UTU S. Florida Tri-Rail agreement finalized

Previsich Operations center employees of South Florida Tri-Rail, who voted UTU “yes” early in 2011, have their first collective bargaining agreement in place. It provides for a signing bonus; an immediate wage increase, plus additional wage increases in 2012 and 2013; a 40-ho [...]

Safety advisory on autorack cars

A safety advisory on autorack cars has been issued by the Association of American Railroads. Some of these cars have been found to have cut convenience handles, ladder rungs and/or fasteners missing from these devices. Convenience handles are those handles mounted on end door [...]

‘We must not let the crazies turn back the clock’

Mike Futhey with Bill Lucy (For more than six decades, Bill Lucy has been a labor-union foot soldier. In 1968, as an officer of AFSCME Local 1733 in Memphis, Tenn., he collaborated with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the sanitation workers’ strike, during which Dr. King wa [...]

Update on Amtrak negotiations

Amtrak General Chairperson Dirk Sampson (GO 769), issued the following update on wage, benefits and work rules negotiations with Amtrak: “In continuing contract talks with Amtrak, we are striving to obtain an equitable agreement for our members. “We recently sent [...]