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2019-2 Article 2
Labor Network for Sustainability Monthly Newsletter - Monthly Edition #28, March 2019
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2019-2 Article 3
News report finds Metro-North, NJ Transit lead commuter railroads in safety fines
WOODLAND PARK, N.J. — Metro-North and NJ Transit have been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for safety violations between 2013 and 2018, and stand as the most-cited violators of federal regulations among commuter rail operations,
NorthJersey.com reports
.
The news organization and its parent, the USA Today Network, base the report on analysis of six years of Federal Railroad Administration data.
Metro-North paid fines totaling $859,375, with a high number of the fines related to drug and alcohol testing of employees. NJ Transit paid $576,175 in fines, with many of the violations related to operating practices. Fines also involved violations of regulations regarding signaling, track, locomotives, crews and hours of service.
Read more ....
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2019-2 Article 4
AAR: Total carload traffic down more than 10 percent in the US
WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 23.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 503,017 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.5 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending March 23 were 236,817 carloads, down 10.9 percent compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 266,200 containers and trailers, up 2.1 percent compared to 2018.
Read more ...
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2019-2 Article 5
Two-person crew bill becomes law in Colorado
Colorado Governor Jared S. Polis signed a two-person crew bill into law on March 21, signifying a significant boost to railroad safety in the state.
The bill reads in part: "The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that it is in the public interest to require that a common carrier engaged in the transportation of freight by railroad have multiple crew members aboard a railroad train or light engine in order to help ensure the public safety of citizens of this state and the safety of the state''s waterways and natural environment."
Primary sponsors of the bill are the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the SMART Transportation Division.
Read more ....
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2019-2 Article 6
VIDEO:
Congressman Schneider co-sponsor of
The Safe Freight Act
, addresses RWU and the Question of Rail Safety
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