Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a transportation spending bill that included another record $1.94 billion in funding for Amtrak, while also attaching a number of amendments targeting Amtrak operations. These amendments come after months of controversial service and operational changes instituted by Amtrak’s new CEO, Richard Anderson. And despite Congress showing strong support for
Last week, a number of TCU/IAM local leaders and retirees joined hundreds of other Machinists at the 2018 IAMAW Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. Their goal was to get the issues facing our members front-and-center before Congress, and the conference was a resounding success. On Tuesday, May 8th, TCU National Vice President and Legislative Director
On Tuesday, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) sent a letter to leaders of the Congressional committees with trade jurisdiction. The letter urges them to consider the effect of renegotiating NAFTA on the railroad industry. AAR President Ed Hamberger wrote, “approximately 50,000 rail jobs and more than $5.5 billion in annual wages and benefits…depend directly
Today, Illinois Democrat Dan Lipinski joined with Nebraska Republican Don Bacon to lead a letter supporting additional funding to the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). The letter had broad bipartisan support from their colleagues in Congress, including 12 Republicans and 23 Democrats. Click HERE to view read the Lipinski-Bacon letter Once secured, this funding will be
On Thursday, Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson told the House Railroads Subcommittee that they will suspend service on certain lines if Positive Train Control (PTC) is not installed and ready. Anderson did not specify which lines may be suspended, and an Amtrak spokesperson later confirmed that “it’s too early to speculate,” according to the Seattle Times.
For the second year in a row, President Trump’s budget calls for Amtrak funding to be cut in half. This year’s budget again asks to cut funding from the current $1.495 billion to $738 million in FY19. And though the math is the same, the Administration’s goals have apparently changed. Last year’s budget simply called
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) ripped into President Trump’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for its prolonged failure to implement proper safety rules and guidelines regarding worker fatigue and sleep apnea. The NTSB’s special investigative report details its findings on two accidents: New Jersey Transit’s accident in Hoboken, NJ, in September, 2016, and the Long
As America awaits a long-overdue infrastructure plan from President Trump, one opinion writer highlighted a few of America’s greatest infrastructure needs on CNN. Kate Ascher, a principal at BuroHappold Engineering, listed a number of items on which our country should focus, but first on her list was providing adequate funding for Amtrak’s interstate and long-distance rail.
On Wednesday, labor unions joined together to host a reception in honor of newly-elected Senator Doug Jones of Alabama. Sen. Jones won a hotly contested special election in December over controversial candidate Roy Moore. He now takes over the seat once held by current Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Rail labor – including TCU – invested
UPDATE (1/3/17): DOT Secretary Chao sent letters to the respective leaders of the nation’s railroads asking them to increase the pace at which they are installing PTC. Click HERE to read the letters. Last Thursday, two top Democrats from the Transportation Committee and the Railroads Subcommittee chided both the rail industry as well as the
