August 11, 2022 | COVID, Headlines, PSR, UP
(Source: North Platte Telegraph, August 8, 2022) Bailey Yard workers are more prone to give up on railroading after three years of layoffs followed by COVID-19, a North Platte rail union leader told an AFL-CIO virtual “town hall” last week. Mike Gage, president of...
August 11, 2022 | AAR Freight Trends, Headlines, PSR
(Source: Railway Age, August 10, 2022) U.S. carloads and intermodal traffic declined for Week 31 (the week ending Aug. 6, 2022), the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Aug. 10, with intermodal dropping more than carload. Traffic also declined...
August 9, 2022 | COVID, Headlines, National Negotiations 2019, PSR, TTD
(Source: People’s World, August 8, 2022) As the nation’s railroad worker unions presented their details for a new contract with the freight railroads to a Presidential Emergency Board, rank-and-file workers, upset with no contract since before the coronavirus...
August 9, 2022 | Headlines, Legislation, PSR, STB
(Source: Supply Chain Dive, August 8, 2022) Railroads would be prohibited from raising prices during service emergencies under a legislative package introduced this week meant to address the delays and high costs that have dragged down shipper operations for months....
August 8, 2022 | 2-man Crews, FRA, Headlines, PSR
(Source: SMART-TD press release, August 5, 2022) In an August 5 message, SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson counters rail industry propaganda regarding the FRA’s proposed rule that would require two-person train crews. He writes in part: “Common sense safety...
August 8, 2022 | Headlines, National Negotiations 2019, PSR
(Source: The Real News Network, August 5, 2022) Last month, for The Real News, I reported on the egregious working conditions that rail workers on Class I freight railroads are facing, including punitive and inhumane attendance policies, chronic understaffing (after...
August 8, 2022 | BNSF, Headlines, PSR
(Source: GoSkagit.com, August 6, 2022) Weeks after Skagit County had to shut down its transfer station because of unreliable service from BNSF Railway, little has been done to fix the problem. Without a consistent train schedule, garbage piles up at the station....
August 5, 2022 | Headlines, PSR, STB
(Source: Trains Magazine, August 5, 2022) Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman says railroad service is suffering for one simple reason: The big four U.S. Class I systems aren’t paying enough to retain and recruit train crews. In an interview last...
August 5, 2022 | Headlines, Hi-Viz, PSR, STB
(Source: Trains Magazine, August 4, 2022) Union leaders routinely comment on matters such as mergers, line spinoffs, and labor protection issues. But Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman and former chairman Daniel Elliott II, who served on the board...
August 5, 2022 | BNSF, Derailment, Headlines, PSR
(Source: Trains Magazine, August 4, 2022) BNSF Railway has told customers it expects to reopen one of two tracks this morning (Thursday, Aug. 4) on its Southern Transcon main line at the site of a Tuesday derailment in East Galesburg. Full story: Trains...
