Category: Yardmasters

Insurance information for retiring yardmasters

April 19, 2012 SMART Transportation Division-member yardmaster nearing retirement wishing to maintain their current connection with Minnesota Life to retain a supplemental $2,000 life insurance benefit should contact the Yardmaster Department at the SMART Transportation Division Headquarter [...]

Supreme Court declines to weaken FELA

June 24, 2011 WASHINGTON — In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court June 23 declined to tighten the standard of proof injured rail workers must demonstrate to win an award under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). The ruling is a significant victory for injured rail workers. The [...]

Tags designated legal counsel, DLC, Federal Employers' Liability Act, FELA

Futhey pointing; Mike Futhey; Futhey, Mike; Pointing

State of the union: ‘Stronger than ever’

June 23, 2011 International President Mike Futhey SAN ANTONIO — Stronger protections for members, improved finances, successful organizing drives and superior wage and benefits agreements characterize the United Transportation Union in 2011, International President Mike Futhey told s [...]

Tags dues increase, Futhey, state of the union

New year for rail unemployment, sickness claims

June 21, 2011 A new year under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act for unemployment and sickness benefits begins July 1. The maximum daily benefit rate payable remains at $66 in the new benefit year. Benefits are normally paid for the number of days of unemployment or sickness over fou [...]

Tags railroad retirement, RRB, sickenss, unemployment

Yard-safety workshop a life, limbs, careers saver

June 10, 2011 Working in a rail yard puts life, limbs and career at risk more than any other job. Members attending UTU regional meetings in San Antonio and New York have access to a yard-safety workshop – conducted in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration’s risk-reduction [...]

Tags Federal Railroad Administration, FRA, regional meetings, SOFA, yard safety

Fight for our futures against labor’s enemies

June 7, 2011 UTU members are stepping up to the plate in the fight to preserve collective bargaining rights, Amtrak, workplace safety, Railroad Retirement, Social Security and Medicare by mounting a counter attack on political extremists intent on destroying organized labor and all it has [...]

Tags Amtrak, anti-union, collective bargaining defense fund, Hynes, Lenfest, Local 113, union busting, UTU PAC

Record pay boost in UTU tentative rail pact

June 2, 2011 A 17 percent pay increase, retention of the $200 monthly cap on health care cost-sharing, FRA certification pay, a faster process for new hires to reach full pay rates, and no rollback of the January 2011 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) highlight the new five-year national r [...]

Tags contract, National Carriers' Conference Committee, national rail agreement, NCCC, negotiated, rail pact

al-Qaida but one transport terrorist threat

May 6, 2011 The news media may be atwitter with concerns of an al-Qaida attack on trains, but there is no validation that any specific attack is imminent or has been planned. What is crucial is that each of us — whether we work for an air, bus, freight train, transit or passenger t [...]

Tags al-Qaida, plot, sabotage, terrorist

CSX yardmasters ratify consolidation pact

March 3, 2011 CSX-employed yardmasters represented by the UTU have ratified a coordination-of-operations agreement affecting CSX eastern district (former Baltimore & Ohio) and northern district (former Conrail) lines. The agreement was negotiated in response to a CSX filing with the U. [...]

UTU working to improve Rail Safety Act

December 27, 2010 By James Stem, UTU National Legislative Director The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) was not all that rail labor wanted in a safety bill, but it was a good start, and contains much of what we have long sought. Work still needs to be done, including an end to limbo [...]

Tags H.R. 6519, James Stem, Rail Safety Act, Rail Safety Improvement Act, RSIA, safety