freight, which is the nation’s largest stand-alone less-than-truckload carrier of freight, is going intermodal. Less-than-truckload, or LTL, is commonly defined as freight weighing more than 151 pounds and less than 20,000 pounds. LTL carriers collect these small [...]
Canadian Pacific Railway has job openings for qualified and experienced conductors at 14 Midwest locations. The locations are: Bensenville, Ill. Davenport, Iowa Elkhart, Ind. Enderlin, N.D. Harvey, N.D. Huron, S.D. Kansas City, Mo. Marquette, Iowa Mason City, Iowa Portage, Wi [...]
BOSTON — A coalition of Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad (MBCR) unions, including those representing clerks, carmen, supervisors, signalmen and shopcraft workers, have been released by the National Mediation Board (NMB) from mediation. The release paves the way for a [...]
How did major railroads perform in 2010? Reviewing their calendar-year and fourth-quarter profit statements, one wouldn’t know they were operating in the midst of a nationwide recession. Profits soared, stock dividends were raised and operating ratios improved. (Operati [...]
Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) have reintroduced legislation this Congress that would lasso railroad pricing power. S. 49, introduced by Kohl, would repeal some of the railroads’ antitrust exemptions. S. 158, introduced by Rockefeller and co-s [...]
Going to bat for Amtrak and its dedicated work force, UTU Alternate Legislative Director John Risch Jan. 27 outlined for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee reasons why an intercity national rail passenger system is essential for Americans and worthy of cont [...]
In his state-of-the-union speech Jan. 26, President Obama mentioned the word “railroad” eight times — the most mentions of “railroad” in more than 30 years of state-of-the-union messages delivered by five different presidents. Yes, there are thos [...]
Canadian National Jan. 25 reported its fourth-quarter operating profit rose by 19 percent versus fourth-quarter 2009, and that calendar-year 2010 operating profit increased by 13.5 percent from 2009. CN’s operating ratio for 2010 improved from 67.7 percent in 2009 to 63 [...]