News Archive
Members defeat BNSF proposal to cut train crew size
A tentative agreement to reduce train crew size on one of the nation’s largest rail carriers has failed, according to the labor union whose members voted on it this week. The pact would have eliminated on-board conductors on 60 percent of BNSF Railway, which spans the western [...]Teen gets a look at railroad life
John Wilson, a student from Howell High School, joined two dozen teens from across the nation to spend a week riding the rails. They weren’t trying out the hobo life; they were participating in Michigan Technological University Rail and Intermodal Transportation Program, part [...]Chicago wants tighter rules on crude oil trains
Warning that the frequent railroad trains loaded with crude oil passing through the Chicago area are a “serious risk to public safety,” the City Council is calling for tighter restrictions on the shipments than federal officials proposed in July. Council members on Tuesday al [...]FRA issues proposal on unintended train movement
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will help protect communities from crude oil and hazardous materials incidents by strengthening requirements for securing [...]Senators move to strengthen STB
A bipartisan pair of senators is planning to introduce legislation to beef up the panel of federal regulators that is supposed to oversee operations on the nation’s freight and passenger railways. The panel, the Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Boar [...]Va. SLD: U.S. coal and global warming
Pat Corp, Virginia State Legislative Director of the SMART Transportation Division, submitted the following letter to the editor of The Roanoke Times. It was published Aug. 22, 2014. Re: the July 28 article “Coal exports bypass emission rules” from the Associated Press. The a [...]Survey of company execs: U.S. pay likely to stagnate
WASHINGTON – U.S. workers face a dim future, with stagnant or falling pay and fewer openings for full-time jobs. That’s the picture that emerges from a survey of Harvard Business School alumni. More than 40 percent of the respondents foresee lower pay and benefits for w [...]
Union Busters Exposed On Tape
For some workers, having to sit through captive audience meetings where employer representatives tell you that, “you have the right to organize, but it would be a very bad idea” has become mandatory while on the way to organizing for a voice at work. A new trend has emerged, [...]