News and Media

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 […]

WASHINGTON DC — Transportation unions appeared at a public hearing today to urge the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to complete a new federal rule this year barring one-person freight train crew operations. Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, joined John Risch, national legislative director of the SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD), at the hearing to make the case for a two-person crew mandate and a final rule that closes loopholes permitting freight railroads to deploy single crew operations.

Washington, DC—Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issued the following statement in support of the Rail Safety Enforcement Act, which seeks to improve safety in our nation’s freight and passenger rail industry: “Today, Rep. Rosa DeLauro continued her commitment to improving rail transportation safety by advancing legislation that seeks to reduce […]

Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issues this statement in response to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) rejection of Norwegian Air UK’s (NAUK) foreign air carrier permit exemption application: “We are pleased the U.S. Department of Transportation has rejected the application of Norwegian Air UK (NAUK) for a foreign air carrier […]

Labor Supports, Industry Opposes U.S. Rulemaking on Freight Train Crew Size   Union Insists Rules Promote Safety, AAR Says They Would Stifle Innovation As published by Peter Buxbaum in Global Trade Magazine The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, (TTD) has responded positively to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking establishing a minimum […]

Washington, DC – Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, and Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, issue this statement in response to Boeing’s latest tactics aimed at squashing attempts by its employees in South Carolina to select the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers as their collective bargaining representative.  “Boeing’s sinister […]