Mexico to Chicago by rail: 22 tons of pot

When Union Pacific took possession of six freight cars interchanged from a Mexican railroad at Eagle Pass, Texas, the manifest showed titanium ore as the contents, and a Chicago warehouse as the destination. Customs agents were suspicious, and discovered, instead, almost 22,0 [...]

How tax cut & jobless bill affects YOU

Now that Congress has approved, and sent to President Obama for signing, the compromise tax cut and jobless benefits legislation, the question UTU members have, is, “What does it mean for me?” For the jobless — and there are currently some five applicants fo [...]

Hard edge emerges in Amtrak wage talks

Amtrak maintenance-of-way employees say they want a new wage package at least equivalent to what is paid on the highly profitable freight railroads, reports Angela Greiling Keane for Bloomberg. But unlike profitable freight railroads, Amtrak loses about $1 billion annually, s [...]

Dehydrated spuds a slippery scoundrel

When you think you have heard it all, along comes this one. Union Pacific, according to the Associated Press, has filed a lawsuit against an Idaho food processor, alleging its processed dehydrated mashed potato flakes stuck to the wheels of some freight cars and caused a 2009 [...]

Great Lakes Aviation grows riders in Pueblo

PUEBLO, Colo. — The number of passengers boarding regional carrier Great Lakes Airlines at Pueblo is up 45 percent this year, which may help the airport qualify for additional federal funding, reports the Pueblo Chieftain. The UTU represents Great Lakes pilots and fligh [...]

3 die when hit by Amtrak near Los Angeles

COMMERCE, Calif. — Hundreds of pedestrians and drivers are killed on railroad tracks and at highway-rail grade-crossings each year, but a triple fatality near Los Angeles Dec. 13 was especially horrific. The Los Angeles Times reports three young men — perhaps all [...]

Not a good week for 2 brain-frozen bus drivers

Last week was not a good one for two Midwest bus drivers. In Urbana, Ill., a transit driver who chose to run smack dab over a snowman lost her job, reports the Chicago Tribune. The snowman had been built in the middle of a University of Illinois campus street. A YouTube-poste [...]

FMCSA to target bus safety violations

WASHINGTON — Unsafe commercial bus operators are to be targeted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration through a program to be called Compliance Safety Accountability. The agency said the program will include an analysis of safety-based violations — in [...]

Furloughed with novel twist: Reduced days

Unlike prior years, where railroads cut loose employees during lean times, leaving them without benefits, Union Pacific during this recession has attempted to keep many on a reduced schedule, allowing them to retain health care benefits, reports the Topeka Capital-Journal. A [...]