Category: News

Obama cracks down on labor breaches by contractors

July 31, 2014 WASHINGTON (AP) — In an election-year rebuttal to Republicans, President Barack Obama will sign an executive order Thursday requiring federal contractors to give their workers more rights in labor disputes. The move comes one day after House GOP lawmakers voted to sue Obama f [...]

Tags labor disputes

Former Auxiliary President Edythe Walter dies

July 31, 2014 Edythe Mae Walter, former International president of the Auxiliary of the United Transportation Union, passed away peacefully on July 30, 2014. She was 78. She is survived by her husband, Bob Walter, with whom she celebrated 60 years of marriage on June 22. They also shared t [...]

Tags Auxiliary of the UTU, Edythe Walter

Video: GP Nigro Addresses SMART TD Convention In San Diego

July 30, 2014 On the last day of the SMART Transportation Division Convention, held in San Diego, Calif., General President Joseph Nigro addressed the delegates and discussed transparency, solidarity between construction and transportation workers, along with giving a look at the upcoming [...]

Judge Rules Indiana “Right to Work” For Less Law Unconstitutional

July 30, 2014 An Indiana Judge has ruled that the state’s “Right-to-Work” law is unconstitutional, the second such blow to the legislation since its passage in 2012. Lake County Circuit Judge George Paras decided against the state in United Steelworkers vs. Zoeller on July 17th, ruling tha [...]

Group seeks donations to bring NP caboose home

July 29, 2014 In the sleepy and quaint town of Vermilion, Ohio, along the shores of Lake Erie, where boats are docked and buoyed along the water’s edge and early 20th century Victorian architecture still abounds, there will be a homecoming. Nickel Plate Caboose #1155 is coming home! Howeve [...]

Tags Friends of Harbour Town, Nickel Plate caboose #1155

Time to act on two-person rail crews is now!

July 29, 2014 Members of the SMART Transportation Division and all of rail labor are reminded that they have the opportunity to make it federal law to have two qualified persons working on all freight trains operating in the United States a reality. Now is the time to contact your legislat [...]

Tags H.R. 3040, two-person rail crews

FMCSA, OSHA strengthening worker protections

July 28, 2014 WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the coordination and cooper [...]

Tags FMCSA, OSHA

RRB announces additional pre-retirement seminars

July 24, 2014 Additional locations have now been added to the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board’s (RRB) schedule of Pre-Retirement Seminars for railroad employees and their spouses. Designed for railroad employees and spouses planning to retire within five years or less, the seminars will fam [...]

Tags pre-retirement seminars, Railroad Retirement Board, RRB

DOT announces proposed rules for crude transport

July 23, 2014 WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation today released the details of its comprehensive rulemaking proposal to improve the safe transportation of large quantities of flammable materials by rail – particularly crude oil and ethanol – in the form of a Notice of Propo [...]

Local 1701 takes labor dispute to city council

July 22, 2014 MONTEBELLO, Calif. – SMART Transportation Division Local 1701 bus members here July 9 picketed outside Montebello City Hall prior to and during a meeting of city council to bring attention to their dispute with city over wages, rest periods, meal periods and payment of pensio [...]

Tags bus, Cecilia Lopez, Local 1701, Montebello, Tom Pate