By James Stem, UTU National Legislative Director – Coal is America’s most abundant source of energy, helping reduce our nation’s dependence on imported oil. Coal also means jobs, with almost one in every five freight rail jobs dependent on transporting coal. And coal m [...]
Train, engine and mechanical forces represented by the UTU on shortline Western Rail Road in Texas are voting on a tentative new agreement reached with mediation assistance from the National Mediation Board. An October tentative agreement was rejected by affected members, lea [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The UTU Transportation Safety Team is assisting the National Transportation Safety Board in investigating a fiery explosion following a Norfolk Southern derailment here July 11. Sixteen of 98 cars carrying ethanol, corn syrup and grain left the tracks a [...]
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — UTU-represented members employed as bus operators by the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District have become “the highest-paid bus operators in America” following ratification of a new three-year labor agreement, said Bonnie Morr, vice president of [...]
A two-day training program on handling radioactive cargo traveling by rail will be conducted by the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md., Aug. 17-18. The Modular Emergency Response Radiological Transportation Training (MERRTT) course will be taught by officials from t [...]
High-speed rail has been given an energy-boosting vitamin B-12 shot by the California legislature and Amtrak for separate projects on the West and East Coasts. In California, the legislature agreed to spend $6 billion to build the first 130-mile leg of a 520-mile high-speed l [...]
GLENVIEW, Ill. — Two bodies have been found under a collapsed railroad bridge here following the July 4 derailment of a 138-car Union Pacific coal train. The dead were in a a vehicle buried under the bridge wreckage. Authorities said more bodies of motorists could be fo [...]
UTU members with questions on how the Affordable Care Act will affect them and their families should visit the websites of their health care insurance carriers. For UTU members covered under the national railroad medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance [...]
Of importance to UTU-represented Great Lakes Airlines pilots and flight attendants, Congress has scrapped an attempt by conservatives to eliminate the Essential Air Service program. Great Lakes Airlines is the largest recipient of Essential Air Service grants, which helps kee [...]
It’s not all we wanted, but, maybe more important, it’s not as bad as it could have been. Given the polarization of this Congress, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century – MAP-21 – is as good a new transportation authorization bill as we could have hoped for. Passe [...]
