News and Media

[As published by TTD President Edward Wytkind and SMART Transportation Division President John Previsich in the Des Moines Register] While politicians can’t agree on much, Iowans and the majority of Americans surely agree on one thing: They want more Amtrak service, not less. On the heaviest traveled passenger rail corridor in the nation, the Northeast […]

WASHINGTON, DC—Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) President Edward Wytkind issues this statement on passage of H.R.3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA,) by a vote of 417-3: “The House of Representatives took a big step forward last night when it passed WRRDA by more than 400 votes, bringing us closer to enacting the […]

WASHINGTON, DC—The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) joins the rest of the nation this week in thanking the men and women dedicated to transporting children to and from school during National School Bus Safety Week. In recognition of the challenges faced by school bus drivers, today TTD is announcing it will host a School Bus […]

[As published by Keith Laing in The Hill] A poll conducted by a transportation union found that 70 percent of voters in a group of eight moderate congressional districts backed federal funding for Amtrak. The poll, which conducted by the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) union, surveyed voters in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, […]

[As issued by SMART-TD Oct. 10] Political Party Labels Aside, Americans Want to Ride Amtrak Research Shows Strong Majority Favor Federal Funding of Amtrak   WASHINGTON — New polling shows that Americans across the ideological spectrum support more public funding of Amtrak passenger rail service. “We polled people who mostly do not live in large […]

WASHINGTON, DC—Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) President Edward Wytkind issues this statement on the impact of a government shutdown on transportation: “This is a dark day for our nation as extremists in Congress have managed to lock out 800,000 federal workers who have done nothing wrong, and have decided to hold Americans hostage to their […]

[As published by Keith Laing in The Hill]  Transportation advocates are encouraged by a proposal this week from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to increase funding for road and infrastructure projects.Boxer, chairwoman of the Senate committee that oversees transportation policy, said this week she is considering eliminating the 18.4 cents-per-gallon federal gas tax in the next […]

[As posted by editors of the Press Associates Union News Service] WASHINGTON (PAI)—Two AFL-CIO departments, three construction unions and the St. Louis council of one of them, the Carpenters, are part of a bipartisan push urging lawmakers to approve a new waterways projects bill. In doing so, the federation’s Building Trades and Transportation Trades Departments, […]

WASHINGTON, DC—Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) President Edward Wytkind issues this statement in support of H.R.3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013 (WRRDA):   “The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today will consider a critical, bipartisan water infrastructure bill that will boost American competitiveness and create middle-class jobs. The legislation contains needed […]

[As published by Alexander Burns in Politico] Members of the AFL-CIO erupted in applause this week when Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told them that their agenda was “America’s agenda.” Less certain, according to a collection of top union officials, is whether labor’s agenda is still the Democratic Party’s agenda. Assembled here for the AFL-CIO’s quadrennial […]