News and Media

Amtrak taps former freight railroad head to be new CEO As published by Joan Lowy in the Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The former head of the Norfolk Southern freight railroad, Charles “Wick” Moorman, has been tapped to be president and CEO of Amtrak, the nation’s passenger railroad, Amtrak officials said Friday. Moorman’s ties to […]

Washington, D.C. — Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issues this statement following the appointment of Charles “Wick” Moorman as CEO of Amtrak. “I congratulate Wick Moorman on his appointment as CEO of Amtrak. We’re at a crucial moment in Amtrak’s history with the opportunity to reimagine a modernized national Amtrak […]

Washington, DC — Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) issued the following statement on the passing of former Rep. Steve LaTourette: “I extend my deepest condolences to the family, friends and many colleagues of former Ohio Rep. Steve LaTourette, who passed away yesterday. I especially want to express my sympathy to […]

Kaine primed for driver’s seat on transportation issues as VP As published by Melanie Zanona in The Hill Sen. Tim Kaine might be Hillary Clinton’s newly minted sidekick, but the Democratic vice presidential nominee is primed for the driver’s seat when it comes to infrastructure issues. Kaine, a former governor of Virginia and mayor of […]

US shippers face tough road to gain national port productivity metrics As published by Reynolds Hutchins in Journal of Commerce Just minutes into its first meeting it was clear that U.S. shippers shouldn’t expect an easy path toward the creation of nationwide metrics to measure the nation’s port productivity. The immediate roadblocks, stalemates and impasses the group […]

After Obama, GOP platform moves right on labor issues As published by Sean Higgins in The Washington Examiner There is not much for labor leaders to like in the Republican Party’s 2016 platform. It is one of the toughest the party has had in the last four decades in terms of calling for union power […]

Freight-rail industry opposes, unions support FRA’s two-person crew proposal As published in Progressive Railroading Freight-rail industry representatives last week called on the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to drop its proposed rule mandating two-person crews on freight trains. At an FRA hearing last week, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and theAmerican Short Line and Regional […]

TTD supports DeLauro Bill to make railroads safer As published in the American Journal of Transportation “Rep. Rosa DeLauro continued her commitment to improving rail transportation safety by advancing legislation that seeks to reduce employee fatigue and beef up safety standards. “We are pleased that this legislation seeks to minimize one of the rail industry’s […]

Feds weigh minimum train crew sizes As published by Melanie Zanona in The Hill The Federal Railroad Administration is considering a rule that would require most trains to have a minimum number of crew members. During a Friday public hearing on the proposal, union groups, policymakers and stakeholders weighed in on whether most rail operations […]

Effort to create US port productivity metrics hits wall of opposition As published by Reynolds Hutchins in Journal of Commerce WASHINGTON — A group tasked with helping the U.S. Department of Transportation develop industry-wide metrics to gauge port productivity sputtered to a start at its first meeting Friday. Representatives of the railroad industry and labor unions — many […]