passenger rail

ATLANTA, GA—The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and its 32 affiliated unions waded into every major transportation policy debate in Washington and focused on expanding transportation investments, reforming safety policy, protecting workers’ rights, and rejecting job-killing trade policies. “2015 must be the year when we break the stalemate on funding our badly deteriorated transportation system […]

Transportation labor has been a leader in insisting on sustainable investment in Amtrak’s national network. Throughout the history of Amtrak, whose creation in 1971 followed the bankruptcy of private passenger rail operations, the passenger railroad company has been chronically underfunded. Even worse, for four decades too many politicians have attempted to shutdown Amtrak through bankruptcy […]

Washington, DC—Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issues this statement about the markup of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015: “We are pleased that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a bipartisan passenger rail bill that provides multi-year investment for Amtrak while rejecting ill-advised attempts to force unwanted […]

This important legislation funds and sustains a key component of our national transportation system, and we commend Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member DeFazio, Subcommittee Chairman Denham and Subcommittee Ranking Member Capuano for their leadership in crafting this bipartisan, compromise legislation. We also ask that you oppose any amendments that would compromise the integrity of the national passenger rail network, or that undermines the bipartisan compromise reached in this bill.

Each year, public transportation agencies spend $5.4 billion on buses and trains. That represents an enormous investment of our taxpayer dollars, but in the absence of common-sense procurement reforms much of it ends up going to companies that manufacture components abroad. Together with the Jobs to Move America coalition, TTD has been working to change […]

[As published By Haya El Nasser in Al Jazeera America] LOS ANGELES — When shiny new light-rail cars roll out on L.A. Metro tracks in two years, they will likely have been made by a Japanese company. But most of the workers who assemble them will be American. In Chicago, a $2 billion railcar contract will be won partly […]

On October 2nd, Amtrak reported that four of its century-old underwater rail tunnels in and out of New York City are in need of extensive repairs and that service will be “badly curtailed” — terrible news for both daily commuters and passengers who take 260 million trips a year along the vital Northeast Corridor. While some may […]

[As published By Edward Wytkind in Huffington Post] On October 2nd, Amtrak reported that four of its century-old underwater rail tunnels in and out of New York City are in need of extensive repairs and that service will be “badly curtailed” — terrible news for both daily commuters and passengers who take 260 million trips a […]

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issued the following statement today about the consideration of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2014 (PRRIA) by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee: “Today’s approval by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2014 […]

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I urge your support for the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2014 (PRRIA) when it is considered by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee later this week. This important legislation funds and sustains a key component of our national transportation system, and we commend Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member Rahall, Subcommittee Chairman Denham and Subcommittee Ranking Member Brown for their leadership in crafting this bipartisan, compromise legislation.