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CSX efficiency testing "banner"

Attached is a photo of the "banners" being used on the CSX for efficiency testing. If you operate over CSX territory be on the lookout for...

Committee Participation

Below is a letter that was sent to Vice President of Transportation Terry Evans on Monday via email and US Mail concerning this Committees future...

Do programs produce safety, or manipulate reality?

By Mike Futhey, SMART Transportation Division President – Throughout my career as a union officer, I have experienced every type of...

Retired Local 225 Member Coordinates Soldiers Memorial

Retired Norfolk Southern conductor and U.S. Army veteran Kenneth Rospert has always held military personnel in high regard, and an idea he had four...

Information on upcoming furloughs

Brothers and Sisters, Below is information advising of anticipated furloughs across our territory and the Norfolk Southern System scheduled for...

Correspondence regarding results of guaranteed extra board voting

Below is correspondence sent out concerning the results of the balloting for the Committee-wide vote for the bi-weekly guaranteed extra board...

Guaranteed Extra Board Proposal Fails Ratification

Below is a copy of an email sent to GO-687 Local Chairmen citing the results of the vote on the bi-weekly guaranteed extra board proposal.

Voting Results for Dues Increase

Below are the results of the vote for the $1 dues increase to go into effect 2/1/2013.

UTU Endorsements by State

With the early voting process in full swing, I wanted to post the UTU's endorsements for the states in which our members reside and will be...

Implementation of Flexible Spending Account

Below is information in connection with the implementation of a voluntary Flexible Spending Account in connection with the Health and Welfare...

The Truth on Flowback

Brothers and Sisters, Below is correspondence that has occurred over the past week concerning the status of Flowback discussions between the UTU and...

Railroad H&W plans’ open enrollment now available

October 2, 2012 Eligible railroad employees and/or dependents can now complete their annual re-enrollment on-line at the Railroad Information Depot...

The Power of One Vote

Brothers and Sisters, So often we hear "my vote doesn't matter", but that is far from the truth. Check out the attachment for key historical...

UTU 2012 Congressional Endorsements

Memo to: State Directors, International Officers, General Chairpersons From: James Stem and John Risch

Change in FRA interpretation of consecutive starts

October 2 at 12:01 AM the manner in which consecutive starts are counted will change. Previously, an employee needed a start each calendar day...

START Policy Changes

Below is a summary of the changes to the START Policy effective September 6, 2012. Code 1 (talk-to) violations are now strictly verbal. No...

Flowback

Last week in Norfolk, a tri-party meeting was held with the UTU, BLE, and the NS in regard to Flowback. The latest proposal to implement a pilot...

New Guaranteed Extra Boards

On September 1st, Kankakee (IL) and Corning (NY) have approved the implementation of a guaranteed conductor's extra board at their locations. They...

Committee Meeting at Memphis Regional

Below is an outline of topics discussed at the Committee Meeting held during the Memphis UTU Regional Meeting last week. Several members were...

Conductor Certification

Below is a program that outlines the details of the impending Conductor Certification Program and its requirements.

Circular-----START changes and Conductor Certification

LET Study Guide

Below is the latest LET Study Guide that we have access to. With the increase in sending of LETs from our territory, I wanted to share this...

RSIA Holiday Change

The Norfolk Southern and the UTU have agreed that employees are to receive holiday pay when unavailable due to RSIA hours of service 48 hour or 72...

Bi-Weekly Guaranteed Extra Board Proposal

Last Friday in Norfolk, the 5 NS UTU General Chairmen, VP Delbert Strunk, and International President Mike Futhey attempted to negotiate a bi-weekly...

Norfolk Southern train crew robbed at gunpoint

SALISBURY — Armed with a shotgun and revolver, two men boarded a Norfolk Southern train last night and robbed two people, police said. The gunmen,...

BLE GC Linsey's response to Flowback letter

Robert A. Hagen

I am sad to communicate that Robert A.

Major Expansion for Bellevue Terminal

BELLEVUE, OHIO – Norfolk Southern this month will begin a $160 million project to expand its Bellevue rail yard in Northern Ohio, a project that will...

Flowback

I received the attached letter concerning Flowback from BLE General Chairman Linsey last week and responded with the attached letter. I have...

2012 FRA Hours of Service Interpretations

EDIT: The FRA has granted Class 1 railroads an extension to implement these changes no later than January 1, 2013. Attached is the latest Freight...

1st Quarter 2012 SOFA Report

The attached file contains the latest update on the workings of our Switching Operations Fatality Analysis committee, accident reports on many...

