Transportation News

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Rail cellphone ban permanent March 28

The Federal Railroad Administration’s ban on the use of cellphones and other electronic devices — personal and carrier-issued — becomes permanent Monday, March 28. The ban applies to all on-duty train crew members. Don’t let a railroad or federal safet [...]

3 dead, one critical in BNSF Wash. collision

KELSO, Wash. — A van shuttling BNSF workers to Vancouver, Wash., was struck by a BNSF freight train at a private crossing here Wednesday afternoon, March 23, killing two van passengers and the van driver, and critically injuring another passenger. Killed were conductor [...]

Don’t let our enemies turn back the clock

Why are many UTU members participating across America in rallies opposing attacks on collective-bargaining rights? Why have we created the Collective Bargaining Defense Fund to assist our union brothers and sisters under attack? Because we know that those who ignore the past [...]

High-profile hero pulls savings from Wis. bank

It is said that “all politics is local,” and a hero co-pilot with U.S. Airways made a symbolic gesture in Madison, Wis., last week on behalf of the public employees whose collective bargaining rights are under attack. He withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars o [...]

Troubling times for public transit

By Vic Baffoni Vice President, Bus Department   These are troubling times for our nation, states and municipalities. Budget problems are forcing cutbacks in a wide variety of public services, and public transit often is targeted for cuts. At the extreme is the union busting g [...]

Saving your life, limbs and career

Imagine baseball without rules against bean balls, football without helmets or rules against clipping, roadways without stop signs, and cars without seat belts. Rules have a purpose. On railroads the rules — developed over more than a century-and-a-half — are to s [...]

RCO limits, enhanced cab security sought

WASHINGTON — Federally mandated improvements to locomotive cab security and comfort, along with enforceable remote control operation (RCO) regulations, are being sought by the UTU and the BLET in joint comments filed with the Federal Railroad Administration. Significant [...]

Oh, no. Amtrak CEO, FRA chief ditch Acela

WILMINGTON, Del. — Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman, FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo and former BNSF top attorney Jeff Moreland, now an Amtrak board member, were enroute here from Washington Saturday morning for dedication of the new station renamed for Vice President Joe Bide [...]

VP Biden warns of ‘barbarians at the gate’

WASHINGTON — Speaking to labor’s rank-and-file via an AFL-CIO electronic town hall meeting last week, Vice President Joe Biden warned of “barbarians at the gate” of working families as attacks on collective bargaining and union membership move forward [...]

Wisconsin assault on labor suffers setback

MADISON, Wis. — It may be only a temporary restraining order, but the decision of a Wisconsin judge last week to block the state legislature from revoking the collective bargaining rights of public employees reflects the controversial nature of the action and keeps it b [...]