Transportation News

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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 [...]

‘Tis the season – for deadly yard accidents

It’s winter — the three months of the year during which a significant number of yard fatalities and career-ending injuries occur. The FRA says risk is concentrated in cold-weather states, but those in warmer climates are not immune, because darkness is a factor al [...]

Obama budget request: Transport details

WASHINGTON — The White House fiscal year 2012 budget request submitted to Congress Feb. 14 is unexpectedly generous toward the various modes of transportation. That said, the FY 2012 budget that emerges from a Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Democrati [...]

Amtrak attack threatens Railroad Retirement

WASHINGTON — The House Appropriations Committee this week will consider a proposal to cut more than $200 million from Amtrak’s current fiscal year 2011 federal subsidy, which could result in reductions of Amtrak service and layoffs of Amtrak workers. Also under co [...]

UTU members ratify two FEC agreements

UTU members employed by Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) have ratified two new four-year agreements affecting wages, benefits and working conditions. Conductors, engineers, trainmen and yardmen ratified their tentative agreement by a 75 percent plurality, while Florida East C [...]