Transportation News

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BNSF conductor loses leg in yard accident

WILLMAR, Minn. — A 31-year old BNSF conductor , a UTU Local 1177 member, suffered a leg amputation in a yard accident here Feb. 3 — the second UTU member to endure such an accident in 2011. Corey Lynn Kluver, the father of three young children, reportedly was maki [...]

Making bus voices heard in Washington

By Bonnie MorrAlternate Vice President, Bus Department The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is seeking comments on proposed new rules affecting drivers of commercial motor vehicles, which includes bus operators. The rules cover revocation or disqualificatio [...]

Keep your heart healthy

February is American Heart Month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says heart disease is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States, claiming more lives than cancer. Heart disease can strike at any time. Symptoms of a heart-related [...]

FedEx Freight going intermodal

FedEx Freight, which is the nation’s largest stand-alone less-than-truckload carrier of freight, is going intermodal. Less-than-truckload, or LTL, is commonly defined as freight weighing more than 151 pounds and less than 20,000 pounds. LTL carriers collect these small [...]

Canadian Pacific has conductor job openings

Canadian Pacific Railway has job openings for qualified and experienced conductors at 14 Midwest locations. The locations are: Bensenville, Ill. Davenport, Iowa Elkhart, Ind. Enderlin, N.D. Harvey, N.D. Huron, S.D. Kansas City, Mo. Marquette, Iowa Mason City, Iowa Portage, Wi [...]

Receiving disability payments?

Members who received disability-claim payments from Anthem or Lincoln in 2010 will be receiving IRS W-2 forms from those insurers. This does not mean that the benefits are taxable. It is merely a reporting requirement of the IRS. The payments will be listed in Box 12 with a & [...]

Singing Puccini, she trades bus job for TV

Warning: Do not try this without your employer’s permission. That said, a bus driver in Geneva, Switzerland, has gained television stardom there for her singing while at the wheel, reports AFP international news service. The 49-year-old female driver, Maya Wirz, was giv [...]

UTU bus drivers unite in HIV/AIDS battle

SAN FRANCISCO — In this city, horribly devastated by HIV and AIDS, 24 members of UTU Local 1741 here are participating in a 565-mile bicycle trek to raise funds for support services and HIV prevention efforts. Twenty-four members of the school-bus local, under the leade [...]

PEB likely on Boston commuter rail

BOSTON — A coalition of Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad (MBCR) unions, including those representing clerks, carmen, supervisors, signalmen and shopcraft workers, have been released by the National Mediation Board (NMB) from mediation. The release paves the way for a [...]

Railroads 2010: How sweet it was

How did major railroads perform in 2010? Reviewing their calendar-year and fourth-quarter profit statements, one wouldn’t know they were operating in the midst of a nationwide recession. Profits soared, stock dividends were raised and operating ratios improved. (Operati [...]