States from California to Maine are hiring rail inspectors and oil-spill experts as they draw up emergency plans after trains carrying crude derailed and burst into fireballs, including a crash in Quebec that killed 47. In California, Governor Jerry Brown is proposing a 15 pe [...]
A combination of bad weather and a large number of oil shipments has been severely delaying Amtrak riders in northern Plains states – and a rail passenger advocacy group is trying to do something about it. It hasn’t been easy to be a rail passenger lately – especially if you’ [...]
The new copy of the SMART The Members’ Journal is now available online. Included in this issue: – New message from the General President about the SMART Constitution – Improvements at the National Pension Fund – SMART Living – Profile of Local 17 [...]
The head of New Jersey’s transit agency Feb. 3 defended the response to delays for thousands of fans leaving the Super Bowl by train, as officials sought to understand how ridership estimates could have been so far off base. About 33,000 people took the 7-mile ride betw [...]
Following the examples of Local 33 and others, Local 66 contractors and members have been busily preparing to make the facilities within their jurisdiction verifiably safe. Local 66 has delivered Fire Life Safety Level 1 Technician training for the last few years through the [...]
Throughout the past year, we have shared major portions of our history, as documented by labor historian Grace Palladino. She has provided an insightful and candid look at several major issues addressed by your union’s leadership since publication of an earlier history in 198 [...]
In a fundamental shift in the way tour buses are regulated, the federal agency that oversees the companies is implementing a long-sought rule to aggressively go after and shut down those that repeatedly violate safety laws, endangering the lives of tour bus riders as well as [...]
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced last week that it was considering a number of fare-restructuring options that would increase fares, change its current transfer policy and help the bus and rail operator address its mounting operating defi [...]
The U.S. Class I workforce expanded slightly in November, then contracted a bit in December, according to employment data recently compiled and released by the Surface Transportation Board (STB). As of mid-November 2013, the large U.S. roads employed 163,199 people, up less t [...]
CSX Corporation announced its fourth quarter and full-year earnings for 2013 Jan. 15. The railroad reported net earnings of $426 million or $0.42 per share for the fourth quarter. These earnings were down from the same quarter in 2012, with earnings of $449 million or $0.44 p [...]
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