Category: Amtrak/Commuter

North Dakota locals holding ‘Spring Swing Meetings’ April 25-28
North Dakota locals will be holding informational meetings for their members the last week in April. These meetings provide an opportunity to learn about your benefits and visit with international officers, general chairmen, and representatives from the Railroad Retirement Bo [...]
Nevada members: Contact your state senators about two-person crews!
Nevada Senate Bill 427 (S.B. 427), sponsored by Nevada State Senator Mark Manendo (D – Dist. 21), seeks to restore a requirement in Nevada’s laws regarding the minimum number of persons operating freight trains in the state. The bill comes in response to interest [...]
Atty. seeks to smack down Hunter Harrison’s outrageous 84 mil. ‘compensation’ bid
Trains.com recently reported that an attorney in Roanoke, Virginia is on a one-man mission to rally CSX shareholders to vote down CEO E. Hunter Harrison’s bid to line his pockets with an extra 84 million dollars as compensation for voluntarily leaving the helm at Canadi [...]Trump budget could end Amtrak service in many states, including North Dakota, Minnesota
The BismarckTribune.com reported that if the Trump budget passes, the effect on commuter rail will be serious, as Amtrak services could cease in numerous states, including North Dakota and Minnesota. ‘“It’s ironic that President Trump’s first budget proposal undermines [...]
Rail ‘crew hauler’ safety measures expected to become law in state of Washington
On March 23, 2011, SMART TD member Dwight Hauck nearly died in a horrific crew transport van-train collision in a Kelso, Washington, rail yard that killed two other passengers and the driver. Hauck suffered permanent, debilitating injuries as a result of the crash. The incide [...]
Express Scripts – EpiPen® and EpiPen Jr® Auto-Injectors recall
Epinephrine is the first-line treatment for a life-threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) and access to this product is critical in the event of an emergency. Meridian Medical Technologies, a Pfizer company and Mylan’s manufacturing partner for EpiPen Auto-Injector [...]Pres. Trump’s proposal to store nuclear waste could resuscitate Yucca Mountain rail project
President Trump is requesting $120 million in his 2018 budget to restart the licensing process to store nuclear waste under Nevada’s Yucca Mountain. This could also mean a revival for a proposed rail line to the remote site. The project was first proposed in the 1980s b [...]
Senators work to halt Trump’s Amtrak cuts after derailments rise in NYC
WASHINGTON – NewJersey.com reported that U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Robert Melendez wrote to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on transportation, calling on committee leadership to secure federal funding for Amtrak and also for the Amtrak Gateway Project – [...]