WASHINGTON — An assault on the future of Amtrak and its employees was launched June 15 by the chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), and the chairman of the House Rail Subcommittee, Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) The UTU and other rail labor organizations are gearing to fight this effort to [...]
Have you experienced unruly passengers?
June 15, 2011
The UTU, Amtrak and other labor organizations have designed a survey to aid in the development of training and awareness programs to assist Amtrak employees deal with unruly, disorderly or aggressive passengers. While development of this program is intended for Amtrak, all UTU members employed in passenger transportation – air, bus, rail and transit – [...]
Cubs not alone with problems in Chicago
June 14, 2011
CHICAGO — Newspapers and television and radio stations here June 14 were asking Union Pacific, “Is this any way to run a railroad?” after a shortage of UP engineers caused the cancellation of six morning Metra commuter trains and inconvenienced thousands of passengers trying to reach their jobs here. Metra pays UP to operate and [...]
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 team. Attendees will gain more from this workshop if they first [...]
Preserving Medicare: We have a role to play
June 9, 2011
Would you accept a job paying $1 million to count out $2 billion in $1 bills? Think again, because working a 40-hour week and counting out $1 per second, you would require 266 years to count out the $2 billion total. Now that you have an idea how much $2 billion is, consider that in [...]
UTU, TRRA seek anti-terrorist training grant
June 8, 2011
The UTU and the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) are jointly seeking an anti-terrorist security grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If the grant is approved — with a DHS decision expected in August — the UTU and TRRA will collaborate on a three-year project to train front-line TRRA employees to [...]
Court: Cab cams don’t violate privacy
June 3, 2011
LOS ANGELES — A lawsuit brought by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen against Los Angeles Metrolink to eliminate inward-facing video cameras in the cab has been dismissed by a judge here. Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin said the inward-facing cameras, which monitor crew activities in the cab, do not violate privacy rights, reports [...]
Transport-employee fatigue continues to kill
June 2, 2011
While sleep scientists have established that going to work fatigued is like going to work drunk, there remains a disconnect among those who manage transportation firms. And people are needlessly dying and being seriously injured as a result. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood June 1 criticized his own Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for not sooner [...]
