BLET News
UP employees step up to help laid off employee battling breast cancer
(Source: Television station KETV, February 19, 2019) OMAHA, Neb. — JoAnna Draper doesn’t have a job; she lost it last Tuesday along with 149 other Omaha Union Pacific employees. KETV NewsWatch 7 shared Draper’s story last week following the latest round of layoffs. The single mom and former UP fitness for duty nurse is also…
Read MoreMany companies, including Union Pacific, get waivers for steel tariffs amid tough trade talk
(Source: Associated Press, February 15, 2019) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite President Donald Trump’s tough talk on trade, his administration has granted hundreds of companies permission to import millions of tons of steel made in China, Japan and other countries without paying the hefty tariff he put in place to protect U.S. manufacturers and jobs, according…
Read MoreSingle mom with breast cancer speaks about struggles after being laid off by Union Pacific
(Source: Television station KETV, February 14, 2019) OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific laid off 150 workers at its Omaha headquarters Tuesday. JoAnna Draper puts a face and story to those employees, sharing her struggles and fears after being terminated. Perhaps the most troubling part of losing her job is that Draper said she will lose…
Read MoreRRB announces spring 2019 Pre-Retirement Seminars
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, February 14 — The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has announced its schedule of Pre-Retirement Seminars for the spring of 2019. Designed for railroad employees and spouses planning to retire within five years, Pre-Retirement Seminars will familiarize attendees with the retirement benefits available to them, and also guide them through the application process.…
Read MoreOpinion: Pushing the envelope with autonomous freight trains?
(Source: Railway Age opinion column by Robert L. Peterson, SMART TD Local 303 and 951, February 12, 2019) NEW YORK — According to the most recent earnings reports, North American Class I railroads are producing record-low operating ratios and posting record-setting earnings. These results strongly suggest that the current operating format of two-person train crews…
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