A couple days after letters from the Rail Customers and the STB were made public, CSX CEO Hunter Harrison responded in force. He didn’t mince words when he called the Customers’ accusations “unfounded and grossly exaggerated.” He then accused the coalition of using the issue to further their own goals of getting rate-setting and access
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary report regarding the August 2nd accident of a CSX train in Pennsylvania, which included the derailment of 33 cars. The accident ignited 3 hazardous materials tank cars carrying propane and molten sulfur, and resulted in the evacuation of approximately 1000 residents in a nearby town,
On Monday, a letter from the Rail Customer Coalition – a large group of shippers and various trade groups – was sent to the leaders of the Senate Commerce and House Transportation & Infrastructure committees regarding the poor service provided by CSX in recent months. Notably, these last few months have been the first
On Monday, June 12th, TCU/IAM National President Bob Scardelletti filed comments with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on their proposal to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). President Scardelletti urged the Trump Administration not to change laws and regulations to allow brake inspections and maintenance to take place in Mexico,
The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) launched a new campaign – Towns Without Trains – in an effort to organize against President Trump’s plans to eliminate Amtrak’s long-distance service. On the weekend of June 23rd, the campaign aims to spur local rallies all across the country to tell Congress to keep and support Amtrak’s long-distance service. Over 220
The OneRail coalition sent a letter to the heads of the House and Senate Budget Committees asking them to boost infrastructure spending. The letter acknowledges the difficult choices facing budget writers and appropriators, but reminds elected officials of the great return-on-investment that infrastructure spending provides to the general public. OneRail Coalition Letter to Budget Committees
President Trump released his budget proposal for FY18, and it’s devastating for TCU members. Some highlights include: Eliminates Amtrak Long-Distance service – Trump’s budget cuts Amtrak’s overall funding in half, from $1.404 billion annually to $774 million. Trump’s budget states that “long distance trains do not serve a vital transportation purpose, and are a
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich put together a video explaining why ‘Right-to-Work’ laws are bad for workers, and bad for America. TCU/IAM will be posting more information and materials on why ‘Right-to-Work’ is bad for railroad workers, but until then, please give this informative video a watch!
Last week (May 8-10), TCU/IAM leaders from across the country came to Washington, DC, to attend the 2017 Machinists Legislative Conference. Attendees heard from various congressional speakers including Senators Angus King (I – ME), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). They also heard from Congressmen Anthony Brown and Jamie Raskin
On Sunday, Ed Wytkind, the President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, wrote a letter-to-the-editor of the Wall Street Journal in response to their previous editorial that largely bashed Amtrak. The article is behind a paywall so we’ve pasted the text of the letter below. Give Amtrak the Resources It Needs to Be Great We need
