News - Page 439 of 662

Chicago wants tighter rules on crude oil trains

September 10, 2014 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 [...]

Tags Chicago, crude oil, crude oil tank cars

FRA issues proposal on unintended train movement

September 9, 2014 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 [...]

Tags Emergency Order 28, FRA, proposed rule on unintended train movement

Senators move to strengthen STB

September 9, 2014 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 [...]

Tags Amtrak, Canadian National, Rockefeller, STB, Surface Transportation Board, Thune

Va. SLD: U.S. coal and global warming

September 8, 2014 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 [...]

Tags coal, Pat Corp, Virginia

Survey of company execs: U.S. pay likely to stagnate

September 8, 2014 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 [...]

Tags benefits, wages

Union Busters Exposed On Tape

September 5, 2014 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, [...]

New Executive Order Seeks to Level the Playing Field For Federal Contractors

September 4, 2014 The much needed “Fair Play and Safe Workplace Executive Order,” signed by President Obama, provides new reporting requirements on federal contractors and limits contractors’ ability to impose arbitration clauses for certain types of workplace lawsuits. According to a White H [...]

SMART needs your photos for Alumni calendar

September 4, 2014 The SMART?Transportation Division is seeking quality railroad, bus and airline photos, taken by its members, for placement in its annual calendar and other uses. The calendar is mailed annually to members of the UTU?Alumni Association as one of the benefits of Alumni Associat [...]

Tags calendar, UTU Alumni Association

12th annual rail reunion and retirement dinner info

September 4, 2014 Local 240 Chairperson Harry Garvin Jr. reports that the 12th annual rail reunion and retirement dinner for employees of UP, SP, Pacific Electric, Metrolink, Amtrak and AT&SF (Locals 32, 240, 1422, 1770, 1813 and 1846) will be held Nov. 7, from 3-9 p.m., at Sierra Lakes Go [...]

Tags 12th annual rail reunion and retirement dinner, Harry Garvin Jr., Local 240

Minnesota boosts number of railway inspectors

September 4, 2014 More trained eyes should be on the tracks in Minnesota in coming months, state and federal authorities say. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is hiring more rail inspectors as required by a new state law. Federal authorities also have bolstered the ranks of their rai [...]

Tags Minnesota, rail inspectors