Transportation News

Visit the digital archive of the SMART-TD News (PDFs)

Help needed for our UTU hurricane victims

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated families in the Northeast, we again are reminded we are a nation of one people. Just as we see President Obama, a Democrat, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Chris [...]

GS&T Thompson to retire; Strunk elevated to post

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. Thompson Kim Thompson, general secretary & treasurer of the UTU International and the UTU Insurance Association since 2008, will retire Dec. 31. The UTU Board of Directors has elected International Vi [...]

Agreements ratified on Gary Railway

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. Wier UTU-represented yardmen, hostlers and yardmasters employed by Gary Railway and members of UTU Local 1383 have ratified separate six-year agreements. The contracts provide for annual wage increases, l [...]

Why Obama-Biden deserve your vote Nov. 6

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. By James Stem – UTU National Legislative Director –  UTU endorsements for President of the United States and election to Congress are undertaken with considerable thought, responsibility and accountabilit [...]

3d quarter rail profits wrap-up

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. BNSF reported a 22 percent increase in profit for the third quarter 2012 versus third quarter 2011, citing improved intermodal (trailers and containers on flat cars) and automotive traffic. BNSF’s third q [...]

Chicago Metra conductor assaulted, injured

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. An on-duty Chicago Metra conductor received medical attention following an assault during a botched robbery attempt at a west side passenger station Oct. 22. According to news reports, the conductor, whos [...]

UTU TST assists NTSB after Amtrak derailment

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. The UTU Transportation Safety Team is assisting National Transportation Board investigators following an Oct. 21 derailment of an Amtrak passenger train in Niles, Mich. News reports indicate the investiga [...]

Beware this backdoor effort to silence labor’s voice

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. By National Legislative Director James Stem – You remember Humpty Dumpty, the character created by children’s author Lewis Carroll. Most famously, Humpty Dumpty said, ‘When I use a word, it me [...]

Arbitrator, educator Frank Quinn dies at 80

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. Arbitrator Frank Quinn, well known to hundreds of UTU officers and members as a long-time educator at UTU regional meetings, a respected neutral in rail arbitration cases and as an author, has died at age [...]

$1 dues hike sought to fund 2014 conventions

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. As the initial SMART Transportation Division convention will be held in 2014 – one year earlier than a UTU quadrennial convention that no longer will take place owing to the merger – plus a second SMART c [...]