Transportation News

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T&E headcount up on most railroads

Total train and engine employment on Class I railroads increased by 7.49 percent in June 2011 versus June 2010, although not all major railroads increased hiring. T&E headcounts on CSX and Canadian National (U.S. operations) declined in June 2011 versus June 2010, but all [...]

UTU to congressional audience: ‘HSR is jobs machine’

Risch WASHINGTON — New jobs building and operating high-speed rail “are American jobs that can’t be shipped overseas and would be a Godsend in this economic downturn,” UTU Alternate National Legislative Director John Risch told a congressionally sponsored forum here Aug [...]

DOL reports on criminal actions

The Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) reports the following criminal actions involving officers of various locals, divisions and general committees within the BLET, BMWE, BRS and UTU since Jan. 1, 2011: * On July 13, 2011, in the United States [...]

Familiar name to lead American Public Transp. Assn.

WASHINGTON – A former official with three bus operators employing UTU members has been elected president and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), which represents bus and transit operators before Congress and regulatory agencies. The appointment is ef [...]

August sun carries skin cancer risk

The August sun can be dangerous, and protecting your skin should be a high priority. Although this is a year-round issue, overexposure to sun and its dangers occurs most during the summer. When skin is exposed to ultra-violet (UV) rays, it responds by producing melanin, a pig [...]

Learning to be better leaders

Morr By BONNIE MORR Alternate Vice President, Bus Department Bus Department workshops at the San Antonio and New York regional meetings were among the most informative in many years, and reflect the promise of President Futhey to beef-up and place greater emphasis on those wo [...]

National rail contract ballots in mail

Voting packages for the tentative national rail contract were mailed Friday, Aug. 12, to UTU members eligible to vote. The balloting period will extend for 21 days to 4 p.m., Eastern time, Friday, Sept. 2. Voting will be by craft under the craft-autonomy provisions of the UTU [...]

A dog walks into a post office…

WASHINGTON — The Railway Mail Service is no more, but the pooch who, more than a century ago, served as a mascot and protector to those who sorted the mail aboard Railway Post Office (RPO) cars has gained new life in a special issue stamp of the U.S. Postal Service. Owney is [...]

Maglev’s future bleak after Pa. firm’s bankruptcy

The likelihood of 300-mph magnetic levitation trains operating in the United States anytime soon took another body blow in July when a private-sector firm planning a maglev route in Pennsylvania filed for bankruptcy. Maglev uses powerful electro-magnets to levitate, propel, g [...]

1 grey sedan, 2 unknown occupants & a TSA mystery

Witnesses say it’s a grey sedan. A grey four-door sedan — occupied by two men. A grey four-door sedan occupied by two men that shows up at railroad facilities. The men claim to work for the Federal Railroad Administration. That say they are there to inspect a bridge, or [...]