Transportation News

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Ohio labor rally Tuesday to draw thousands

COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the legislative standoff continues in Wisconsin, Ohio takes center stage Tuesday, Feb. 22, in the battle to preserve collective-bargaining rights for state workers. The Columbus Dispatch newspaper reports that as many as 20,000 pro collective-bargain [...]

We stand in solidarity with public employees

By UTU International President Mike Futhey The right of workers to join a labor union and bargain collectively with employers over wages, benefits and working conditions is the foundation of workplace democracy. Brave and dedicated trade unionists before us risked their lives [...]

Riverside. Calif., school drivers return to UTU

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — School bus-driver members employed by First Student here have voted to return to the UTU, and an agreement negotiated prior to their departure has been implemented. First Student also agreed to provide retroactive pay in addition to wage increases, a [...]

Help preserve collective bargaining in Ohio

Collective bargaining rights of Ohio state employees is under attack, and a state senate committee is considering legislation to halt this cornerstone of American and union workplace democracy. UTU Ohio State Legislative Director Glenn Newsom reports that many members of the [...]

UTU, MBCR in tentative conductor agreement

BOSTON — Some 450 UTU-represented conductors and assistant conductors on Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad (MBCR) have a tentative new agreement covering wages, benefits and working conditions.A ratification vote is currently underway, with ballots to be counted March [...]

Florida is third state to reject high-speed rail funding

Florida has become the third state to reject federal stimulus funds to help create a high-speed rail system. Florida Gov. Rick Scott Feb. 16 joined Republican governors in Wisconsin and Ohio in saying “no” to the federal funds — all saying state finances are [...]

February is Black History Month

As we celebrate Black History Month in February, here are some inventions by African-Americans of interest to rail and bus members: * Andrew Jackson Beard, born a slave in Alabama, became a railroad employee and invented the Jenny coupler in 1897 after losing a leg using the [...]

Preserving Amtrak: A perennial effort

WASHINGTON — Since its creation four decades ago, Amtrak has perennially teetered on the edge of financial extinction, annually fighting down to the wire for minimal funds to keep it operating.This year is no exception. And while UTU member and retiree phone calls ̵ [...]

UTU N.Y. school bus local ratifies agreement

SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. — Members of UTU Local 153 here, employed as school bus drivers by Chestnut Ridge Transportation, have ratified a three-year wage, benefits and work rules agreement. The agreement provides the drivers with wage increases retroactive to Sept. 1, 2010, [...]

Getting heart healthy

Heart AttackWarning Signs Cardiac ArrestWarning Signs StrokeWarning Signs    Chest discomfort/chest pain    Sudden Loss of Responsiveness    Trouble seeing in one or both eyes    Discomfort in other areas of upper body    No normal breathing    Disoriented, trouble speaking o [...]