News - Page 393 of 636

Ohio Agreement Allows Sheet Metal Apprentices to Transfer Credits

December 18, 2014 An articulation agreement between the Ohio Board of Regents and the seven unionized sheet metal training centers in the state will make it easier for new apprenticeship graduates to earn their associate’s degrees. The first state-wide agreement of its kind in the nation, it a [...]

Metro-North to screen engineers for sleep apnea

December 17, 2014 MTA Metro-North Railroad has selected a health care firm that specializes in sleep disorders to screen all locomotive engineers for sleep apnea, railroad officials announced Dec. 15. Under a seven-month pilot project, all 410 Metro-North engineers and about 20 engineers in tr [...]

Tags Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co., Sleep Apnea

Transit ridership up 1.8 percent in third quarter

December 17, 2014 More than 2.7 billion trips were taken on U.S. public transportation in the third quarter of 2014, according to a report released today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). This is a 1.8 percent increase over the same quarter last year, representing an in [...]

Tags American Public Transportation Association, APTA, transit

BLET, SMART–TD, four others to bargain together

December 17, 2014 CLEVELAND, Dec. 17 — Top leaders of the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART–TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) announced today that their organizations will be pa [...]

Tags American Train Dispatchers Association, and Helpers, Blacksmiths, BLET, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, coordinated bargaining, Dennis Pierce, Forgers, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, John Previsich, National Conference of Firemen and Oilers/SEIU, national negotiations

Metro-North violates rights of Connecticut worker

December 17, 2014 HARTFORD, Conn. – Metro-North’s actions against an injured worker have resulted in the largest punitive damages ever in a retaliation case under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. A recent investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health A [...]

Tags Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co., Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, whistleblower

Local 137 Members Light Up Times Square

December 15, 2014 Members of Sheet Metal Local 137 in New York City are known for their expertise when it comes to keeping the city lit up—dazzling generations of tourists and New Yorkers with the Big Apple’s bright lights and giant billboards. Now they can add another notch to their belt with [...]

Mental health care and Railroad Medicare coverage

December 15, 2014 Mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, can come at any age and can happen to anyone. They are nothing to be ashamed of. While they can occur at any time, stressful holidays and the let-down after the holidays often make these conditions worse. With that in m [...]

Tags depression, mental health, Palmetto GBA, railroad medicare

Metra, railroads push project to untangle rail corridor

December 15, 2014 Metra and freight railroad industry representatives on Friday called for a $1 billion project intended to untangle a snarl of railroad tracks that causes major problems for Chicago commuters and commerce. The project, known as the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project, wou [...]

Tags Metra

Budget bill sets Jan. deadline for rule on oil tank cars

December 15, 2014 Hidden away in Congress’ big spending bill, designed to fund the federal government through FY 2015, are stern marching orders to the U.S. Department of Transportation: Deliver a final rule for new, safer oil tank car design standards by Jan. 15, 2015, and require that all ra [...]

Tags crude oil, tank cars

Can oil price declines end railroads' bull run?

December 12, 2014 Crude oil hit its five year low price on Monday, Dec. 8, under pressure from growing production in the U.S. and the unwillingness of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, declined 4.3 percent to [...]

Tags crude oil