Know your ‘whistle-blower protection’

Every SMART Transportation Division freight and passenger rail member needs to know that federal law protects them from employer retaliation — and threats of retaliation — when they report to the carrier or a government agency alleged violations of safety or secur [...]

Update on 2011 Medicare premiums

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says that while the standard monthly Part B premium will rise to $115.40 in 2011, most Medicare beneficiaries will not see an increase in their monthly Part B premiums. This is because of a hold-harmless provision in current la [...]

Lame-duck legislation crucial for UTU members

WASHINGTON – A number of issues important to UTU members and working families is on tap for debate and vote this week as Congress returns for a lame-duck session. It is called a lame-duck session because House and Senate members who lost their seats in the Nov. 2 election rem [...]

DOT secretary: ‘HSR America’s jobs engine’

Comparing embryo high-speed rail projects with the birth of the Interstate Highway system more than half-a-century ago, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said last week that the competition America is facing is not between Democrats and Republicans, but “between the U [...]

Amtrak: ‘No interest’ in N.J.-N.Y. tunnel

In the wake of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — his state beset with financial woes — canceling a proposed $10 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River linking New Jersey and New York City, word spread that New Jersey Transit and Amtrak had opened talks to fund [...]

Hamburger helper Norfolk Southern style

PLATTSBURG, Ohio — Call it hamburger helper after a Norfolk Southern freight train plowed into a herd of cattle on the tracks here near Columbus, killing some 20 of the Black Angus cows, reports the Associated Press. The Associated Press quoted a NS engineer that his train of [...]