The summary plan description booklets for both the National Railway Carriers and UTU Health and Welfare Plan (NRC/UTU) and the Railroad Employees’ National Health and Welfare Plan are now available on the SMART TD website. Both booklets give information on the Comprehen [...]
Train and engine workers are the eyes and ears of railroads — the first to spot trouble, and the first to suffer when trouble occurs. On railroads, trouble too often means career-ending injuries and death. The UTU Rail Safety Task Force was created by UTU International [...]
Employees at the nation’s largest rail yard, the Union Pacific yard in North Platte, Neb., can now voluntarily and anonymously report “close-call” incidents that could have resulted in an accident, but did not, without fear of sanction or penalty from their [...]
The Federal Railroad Administration, following disciplinary action by Los Angeles Metrolink against two operating employees who disabled an inward facing camera in the locomotive cab, said that while the agency does not now regulate cab-installed inward facing cameras, it [...]
By International President Mike Futhey We all know that when one wants the truth from the iron horse’s mouth, we ask the rank-and-file membership. That is especially so when it comes to safety. I commend our Rail Safety Task Force for going directly to the membership wi [...]
The Federal Railroad Administration is moving to make permanent an October 2008 emergency order restricting the use by on-duty train crews of cell phones and other electronic devices. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published Tuesday, May 18, in the Federal Register, indi [...]
By UTU GS&T Kim Thompson A recent article on the UTU Web site, headlined “Ponzi Scheme Targets Retired L.A. Bus Drivers,” reminded me of the pitfalls that our members can face in having a secure retirement. It seems you can’t watch the evening news, open a ne [...]
March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and here are some things you should know. Colon cancer is usually found in people age 50 or older, and the risk of getting it increases with age. If you are covered by private health insurance or Medicare, you can get colon [...]
By Retired UTU GS&T Dan Johnson We frequently hear from frustrated members, “Why don’t we simply go on strike, shut the railroad down, and be done with it?” I, too, have shared these feelings witnessing excessive discipline, outrageous demands of arrogant mana [...]
WASHINGTON — Revisions to locomotive certification rules (49 CFR Part 240), effective Feb. 22, 2010, were issued by the Federal Railroad Administration Dec. 23, 2009. Among the revisions: Prohibits the practice of re-classiyfing any type of engineer’s certificatio [...]
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