Category: Alumni Association

Medicare to issue new cards in 2018 to protect identities of retirees
Whether a person is receiving Medicare through Social Security or through the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), the patient may be vulnerable to identity theft due to the SSN/RRB Claim number being present on their Medicare card. Soon, you won’t need to worry about someone obt [...]Rail workers died fighting for basic human rights: Anniversary of Railroad Strike of 1877
John Risch, SMART TD’s national legislative director, spoke with Jaisal Noor of realnews.com on the significance of the 140th anniversary of the first national railroad strike that began July 14, 1877, also known as the Great Railroad Strike and Great Upheaval. More tha [...]
AFL-CIO alert: Trump nominates anti-labor lawyers to National Labor Relations Board
On June 17, 2017, the AFL-CIO issued a legislative alert to U.S. Senators regarding Trump’s nomination of Marvin Kaplan and William Emanuel to fill the vacant seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In the alert, Emanuel is noted for representing the “ [...]
Airlines and Republicans place profit over safety; seek to cut pilot in-flight training hours
On July 6, 2017, the Chicago Tribune reported that regional airlines are working to reduce pilot in-flight training hours from the 1,500-hour requirement, through a provision that could be attached to the upcoming Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Bill. A [...]
Trump persists in ending long-distance Amtrak train service
Instead of working to upgrade long-distance transportation services, and ignoring his promise to invest in American infrastructure, Trump is working to end long-distance train travel. According to an article posted on July 3, 2017, in the San Francisco Chronicle, if TrumpR [...]
AFL-CIO issues memo to unions on Trump budget; highlights damages to workers
In a memo dated May 31, AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka issued a statement to unions on President Trump’s proposed budget. “This budget is the most significant betrayal yet of the working people President Trump claims to support. It is a blueprint for how to r [...]
Former UTU VP Bruce Wigent dies
Bruce Robert Wigent, 73, of Prescott, Wis., died Wednesday, May 25 at United Hospital. A member of Local 1709 in Pontiac, Mich., Wigent hired out as a switchman on the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in December 1964. He was first elected as a local officer in 1970 and then serv [...]
