News and Media

WASHINGTON, DC — Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issues this statement in response to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking establishing a minimum size for train crews: “We have long argued that trains operated by one person are unsafe and should be barred by our government. Yesterday the […]

CP cites growing shipper support for NS merger deal, while UPS and TTD voice objections As published in Progressive Railroading Canadian Pacific has received more than 80 letters from shippers in support of its proposed takeover of Norfolk Southern Corp., CP announced yesterday. Sixty-two of the letters have been posted on the Surface Transportation Board […]

Labor seeks to block proposed freight rail merger   As published by Keith Laing in The Hill   The AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department is seeking to block a proposed merger between Canadian Pacific Railway and Norfolk Southern that has been dubbed a “Wall Street takeover” of a prominent U.S. freight company by critics. Calgary-based Canadian […]

US Dept of Transportation Secretary Foxx to Transit officials: Maximize Impact of $305 Billion FAST Act to Create U.S. Jobs   As published by Alaa Milbes in Mass Transit Mag   Late last year, President Barack Obama signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (Fast Act) approving $305 billion in transit spending. The Act includes […]

Did you miss TTD President Ed Wytkind discuss Amtrak funding on America’s Workforce Radio on Monday? You’re in luck — you can listen to the show here on the MoveAmerica blog. Over the last two years, Americans across the country have been polled on their views about passenger rail. Ed discussed the overwhelming results in his interview: […]

2016 Presidential Election Preparations Advance San Diego, CA — Transportation unions took aim at critical transportation appropriations battles pending in Washington and continued preparations to show their members and the public the stark choices voters will face in the presidential election. “We are committed to countering the dangerous austerity agenda in certain corners of Congress […]

Amtrak requests $1.8B for fiscal 2017 As published by Keith Lang in The Hill   Amtrak is requesting $1.8 billion for fiscal 2017, officials said Wednesday. The request includes $649 million for operating expenses, $920 million for capital construction costs and $263 million in grants that were authorized by Congress in a transportation funding bill […]

Washington, DC—Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issues the following statement in response to Amtrak’s 2017 General and Legislative Annual Report: “Amtrak has submitted a funding request for FY2017 that gives our national passenger railroad and its employees a chance to deliver faster and more reliable train service. Amtrak faces a […]

Did you miss TTD President Ed Wytkind discussing transportation devolution on The Rick Smith Show? You’re in luck — you can listen to the show here on the MoveAmerica blog. As the countdown to the 2016 presidential election keeps ticking, several GOP presidential candidates have inserted transportation devolution into their campaign platforms. They seem to think such […]

[As published By John Previsich And Edward Wytkind on AL.com] By John Previsich, president of SMART – Transportation Division and Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO  Alabamians sure love their college football, but what we’ve just recently learned is that they also like their passenger trains — and they’re willing to pay for […]