On December 8, 2009 the appropriations committees reached a final agreement on the 2010 Transportation-HUD appropriations bill, which includes funding for high speed rail and Amtrak. The measure will be included in omnibus package of six appropriations bills and a vote on the House floor may come soon. The transportation appropriation provides $2.5 billion
TCU joins Senator Sanders (I-VT), AFL-CIO and workers saying that taxing workers’ health benefits is just plain wrong. “We commend Senator Sanders for standing with America’s working families and introducing an amendment to strike this provision from the Senate health reform legislation,” said AFL-CIO Executive Vice-President Arlene Holt Baker. TCU will constantly maintain that workers
In a letter sent to every Senator on November 17, 2009 TCU, and others in rail labor, express deep opposition to any provision that would tax health care programs negotiated and maintained through railroad collective bargaining. The letter firmly states, “We are fundamentally opposed to this proposed tax, which not only puts the benefits currently
The House and Senate both passed extensions of unemployment insurance and the homebuyer’s tax credit. The unemployment extension would allow workers in all 50 states to draw 14 weeks of federal unemployment benefits after exhausting their regular 26 weeks of state compensation. It would provide an additional six weeks in states with unemployment rates of
Health care reform is the No. 1 priority in Congress right now for the first time in years. Insurance companies are spending millions to derail reform and special interests are trying to pay for changes by raising your costs through a new benefits tax. Call Congress and tell them no taxes on our benefits. Over
As we all know there is a huge fight for real health care reform in Congress. In the next several weeks it is anticipated that there will be major votes in Congress. We in the Labor Movement have to take a very active role in this to protect our benefits from unfair taxation, to seek
Twenty-seven U.S. labor unions, including TCU, announced their opposition to the $829 billion health-care measure passed by the Senate Finance Committee. The full-page newspaper advertisement placed recently in many large circulation newspapers say that lawmakers need to make “substantial” changes to the bill or they will urge their members to seek its defeat on the
The merits and challenges of High Speed Rail in the United States were discussed in front of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials. The Committee met for a lengthy time and at times the gallery was standing room only, clearly showing how important this topic is. TCU International
Continuing the string of labor friendly appointments, UTU Associate General Counsel Daniel R. Elliott III was sworn in August 13, as Chainman of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB). “TCU looks forward to working with Chairman Elliott, we are pleased to have someone from labor appointed to this position,” said TCU National Legislative Director Robert
In another labor friendly move, President Barack Obama nominated NFFE-IAM General Counsel Susan Grundmann to serve as chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The MSPB is an independent, agency with responsibility for deciding federal employee appeals from personnel actions taken against them, protecting the integrity of the civil service and other federal merit
