Category: Bus news

In anger, handgun pulled on SEPTA bus

October 20, 2010 UPPER DARBY, Pa. — It’s something every bus driver fears – a gun pulled in anger aboard a bus. It happened – again – in Upper Darby, Pa., last week on a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority bus, according to the Associated Press. A female passe [...]

School-bus violence: We know it too well

October 18, 2010 UTU bus members know the violence aboard school buses all too well. The latest shocking outbreak occurred on Long Island, N.Y., last week, when a 14-year-old boy was beaten aboard a school bus over allegations he is gay, according to Longislandpress.com. The UTU is working wi [...]

Tags bus, school bus, school bus violence, violence

Elect lawmakers who support public transit

October 15, 2010 By Bonnie Morr, Alternate vice president, Bus Department Right now in our country, economics are spelling out what transit and transportation will look like, now and in the future. The UTU Bus Department has been following politics and the trends for funding that are necessar [...]

Tags bus, candidates, election day, funding, lawmakers, public transit, vote

FMCSA shows off new bus safety technology

October 15, 2010 New technology to improve the safety performance of buses was showcased this week by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The FMCSA demonstrated the latest state-of-the-art technology to be used by law enforcement to conduct commercial motor vehicle safety inspect [...]

AFL-CIO launching young worker outreach

October 14, 2010 A new survey by the AFL-CIO shows young workers worse off this year than they were last year. In response, the federation is ratcheting up its outreach program to connect with the next generation of workers. The survey shows young workers are more likely to be working part ti [...]

UTU Local 1741 opposes school bus cuts

October 11, 2010 SAN FRANCISCO – With the San Francisco Unified School District facing a deficit of $113 million over the next two school years, a decision is looming to cut the number of buses to save money. UTU Local 1741 officer Paul Stein was quick to intervene, telling the San Francisco [...]

Tags deficit, Local 1741, Rossiter, San Francisco, San Francisco Unified School District, school bus, school bus cuts, Stein

Republican lawyer nominated for NMB

September 27, 2010 WASHINGTON – President Obama has nominated Republican Thomas M. Beck, an attorney, to succeed Republican Elizabeth Dougherty on the three-member National Mediation Board. The nomination requires Senate confirmation, and a confirmation hearing before the Senate Labor Committee [...]

Tags beck, Federal Labor Relations Authority, FLRA, National Mediation Board, NMB, republican, Thomas M. Beck

Health insurance alert: Children under 26?

September 27, 2010 By UTU International President Mike Futhey One of the jewels of the Obama health care reform plan passed into law by Congress earlier this year allows certain dependent children to remain on an employee’s health care insurance plan until age 26 without regard to student, mari [...]

We are monitoring bus-belt regulations

September 22, 2010 By Calvin StudivantAlternate vice president, Bus Department Newly manufactured motorcoaches would be required to have lap-shoulder seat belts – and older motorcoaches might be required to add them – under proposals from the U.S. DOT that are open for public comment. The feder [...]

Tags bus, bus-belt, DOT, regulations, safety, safety belts

Medicare provides free flu, pneumonia shot

September 14, 2010 We are about to begin the flu season and a flu vaccine is the best way to prevent infection and the complications associated with the flu. Vaccination is necessary each year because flu viruses change each year. The flu shot can be received once a year in either the fall or w [...]