General Information
Historic milestone: Megan Mead first woman elected to BLET National office
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, March 31 — Megan C. Mead became the first woman in the 160-year history of the BLET to hold a National Division office when she was elected by acclamation to serve as Alternate National Secretary-Treasurer on October 12, 2022. “As we observe Women’s History Month, I salute Sister Mead for this significant accomplishment,”…
Read MoreRail traffic tumbles 7.5% in week ending March 25, 2023
(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, March 29, 2023) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 25, 2023. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 469,958 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.5 percent compared with the same week last year. Total…
Read MoreUP, SMART-TD reach agreement to keep two-person crews
(Source: Progressive Railroading 03/27/2023) Union Pacific Railroad and its largest union have reached a tentative agreement that would maintain two-person train crews. The agreement with the General Committee 953 of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD), makes no changes to the current conductor position staffing each train as part of a…
Read MoreSenate Majority Leader asks for expanded safety investigation into NS, other railroads
(Source: The Hill, March 15, 2023) Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is urging the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to expand its investigation into Norfolk Southern to include other major railroads to determine ways to improve rail safety in the aftermath of the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last month. Full story: The Hill
Read MoreMichigan state senate votes to repeal Right to Work
(Source: Michigan Advance, March 15, 2023) A committee room and both lobbies of the Michigan Senate’s office building were jammed to the brim early Tuesday morning as more than a hundred workers — many sporting union jackets — watched a Democratic-led Senate panel debate and then adopt several landmark pro-union bills. Hours later, many of…
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