Around The Railroad
Become Active in Go21
Retirees Speak Out Against Harmful Legislation
June 2, 2009 | 10:35 a.m. CDT
Letter writing wasn't enough – they wanted to be published.
A group of Union Pacific retirees has become active in Go21 – a grassroots organization that supports policies benefitting the rail industry and defends against harmful legislation. Employees and retirees who join Go21 stay informed on legislation affecting the industry and are encouraged to write their congressional representatives about balanced regulation.
"I joined Go21 last October, because I wanted to remain active on rail industry issues. We'd like to bolster the number of retirees involved in being heard on regulation and in supporting tax incentives to increase rail capacity."
– Woody Sutton, retired vice president-business development
The UP retiree group members have taken it a step further, by writing letters to newspaper editors. So far, two have been published: Greg Sheperd, retired car distribution manager, in the Omaha World-Herald, and Woody Sutton, retired vice president-business development, in the TC Palm.
"I joined Go21 last October, because I wanted to remain active on rail industry issues," Sutton said. "We'd like to bolster the number of retirees involved in being heard on regulation and in supporting tax incentives to increase rail capacity."
In addition to Sheperd and Sutton, the group includes Mike Bealle, Joe Fortner, Dick Jones, John Lambert, Mike O'Brien, Ken Ratcliff, Ab Rees, Raleigh Sheffield, Bob Thornton and Warren Wilson.
Sutton is eager for more to join. Contact him at wfsutton@comcast.net or Go21's Dan Gurley at dgurley@go21.org.
BNSF, BLET Reach Tentative Accord
Nov. 6, 2009 | 01:15 p.m. CST
BNSF Railway Co. and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) reached a tentative agreement to settle wage and work rule matters concerning BNSF's locomotive engineers for the major round of collective bargaining that will begin Jan. 1, 2010. More...
Some Commodity Groups Show Increase
Nov. 6, 2009 | 01:00 p.m. CST
U.S. railroads reported originating 275,439 carloads for the week ended Oct. 31, down 13.7 percent compared with the same week in 2008 and down 18.2 percent from 2007. More...
Employee Helps Homeless Boost Computer Skills
Nov. 6, 2009 | 12:45 p.m. CST
Khaled Mabrouk has been volunteering two hours each Saturday morning since June 2008 in the Omaha Open Door Mission's learning center computer room. More...
Emergency Funds Aid Struggling Families
Nov. 6, 2009 | 11:25 a.m. CST
Emergency funds were scarce for a Salvation Army in Blair, Neb. Several weeks ago, the organization found itself unable to provide support to residents needing assistance with rent and utilities until its new fiscal year began on Oct. 1. More...
Railroads Post New Gains in Safety
Nov. 4, 2009 | 03:45 p.m. CST
According to the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Safety, U.S. rail-related fatalities declined 12.4 percent to a total of 466 in the 12 months ended Aug. 31. More...
NMB Proposes Union Election Rule Changes
Nov. 4, 2009 | 03:25 p.m. CST
The board is proposing to change the threshold for a successful union election from a majority of eligible voters in a classification to a majority of voters who actually participate in an election. More...
Warren Buffett Buys BNSF
Nov. 3, 2009 | 09:20 a.m. CST
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will pay $26 billion to buy out railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. in what the billionaire investor called a bet on the U.S. economy. More...
More Stories...
UPOnline is produced by Union Pacific, Employee Communications Department, 1400 Douglas St., STOP 1550, Omaha, NE 68179. Readers with story ideas or comments on published stories can contact the editors through the Story Comments/Ideas page. General comments about the railroad, its operations or policies should be submitted using the Feedback page.
Union Pacific Railroad stores, processes, and disseminates a tremendous amount of critical data. Loss, damage, or disclosure of this data could result in a significant business or monetary loss to the company. With a commitment to deliver high-quality products and services to our customers at a competitive price, it is imperative to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of data through the use of effective data-security controls.