UTU Member and Officer announces campaing for Indiana State Senate

GOSHEN — A U.S. Army veteran who helped clean up after abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq is running for Indiana Senate. Democrat Jim Ball of...

Article VI Notice has been served

Below you will find a copy of the letter served on Norfolk Southern by four UTU General Chairmen to commence on-property negotiations under the...

Change in BLEt Disability Policy

Below is a letter from BLEt Disability Plan Administrator William Thompson outlining the changes to the policy that affects engineers. ...

Guaranteed Extra Boards

Recently two locations have agreed to putting in place guaranteed extra boards involving a 6 day on 2 day off cycle. Below are the agreements...

Electronic Copies of the New NS Rule Books

Changes to UTU Group Disability Policy

There have been some changes made to the UTU Group Disability Policy provided by Anthem effective January 1, 2012. The highlights of these...

Merger update: Moving forward constructively

“Stay calm and carry on” has always been the best advice during challenging times. It is appropriate advice for UTU members and employees as we...

Conductor Certification coming Jan. 1, 2010

WASHINGTON – It’s now official. Conductor certification, mandated by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, has a clear track for Jan. 1...

Passing of Local 1895 Member

Brothers and Sisters, Christopher B. Ochoa, 33, of Montgomery, Illinois passed away suddenly on October 17, 2011. He proudly...

10-6-2011 Newsletter

The latest newsletter is downloadable in the file below.

Possibility of BLE Strike

Brothers and Sisters,

Delegates Amend UTU Consitution

Delegates at the UTU’s Eleventh Quadrennial Convention amended the UTU Constitution by adopting eight proposals, one of which will remove the dues...

National Agreement Ratified

A new national rail contract, delivering a 17 percent wage increase over 60 months (18.24 percent when compounded), a 78-month cap on health care...

Newly Ratified National Agreement effective September 16

The new national rail contract and its increased rates of pay become effective Sept. 16. Sept. 16 is also the trigger date from which the...

7-28-2011 General Committee Newsletter

Below is the latest installment of the General Committee's newsletter.

Proposed National Agreement Q & A's

Below are the agreed upon Q & A's for the Proposed National Agreement. This should clear up any lingering questions concerning the proposal...

Information about the Proposed National Agreement

Please take the time to view the Powerpoint presentation concerning the Proposed National Agreement. In addition, I have also included two...

UTU Proposed National Agreement

Attached is the proposed National Agreement and a synopsis of that proposal that I received today in Cleveland at the convening of District 1 General...

Safety Warning

A safety warning has been issued by the Association of American Railroads after a razor blade was found "strategically placed in the eye of the...

General Chairman's Newsletter 5-5-2011

Larry McVay Benefit Report

UTU reaches tentative 5-year agreement

A tentative new five-year national rail agreement covering wages, benefits and working conditions has been reached between the UTU and the...

General Chairman Newsletter 3-31-2011

Below is the latest installment of the periodic newsletter from General Chairman Jason Boswell.

Contribute to preserve collective bargaining

In state after state, anti-union right-wing extremists are targeting labor unions for destruction. It started with public-employee unions, but...

Safety Task Force alert: Electronic device ban

The Federal Railroad Administration's permanent ban on use of electronic devices, including cellphones, became effective March 28. Please...

Larry McVay Fundraiser

Local 768 from Decatur, IL is having a fundraiser to help Larry McVay and his family. See the following flyer for details.

Call Congress to save Amtrak, Rail Retirement

WASHINGTON -- Significant Amtrak employee layoffs could be the result if the House Appropriations Committee's plan to slash Amtrak funding by...

GO-687 Executive Committee

Left to Right: Sr. Vice (CR) Bob Hagen, Jr. Vice (NKP) David Orona, Sr. Vice (WAB) Walt Howard, Jr. Vice (CR) Greg Reagan, General...

Member in Need

Matthew F. Crawford is a 51 year-old Conductor and Vice Local Chairman of Local 1216 (Kansas City, Missouri) that has been through a trying...

Monthly General Chairman Newsletter

NS Releases Engineer's Bonus Figures

The Norfolk Southern has just announced that the bonus payout for 2010 will be 62.2% of the potential. In other words, if you...

National Negotiations Update 1-17-2011

Following an eighth negotiating session in mid-January with the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC), UTU International President...

UTU Brother severely injured on the job

I want to inform you of an injury that Larry McVay, a NS UTU Conductor from Decatur, IL (768), was seriously injured after being struck by his own...

