News and Media

WASHINGTON, DC – Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), made the following statement following President Obama’s State of the Union speech from last evening: “In his State of the Union address, President Obama upped the ante in the debate about investing in our crumbling transportation system and infrastructure.  Not since President […]

[As posted by Ed Wytkind on National Journal’s Transportation Experts Blog] It is ironic that the Republican Study Committee’s proposal to slash vital transportation investments was unveiled on the very day that we learned that Americans spend as many as 70 hours – or nearly 3 solid days – a year stuck in traffic. The […]

WASHINGTON, DC – Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), offers the following statement in response to Republican Study Committee proposals to slash or zero out funding for mass transit, Amtrak, high speed rail, Essential Air Service program, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority: “These proposed cuts would deal a major […]

WASHINGTON, DC – Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), offers the following statement as America pauses to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “As we honor Martin Luther King, Jr., let us carry out his work by fighting for a stronger and more just economy that lifts the lives […]

As posted on National Journal’s Transportation Experts Blog Politics and demagoguery keep trumping job creation. The latest episode has the newly elected chief executives of Ohio and Wisconsin sending jobs out of their states to score political points while so many of their constituents continue to suffer in a chronic state of joblessness. With November’s […]

WASHINGTON, DC – Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), offers the following statement regarding BNSF Railway Company’s request for a U.S. government waiver to have their trains inspected in Mexico. TTD today also submitted official comments to the Department of Transportation in response to BNSF’s request. “There are key functions in […]

WASHINGTON, DC – Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), offers the following statement regarding legislation to kill funding for the high speed rail program in the wake of efforts by the Governors-elect in Ohio and Wisconsin to derail these jobs-creating rail initiatives in their states: “With today’s jobless report showing almost […]

As posted on National Journal’s Transportation Experts Blog With the upcoming departure of Jim Oberstar, Congress – and I dare say – the nation is losing a national treasure, a leader whose resume is trumped only by his character, resiliency and incredible commitment to service. Among many giants in the Congress, Jim Oberstar is the […]

As posted on National Journal’s Transportation Experts Blog At the President’s Columbus Day meeting, I was proud to be at a White House that wants to transform the way we think about and invest in transportation. President Obama is thinking big, and his commitment to expanding and rebuilding America’s transportation network is going to be […]

by Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO   Last week, I was proud to be at a White House that wants to dramatically increase investments in our transportation systems and sees them as a solution to an economy still stuck in neutral. In the meeting he hosted, President Obama articulated his commitment […]