Comments on: Working on the railroad

By: nys unemployment

nys unemployment — Sat, 01 May 2010 16:14:14 +0000

I thought i’d throw my two cents in on your Political Buzz – » Working on the railroad The News Tribune Blogs, Tacoma, WA page as i feel there are a few things that need to be discussed. At a time when the official unemployment rate is nearing double digits, and 6.35 million people are receiving unemployment benefits, the U.S. government is on a hiring binge. Executive branch employment 1.98 million in 2009, excluding the Postal Service and the Defense Department is set to increase by 15.6 percent for the 2010 fiscal year. Counting benefits, the average pay per federal worker will leap from $72,800 in 2008 to $75,419 next year. Some of the Feds’ hiring increases have been stunning. If you look at the four-year period from 2006 to 2010, the number of Homeland Security employees has grown by 22 percent, the Justice Department has increased by 15 percent, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can claim 25 percent more employees.

By: busdude

busdude — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:40:13 +0000

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Rail/PNWRC_PtDefiance/

All the grade crossings will get rebuilt, with new traffic control, wayside horns, etc. Also the trains will be running through at 79 MPH, which is the same speed that they pass through Puyallup at.

By: Clarktribnet

Clarktribnet — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:19:49 +0000

6,500 jobs? She must have been dreaming. Probably more like 650 jobs and temp or out of state jobs at that.

By: DHT112A

DHT112A — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:00:57 +0000

Temporary jobs

By: justacitizen

justacitizen — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:19:39 +0000

110 Miles per hour through South Tacoma, Lakewood and Camp Murray, with no tangible road mitigation planned, equals an amazing, but not surprising lack of concern for the welfare of innocents. Bets on when the first fatality occurs in this stretch? stupidity

By: johnesherman

johnesherman — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:47:45 +0000

“[F]ederal high-speed rail money for Washington will provide 6,500 jobs in the state.” for what length of time before these 6,500 people who had rail construction jobs return to the Washington unemployed? Or, is the rail contractors and most rail construction crew employees coming from their homes located within other states?

This article reminds me of the Tacoma Ruston ASARC EPA clean-up activities; in brief, all the remediation dump trucks used had Montana vehicle license plates and not Washington State’s. So, is this similar for rail-track construction—special equipment, special skills, special equipment required, and all the special stuff is not part of a Washington State corporation? Let us know who gets the money and where they are located?