WASHINGTON – The crash landing of a South Korean airliner in San Francisco has revived concerns that airline pilots get so little opportunity these days to fly without the aid of sophisticated automation that their stick-and-rudder skills are eroding.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the accident, is a long way from reaching a conclusion as to its probable cause. While the focus of their investigation could still shift, information released by the board thus far appears to point to pilot error.
At the conclusion of the SMART Transportation Division’s Boston regional meeting July 3, Transportation Division President Mike Futhey announced he will step down from office, pending resolution of arbitration proceedings regarding the union’s constitution. In October 2011, Georgetown University law professor Michael H. Gottesman ruled the agreement to create the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) Workers by a merger of the United Transportation Union and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association was an enforceable agreement and the two unions have been working to complete the merger since that time. The arbitration proceedings center around interpretations of various articles of the UTU’s Constitution as it is inserted into the SMWIA’s bylaws to complete a final SMART Constitution. Gottesman is again serving as the arbitrator in the current proceedings. During a town hall forum at the Boston regional meetings opening ceremonies July 1, Futhey said agreement had been reached with most of the SMART constitution articles, but that several disputes remain. He indicated he would remain in office through the arbitration process, developing the constitution language for the transportation division. He said the union does not want to release portions of the constitution that have been agreed upon until a final document has been decided upon. “The final document is not a final document until that arbitration decision is made,” Futhey said. Under the articles of the current UTU Constitution, Assistant President and General Secretary & Treasurer John Previsich would be elevated to fulfill Futhey’s unexpired term as president of the SMART Transportation Division. Futhey is the eighth president of the UTU, currently known as the SMART Transportation Division. He was elected president in August 2007 and assumed office Jan. 1, 2008. He was re-elected president in August 2011.
A train disaster that killed five people in Quebec promises to touch off debate over the safety of shipping crude oil by rail or pipelines such as TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL.
As authorities began investigating the explosion of refinery-bound tank cars hauled by Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd., Quebec’s Green Party demanded stricter regulations and an energy industry association predicted tough scrutiny ahead for rail carriers.
At the conclusion of the SMART Transportation Division’s Boston regional meeting July 3, Transportation Division President Mike Futhey announced he will step down from office, pending resolution of arbitration proceedings regarding the union’s constitution.
In October 2011, Georgetown University law professor Michael H. Gottesman ruled the agreement to create the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) Workers by a merger of the United Transportation Union and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association was an enforceable agreement and the two unions have been working to complete the merger since that time.
The arbitration proceedings center around interpretations of various articles of the UTU’s Constitution as it is inserted into the SMWIA’s bylaws to complete a final SMART Constitution.
Gottesman is again serving as the arbitrator in the current proceedings.
During a town hall forum at the Boston regional meetings opening ceremonies July 1, Futhey said agreement had been reached with most of the SMART constitution articles, but that several disputes remain. He indicated he would remain in office through the arbitration process, developing the constitution language for the transportation division.
He said the union does not want to release portions of the constitution that have been agreed upon until a final document has been decided upon.
“The final document is not a final document until that arbitration decision is made,” Futhey said.
Under the articles of the current UTU Constitution, Assistant President and General Secretary & Treasurer John Previsich would be elevated to fulfill Futhey’s unexpired term as president of the SMART Transportation Division.
Futhey is the eighth president of the UTU, currently known as the SMART Transportation Division. He was elected president in August 2007 and assumed office Jan. 1, 2008. He was re-elected president in August 2011.
QUEBEC – The official death toll has grown to three Lac-Mégantic, Que., one day after a derailed train carrying crude oil exploded in the town’s core, levelling buildings and forcing as many as 2,000 people from their homes.
Quebec provincial police said two more bodies were discovered overnight in the hardest hit area in the centre of town.
