Category: Washington
U.S. Senator introduces railroad deregulation bill. Her biggest campaign donor? Union Pacific
DeSmogBlog reported that the top campaign donor for U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) is Union Pacific Railroad – and, four of her top 11 donors are railroad companies. This past June, Senator Fischer introduced the Railroad Advancement of Innovation and Leadership with [...]
Medicare to issue new cards in 2018 to protect identities of retirees
Whether a person is receiving Medicare through Social Security or through the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), the patient may be vulnerable to identity theft due to the SSN/RRB Claim number being present on their Medicare card. Soon, you won’t need to worry about someone obt [...]Rail workers died fighting for basic human rights: Anniversary of Railroad Strike of 1877
John Risch, SMART TD’s national legislative director, spoke with Jaisal Noor of realnews.com on the significance of the 140th anniversary of the first national railroad strike that began July 14, 1877, also known as the Great Railroad Strike and Great Upheaval. More tha [...]
AFL-CIO alert: Trump nominates anti-labor lawyers to National Labor Relations Board
On June 17, 2017, the AFL-CIO issued a legislative alert to U.S. Senators regarding Trump’s nomination of Marvin Kaplan and William Emanuel to fill the vacant seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In the alert, Emanuel is noted for representing the “ [...]House Appropriations Committee releases details of 2018 transportation funding bill
On July 10, the House Appropriations Committee released the fiscal year 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill, which includes funding for the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other related agenci [...]
N.Y. Reps. Suozzi and King address SMART TD
On Monday, July 10, 2017, U.S. Congressmen from the State of New York, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D) and Rep. Peter King (R), addressed SMART TD members and officers at the Eastern Regional Meeting in New York City, Suozzi at the morning opening session and King at the lunch reception. [...]
Airlines and Republicans place profit over safety; seek to cut pilot in-flight training hours
On July 6, 2017, the Chicago Tribune reported that regional airlines are working to reduce pilot in-flight training hours from the 1,500-hour requirement, through a provision that could be attached to the upcoming Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Bill. A [...]
Trump persists in ending long-distance Amtrak train service
Instead of working to upgrade long-distance transportation services, and ignoring his promise to invest in American infrastructure, Trump is working to end long-distance train travel. According to an article posted on July 3, 2017, in the San Francisco Chronicle, if TrumpR [...]