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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
I just sat through a pretty boring hearing on rail financing. But I’m glad I stuck it out, because the fireworks came at the end, when Rep. John Mica picked a fight with the wrong man. John Robert Smith is familiar face in transportation reform circles. The former Republican [...]
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 [...]
Railroad members covered under the provisions of the Sept. 16, 2011, national railroad agreement received a three percent general wage increase, effective July 1, 2013. The links below show the national agreement pay rates for all classes of service and overtime tables for ya [...]
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) July 3 announced almost $1 million in new grants to help train veterans and military families for jobs in the transportation industry. The grants were awarded to six [...]
LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec – Quebec police are pursuing a painstaking, wide-ranging criminal investigation of the inferno ignited by the derailment of a runaway oil train that killed at least 15 people and left dozens missing in the burned-out ruins of a downtown district. Quebec p [...]
Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D., Pa.) made a whistle-stop plea July 8 for Congress to block efforts to cut Amtrak funding 31 percent. Casey said $350 million in cuts proposed by House Republicans would cost Amtrak workers their jobs and Amtrak passengers their rides. Read the co [...]
“You’re going to be a high school senior this fall. Any thoughts on a career? College?” “Well, Dad, I think I might like to work for a railroad. It’s a pretty important business, and I hear that the pay and benefits are really good. And I’ve always been interested in trains.” [...]