SMART Transportation Division President Mike Futhey, left, and SMART General President Joe Nigro prepare to receive questions at the regional meeting’s town hall forum. The SMART Transportation Division opened its Boston regional meeting July 1 with a town hall forum at which SMART members were able to pose questions directly to the union’s leadership. More than 800 members, guests and presenters are attending the regional meeting. After opening ceremonies and remarks from SMART General President Joe Nigro and Transportation Division President Mike Futhey, the presidents were joined by SMART General Secretary-Treasurer Joe Sellers and Transportation Division Assistant President and General Secretary & Treasurer John Previsich to respond to questions concerning the merger of the United Transportation Union and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association and other issues. The session was moderated by Transportation Division International Vice President John Lesniewski. On Tuesday, July 2, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman addressed meeting attendees during lunch, stressing the nation’s need to fund public transportation, address rail security needs and tend to its transportation infrastructure. “We have a (competitive) edge in this country because of a great transportation industry,” Said Lynch. “There is an ongoing need to focus on that competitive advantage so we don’t lose it.” Lynch said he recently sponsored a rail summit and traveled to Mumbai to study the weaknesses in their rail security system following terrorist attacks there. He also discussed rail security issues with representatives from the United Kingdom and Russia. “The next threat, I think, will be to our local rail systems and infrastructure,” he said. “There is a growing sense of awareness that this is an area both Democrats and Republicans can agree on. We have grown complacent when it comes to our rail security.” U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts receives a UTU clock from SMART Transportation President Division Mike Futhey following an address to regional meeting attendees and guests. Boardman also addressed Amtrak’s rail security issues, noting that Amtrak has 500 police officers, 50 bomb-sniffing dogs and is a leader in explosive-detection technology. He told the transportation employees and guests that the railroad of the future is coming, but that additional resources are needed. He said that long-distance trains do not make money and have never made money, but that they provide a means of travel for many individuals who do not have access to other modes of transportation. Referring to government funding of Amtrak, Boardman stressed that “it is not a subsidy, it is a cost for providing mobility. We are destroying long-distance trains by de-capitalizing them. We need to change that.”
Amtrak’s role in setting on-time performance standards that could trigger U.S. investigations of railroads whose trains get in its way are unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington today said Congress had improperly delegated to Amtrak, a private corporation, the power to draft performance standards that affected companies whose tracks the passenger carrier uses. Amtrak trains have legal priority over freight.
The SMART Transportation Division opened its Boston regional meeting July 1 with a town hall forum at which SMART members were able to pose questions directly to the union’s leadership.
More than 800 members, guests and presenters are attending the regional meeting.
After opening ceremonies and remarks from SMART General President Joe Nigro and Transportation Division President Mike Futhey, the presidents were joined by SMART General Secretary-Treasurer Joe Sellers and Transportation Division Assistant President and General Secretary & Treasurer John Previsich to respond to questions concerning the merger of the United Transportation Union and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association and other issues.
The session was moderated by Transportation Division International Vice President John Lesniewski.
SMART Transportation Division President Mike Futhey, left, and SMART General President Joe Nigro prepare to receive questions at the regional meeting’s town hall forum.
On Tuesday, July 2, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman addressed meeting attendees during lunch, stressing the nation’s need to fund public transportation, address rail security needs and tend to its transportation infrastructure.
“We have a (competitive) edge in this country because of a great transportation industry,” Said Lynch. “There is an ongoing need to focus on that competitive advantage so we don’t lose it.”
Lynch said he recently sponsored a rail summit and traveled to Mumbai to study the weaknesses in their rail security system following terrorist attacks there. He also discussed rail security issues with representatives from the United Kingdom and Russia.
“The next threat, I think, will be to our local rail systems and infrastructure,” he said. “There is a growing sense of awareness that this is an area both Democrats and Republicans can agree on. We have grown complacent when it comes to our rail security.”
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts receives a UTU clock from SMART Transportation President Division Mike Futhey following an address to regional meeting attendees and guests.
Boardman also addressed Amtrak’s rail security issues, noting that Amtrak has 500 police officers, 50 bomb-sniffing dogs and is a leader in explosive-detection technology.
He told the transportation employees and guests that the railroad of the future is coming, but that additional resources are needed.
He said that long-distance trains do not make money and have never made money, but that they provide a means of travel for many individuals who do not have access to other modes of transportation.
Referring to government funding of Amtrak, Boardman stressed that “it is not a subsidy, it is a cost for providing mobility. We are destroying long-distance trains by de-capitalizing them. We need to change that.”
Minnesota State Legislative Director Phillip Qualy speaks with Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman following lunch at the SMART Transportation Division’s Boston regional meeting.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Former Charlotte mayor Anthony Foxx is expected to be sworn-in as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation on Tuesday after he officially resigned his position with the city on Monday afternoon.
Foxx resigned as Charlotte’s mayor during a special meeting with city council on Monday afternoon.
Read the complete article at television station WBTV.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal appeals court July 1 ruled that Alabama discriminated against railroads by forcing them to pay a sales tax on fuel when it exempts its competitors – trucking and barge companies.
The U.S. 11th Court of Criminal Appeals issued its opinion in CSX Transportation, Inc.’s appeal in its 2008 lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Revenue.
WASHINGTON – The crash landing of a South Korean airliner in San Francisco has revived concerns that airline pilots get so little opportunity these days to fly without the aid of sophisticated automation that their stick-and-rudder skills are eroding.
Minnesota State Legislative Director Phillip Qualy speaks with Amtrak President and