Monthly Archives: April 2015

Voter Registration Time

Local 2014 members have volunteered to pass the word around on the importance of voter registration. They are providing information and voter registration forms for your state. You and anyone in your family over the age of 18 before the election date November 6th should register to vote. You must be a citizen as well. If you have moved you need to reregister, or changed your last name, if have not voted in the past years you should reregister. Your right to vote is your right, but to use that right you must register in advance. Some of the members of your local are volunteering to register and talk to members about this important right of yours and how important it is to you and your family as well our great nation. We need you to take this small step for our union and our nation. To further help we are providing links to your states voter registration information and forms. Just click on the links provided for your state listed below.

Illinois       Indiana

Tell Congress: Choose Safety Over Politics at Amtrak

Some Republicans in the House are using bait-and-switch tactics to lure the public into believing that by outsourcing Amtrak jobs, they will reduce government waste. In reality, these lawmakers will hurt transportation safety while taking your tax dollars and subsidizing corporations. We can’t let them do that and we are asking you to tell them the same.If Reps. John Mica (R-FL) and Jean Schmidt (R-OH) have their way, they will outsource 1,200 jobs performed by on-board Amtrak workers who are trained in everything from administering CPR to handling terrorist threats and assisting in evacuations, and fill those positions with minimum wage workers with no training.Dining car service, especially on long train rides, simply cannot be provided at McDonald’s prices and the employees who serve these meals should not be paid McDonald’s wages. These House Republicans want to guarantee subsidies to companies that offer the service and fail to make a profit at a time when Amtrak’s operating subsidies are among the lowest levels in 41 years and ridership continues to grow.Please write to your Representative and tell him/her not to replace Amtrak workers who are trained to perform critical safety functions with outsourced workers hired by companies guaranteed wasteful subsidies.