Archive for February 2020
NRLC: Federal court allows railroads to negotiate over train crew staffing
(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/13/2020) The National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC) yesterday announced that a federal court in Texas has issued an order allowing freight railroads to begin negotiations over train crew staffing with the union that represents conductors. The court’s decision confirms that the union’s objections to collective bargaining must be arbitrated and, in the meantime, negotiations…
Read MoreOpinion: Union Pacific’s move to scrap contract with city of Palestine is unwarranted
(Source: Opinion column by Ben Campbell published in the Palestine Herald-Press, February 12, 2020. Mr. Campbell is Vice President of the Texas State Railroad Authority Board.) PALESTINE, Texas — In 1872, the rails of the Houston & Great Northern RR reached Palestine from Crockett and connected with the east-west International railroad line. The railroad would…
Read MoreJury awards DuPont Amtrak train crash victim $10 million
(Source: Television station KING5, February 12, 2020) SEATTLE — Amtrak will pay more than $10 million to one of the dozens of passengers injured in a train derailment near DuPont in 2017. Donnell Linton suffered serious injuries and trauma when the train he was on derailed and plunged onto Interstate 5, killing three people. Full…
Read MoreApplications due March 2 for Hoffa Scholarship Fund
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, February 11, 2020) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The deadline for applying for an academic or vocational/training program scholarship from the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund is March 2. High school seniors who are the sons, daughters of financial dependents of Teamster members are eligible to apply. (Including members of…
Read MoreU.S. rail traffic continues to slump
(Source: Freight Waves, February 12, 2020) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Continued trade headwinds are putting pressure on year-to-date U.S. rail volumes, with overall traffic down nearly 6% from the same period in 2019. Traffic for the first six weeks of this year totaled nearly 2.9 million carloads and intermodal units for the week ending last Saturday,…
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