WASHINGTON — Amtrak ridership increased in the first half of fiscal year 2013 (Oct. 2012 – March 2013) and March set a record as the single best month ever in the history of America’s Railroad®. In addition, October, December, and January each set individual month [...]
The Railroad Retirement Act provides disability annuities for railroaders who become totally or occupationally disabled. Medicare coverage before age 65 is also available for totally disabled employees and those suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or chronic ki [...]
A public opinion survey done for the United Transportation Union found strong support for Amtrak in three conservative, Republican-dominated districts where service exists. Less than a quarter of respondents favored eliminating Amtrak funding. The survey focused on three dist [...]
The following message was sent to the UTU National Legislative Office from Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo: Whenever one is discussing an ambitious, long-term program, like our high speed and intercity passenger rail program, it is helpful to remind ourselves – and o [...]
The U.S. Department of Energy has shipped large amounts and varieties of radioactive material by rail for years and the number of rail shipments is expected to increase. With this rise in shipments comes the increased risk for rail incidents involving these materials. The Rai [...]
Local 243 at Fort Worth, Texas, will be hosting a CPR class at its next monthly meeting at 11:30 a.m. on April 23, according to member Steve Cline. SMART Transportation Division members who want to receive CPR-certified training should plan on attending. Members that complete [...]
The AFL-CIO and Union Privilege (also known as Union Plus) announced today they have partnered together to offer students a chance to win scholarships commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. They will award 50 scholarships of $5,000 [...]
Airline passengers will soon be able to carry small knives, souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto aircraft, and transportation workers represented by UTU-SMART and others are not happy about it. The new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) [...]
WASHINGTON – On Saturday, May 11, 2013, Amtrak will join communities across America to celebrate the importance of trains to their town at the sixth annual National Train Day. More than 200 communities are expected to host events at local train stations, railroad museums and [...]
A few weeks shy of their respective first quarter earnings announcements East Coast-based Class I railroads Norfolk Southern and CSX are feeling pretty good about their businesses. Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman stated in the company’s 2012 annual report that the future is [...]