Category: Uncategorized
Serving Those Who Served
VOLUNTEERS CLEAN VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL Volunteering is an important form of member action—giving back to our communities and building a positive image. Even the simplest tasks, however, can be deeply significant. Such was the case a few months ago when a group of mem [...]PTSD: Occupational hazard for railroaders
Chuck Akers, lifelong train engineer, was forced to retire early after three physicians concurred that his numerous experiences with collisions that were caused by vehicles and people blocking the tracks (he was cleared of any wrongdoing in all incidents), had culminated into [...]“Full Circle” – Joe Biden takes Amtrak home to Delaware
Commuter rail has been former Vice President Joe Biden’s method of transportation his entire career. During his 36-year run as U.S. Senator, Biden commuted daily from his home in Delaware to Washington D.C., then back home again – a three hour, roundtrip commute. [...]SMART TD AND BLET: CALL CONGRESS for 2-PERSON CREW, NOW!
CLEVELAND, Jan. 20—The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Rail Air and Transportation Workers (SMART TD) are urging their respective memberships to contact members of the Hou [...]AAR describes rail job decline as “being flexible, efficient”
Trains.com reported that the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing that railroad jobs dropped by 3.8 percent in 2016 – reflecting the elimination of approximately 8,600 railroad jobs. In 2015, the drop in railroad jobs was reported at at sharper decline o [...]Profits over safety: Rail industry lobbies to stall ECP brake technology
The WashingtonPost.com recently reported that the rail industry is lobbying hard to stall or potentially reverse the FRA’s ruling that freight trains be equipped with ECP (electronically controlled pneumatic) brakes by 2021. Despite the growing number of rail crashes an [...]
Sen. Schumer implores feds to screen transit employees
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is asking the Dept. of Homeland Security to “immediately step in to enforce a recommendation” made years ago to screen mass transit employees against federal terror watch lists. Read the complete article from abcnews.go.com.SMART Mechanical: Mediation Invoked In Negotiations
On December 6, 2016, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) terminated negotiations with the SMART Mechanical-BMWED Bargaining Coalition and invoked mediation. Within its request for mediation services to the National Mediation Board (NMB), the NCCC alleged that [...]