New construction starts in the month of February grew by 16 percent over the previous month due to some large scale projects that took off in Texas, Louisiana and California. According to Dodge Data and Analytics, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were up 34% [...]
The United States House of Representatives March 4 overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation that will provide critical investments in our nation’s passenger rail system. H.R. 749, the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (PRRIA) will ensure that our national p [...]
A bill that would require two-person crews aboard Amtrak and most freight trains operating in Minnesota passed out of two Senate committees last week. The safety measure is a top legislative priority of theUnited Transportation Union, which represents about 70,000 workers in [...]
Los Angeles firefighters say nearly two dozen people suffered injuries, mostly minor, when a commuter train struck a car near downtown Los Angeles and partially derailed. Fire Department spokesman Shawn Lenske says 21 people on the train were hurt in Saturday’s crash. H [...]
Retired former United Transportation Union Insurance Association Field Supervisor Thomas R. Anziano Jr., 73, of Local 1373 at Philadelphia, died Mar. 26 after an extended battle with cancer. Anziano began his railroad career with CSX Transportation and worked as a conductor a [...]
Joseph J. Nigro is retiring as General President of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART), effective April 30. He is stepping down in order to fully focus on recovering from a series of recent surgeries. The SMART General [...]
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced legislation March 25 that would set strong new safety standards for trains hauling volatile crude oil, to better protect American co [...]
Sheet Metal Local 105 members in Los Angeles, CA are profiled in this video by Kelly Candaele, author of “A League of Their Own.” These members are working on the Wilshire Grand Tower which will be the largest skyscraper west of the Mississippi when it is opened i [...]
Across the country, Republican legislators are pushing legislation to repeal or drastically alter prevailing wage requirements for publicly funded construction projects. The effort is being coordinated by the all-powerful right-wing lobby ALEC (American Legislative Exchange C [...]
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Cory A. Booker (D-N.J) with U.S. Representatives James P. McGovern (D-Mass.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) March 26 wrote to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx, urging him to review results [...]