COLA for national rail contract 2011 wages

A cost-of-living adjustment will be made Jan. 1 to UTU-member wages governed by the national rail contract. The amount of the COLA, based on a...

Conductor Certification Coming Jan. 1, 2012

WASHINGTON -- In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Nov. 10 Federal Register, the Federal Railroad Administration...

Help a Union Brother

Gehrig's disease fells member; family in need Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a debilitating and terminal...

2011 UTU Meetings

The dates and locations of the 2011 UTU regional meetings, and the 11th Quadrennial Convention, have been set and are below. The 2011 western...

2011 Railroad Paid Holiday Schedule

Rail employees working under the national agreement between the UTU and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) will receive 11...

Proposed FRA Conductor Certification Regulation

The following presentation was given at the UTU Regional Meeting in Asheville, NC on August 24, 2010 about the proposed Rules and Regulations for...

NS Rethinks July 12th START Modifications

Thankfully, the Carrier has rethought the changes to the START Policy concerning GR-13 and GR-14 violations that were initiated on July 12th. I...

NS Safety Day Participation

August 13, 2010 Brothers and Sisters, Having reached no resolution to this Committee's demands that the carrier reconsider the changes implemented in...

Letter Concerning Revisions to START Policy

As all of you are aware, the revisions to the START Policy effective July 12th were not agreed to by this Committee. In fact, we feel the...

Revisions to NS START Policy

NS Vice President of Transportation Mike Wheeler announced the attached changes to the NS START Policy to be effective on July 12, 2010. The...

RRB Sickness, Unemployment Benefits Update

A new benefit year for jobless and sickness benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act begins July 1, 2010, the Railroad Retirement Board...

FRA: Rails can discipline for damaging cameras

FRA: Rails can discipline camera disabling The Federal Railroad Administration, following disciplinary action by Los Angeles Metrolink against...

Hardship Donation Agreement

Regional Meetings offer education, fraternalism

The 2010 UTU/UTUIA regional meetings have been designed to provide a grand sense of fraternalism, lots of worthwhile education and tons of fun for...

National Negotiations Update

National rail contract talks are continuing between the UTU and the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC). The NCCC represents...

FRA proposes permanent cell-phone ban

The Federal Railroad Administration is moving to make permanent an October 2008 emergency order restricting the use by on-duty train crews of cell...

Rich Ross is UTU's new organizing director

Rich Ross is the UTU’s new organizing director. He succeeds John Nadalin, who has retired. Ross will be responsible for directing the...

2010 Region Meetings Workshops

National Negotiations Information

Summary of Conductor Certification

Proposed Changes to RSIA Hours of Service Law

Proposed Changes to FMLA for Railroad Workers

Hiring on the Pittsburgh Division

Hiring is beginning on the Pittsburgh Division at the following locations: Altoona--------------20 employees Conway East---------22 employees Conway...

New Effort to Speed Grievance Handling

New effort to speed grievance handling An independent, blue-ribbon committee created by the National Mediation Board to examine the agency’s...

UTU Officers in Solidarity against SMWIA

UTU officers in solidarity against SMWIA SAN ANTONIO -- UTU general chairpersons, state legislative directors and local officers, representing...

NTSB Recommendation on Video and Audio In-Cab Recording

NTSB asks photo & audio crew monitoring WASHINGTON -- The National Transportation Safety Board on Feb.

High Speed Rail Funding

$8 billion for 13 high-speed rail projects WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will give $8 billion in economic stimulus money to 13 U.S. rail...

NS profit falls 32 percent

NS profit falls 32 percent NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk Southern Corp. announced Wednesday that its profit for the fourth quarter fell 32 percent, as...

Permanent Transfers offered to furloughed employees

Transfer offered to all furloughed train service employees excluding those at the following locations due to future anticipated business needs:

NTSB: Put cameras, voice recorders in all cabs

WASHINGTON -- Federal safety officials called for railroads to install cameras and voice recorders in every locomotive cab in the nation as...

Labor wins big in new healthcare compromise

WASHINGTON -- The White House and congressional leaders have reached a tentative deal on a proposed excise tax on high-cost, employer-sponsored...

Rail fan tracks 'monster train'

LOS ANGELES -- To most people, videotaping a passing 3 1/2 -mile freight train would be about as appealing as . . . well, waiting for a 3 1/2 -mile...

UTU International contributes to Haitian relief

As we sit horrified and with heavy hearts at the earthquake devastation in Haiti, our hearts especially go out to the hundreds of UTU members of...

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