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FRA’s final HOS rules for passenger, commuter service

August 15, 2011 WASHINGTON – Passenger and commuter train conductors and engineers face new hours-of-service rules effective Oct. 15 under a final rule published Aug. 12 by the Federal Railroad Administration. The new rules differ in certain areas from hours-of-service regulations imposed on [...]

Tags Amtrak, commuter, FRA, HOS, hours of service, passenger train

Against odds, labor sends loud message in Wisconsin

August 10, 2011 A coalition of labor unions and community groups didn’t take back the Wisconsin state senate from anti-union extremists Tuesday night, Aug. 9, but voters enraged over the extremists’ political agenda did unseat two of the six senators targeted for recall. “Seeing that we were [...]

Tags collective bargaining defense fund, Dean Mitchell, Indiana, James Stem, John Risch, Ohio, recall, recall elections, Scott Walker, UTU PAC, Wisconsin

Maglev’s future bleak after Pa. firm’s bankruptcy

July 29, 2011 The likelihood of 300-mph magnetic levitation trains operating in the United States anytime soon took another body blow in July when a private-sector firm planning a maglev route in Pennsylvania filed for bankruptcy. Maglev uses powerful electro-magnets to levitate, propel, g [...]

Tags maglev, magnetic levitation

John Risch; Risch; Testifying; Court; July 2011; Risch Testifying

UTU to Congress: ‘Get serious on security’

July 13, 2011 WASHINGTON — America learned a tragic lesson a decade ago when armed terrorists gained entry to the flight decks of multiple commercial airliners. The results of 9/11 will live in infamy. Inexplicably, neither railroads nor the federal government has moved to require th [...]

Tags Amtrak, chlorine, John Risch, Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis

House bill would slash Amtrak, transit funding

July 8, 2011 WASHINGTON – The Republican leadership of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee will introduce legislation July 8 to slash Amtrak’s federal subsidy by 25 percent, prevent federal funds from being used to create additional rail passenger services unless they [...]

Tags AFL-CIO, Amtrak, bus safety, Chamber of Commerce, high-speed rail, Mica, Shuster, transit

CSX connection seen in lawmaker’s rail support

June 28, 2011 ORLANDO, Fla. — House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) wants to privatize Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, which is seen by critics as a first step toward destroying Amtrak. In his home state, Mica opposed using state funds for a now-mothb [...]

Tags CSX, Mica, SunRail

Supreme Court declines to weaken FELA

June 24, 2011 WASHINGTON — In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court June 23 declined to tighten the standard of proof injured rail workers must demonstrate to win an award under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). The ruling is a significant victory for injured rail workers. The [...]

Tags designated legal counsel, DLC, Federal Employers' Liability Act, FELA

Amtrak privatization bill: ‘A rat hole worth watching’

June 23, 2011 WASHINGTON – Legislation to privatize Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, as a first step toward destruction of Amtrak, will almost certainly be dead-on-arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and will face a tough challenge in the Republican-controlled House; but the authors o [...]

Tags Amtrak, Lautenberg, Mica, privatization, Rahall, Shuster

Conductor cert, passenger HOS regs on tap

June 22, 2011 WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration will soon publish final rules instituting conductor certification and imposing new hours-of-service limitations on intercity passenger-train and commuter employees in safety sensitive positions. FRA Associate Administrato [...]

Tags Brooks, conductor certification, FRA, HOS, hours-of-service, John Risch, Lesniewski, Mann, Parsons, RSAC, Stem, strang, Szabo, Tessitore

Wisconsin decision will embolden extremists

June 15, 2011 MADISON, Wis. – A divided state supreme court here June 14 ruled in a 4-3 decision that the state’s controversial law revoking collective-bargaining rights for public employees may go into effect – overturning an injunction issued by a lower court. This is important to UTU me [...]

Tags collective bargaining defense fund, Ohio, political extremists, UTU PAC, Wisconsin