News Archive
170 Furloughed NS employees called back to work
ROANOKE, Va. – According to Robin Chapman, a spokesperson for Norfolk Southern (NS), 170 furloughed NS employees are headed back to work. Of those hired back, 60 were hired back permanently to train services and 70 were transferred to temporary positions that are guaranteed u [...]Two-man crews limited damage in 1996 train wreck
MONTREAL — Nearly two decades ago, the fiery derailment of a Wisconsin train became a rallying point in a union fight to make the state the first in the United States to require two-person crews on locomotives. The 1996 wreckage of the train, which sent fireballs exploding 90 [...]Member pinned, loses legs in accident
In an early morning accident Tuesday, July 9, Local 794 member Kevin Beggs was trapped under a BNSF boxcar, causing him to lose his legs. Currently, Beggs is listed in critical condition at Via Christi on St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kan., where he was flown via helicopte [...]
Win trip to Washington through UTU PAC contest
The SMART Transportation Division’s Legislative Office in Washington has announced a contest for SMART TD members, with a three-day, two-night, all-expenses-paid trip to our nation’s capital as the grand prize. The SMART TD member who raises and returns the largest amount of [...]Aurora, CO Hospital Latest Failed Project That Could Have Used A Project Labor Agreement
In the works since the late 1990’s, the Veterans Affairs Hospital proposed for Aurora, Colorado is now $200 million over budget and unlikely to be open in the Spring of 2015 as hoped. After endless changes to the plans, construction ground was broken in 2009, yet constructio [...]Behind the Rail Explosion, Too Few Railroaders
Much attention concerning the Quebec rail disaster has focused on the danger of transporting oil by rail. But pipelines come with hazards, too. For example, a natural gas pipeline exploded in southeast New Mexico in 2000, killing 12. Earlier this year, an Exxon Mobil pipeline [...]Risks of one-man crews debated after disaster
The train hauling millions of gallons of crude oil that slammed into a Canadian town got there with a crew of one – staffing permitted by law though opposed by labor leaders who’ve warned of the risks. The union representing workers at Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway Lt [...]