On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Sarah Feinberg as Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Feinberg had been serving as Acting Administrator for the past nine months. Ed Wytkind, President of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), issued a statement applauding her confirmation: “…In the nine months that Feinberg has served as Acting Administrator,
Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) Calls For PTC Extension TCU was in attendance as a bipartisan group of lawmakers held a press conference to call for an immediate extension of the Positive Train Control (PTC) deadline, slated to go into effect at the end of the year. Leading the event was Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL) and
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced a six-year, $325 billion reauthorization bill for our nation’s highway and transit programs. The bill provides $261 billion for highways and $55 billion for transit, and the rest being assigned to safety programs. The Committee is scheduled to begin the markup process on Thursday, October 22nd. With an
The Transportation Communications Union/IAM applauds the bipartisan efforts of House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-IL) and Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR) in introducing an extension of the deadline to install Positive Train Control (PTC) on our nation’s railways. Their proposed legislation contrasts with the Senate’s proposal by including reporting requirements and an enforceable
In the aftermath of recent incidents on our nation’s railways – including the deadly derailment of the Amtrak Northeast Regional outside Philadelphia – lawmakers and the general public have been pushing for increased safety. Front-and-center in this debate has been the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) systems to our nation’s railroads. In 2008, Congress
On September 14, National President Bob Scardelletti wrote a letter to all members of the House of Representatives opposing any increase in weight limitations for trucks. An increase would unfairly and unnecessarily threaten the freight railroad industry and our members who help run the nation’s most efficient, cost-effective, and greenest mode of transportation. Read National
On Monday, July 27th, TCU National Vice President and Legislative Director Ron Kloos joined John Risch of the SMART Transportation Division in asking the U.S. Senate to support a revised deadline for rail carriers to implement Positive Train Control (PTC). The letter asks Senators not to allow a PTC extension to derail a potential long-term
As Congress heads home for the month of August they are again “kicking the can” – this time on the Surface Transportation (“Highway”) bill. While the Senate passed its version of the bill, the House of Representatives has refused to bring up the legislation before going on vacation. Now, instead of passing a 6-year authorization
In a letter to Congress, the President of the Transportation Trades Department (TTD), of which TCU is a member stated: “On behalf of the TTD , I write to express our opposition to S. 1732, the Comprehensive Transportation and Consumer Protection Act of 2015 and urge you to vote against it during markup.” “This is
Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), of which TCU is a member, issued a statement on the Comprehensive Transportation and Consumer Protection Act of 2015, introduced by Sen. John Thune (R-SD). President Wytkind said, “At a time when our country’s transportation infrastructure is failing and disenfranchised Americans are desperate for work,
