Regional Rail engineers have asked federal regulators to require SEPTA to follow a safety rule designed to limit fatigue.  SEPTA wants the Federal Railroad Administration to renew a waiver that the transit agency has had from the work rule for two years.  The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen asked the federal agency to deny SEPTA's request and hold a public hearing on the issue, citing accidents at other railroads caused by fatigued engineers.

NJ Transit is altering its rail safety program, which commuters will see in the form of new safety blitzes at railroad stations and rail cars wrapped with the "Operation Lifesaver," the national railroad crossing safety slogan.  But other safety improvements introduced in the wake of two separate accidents in October 2011, that claimed the lives of three teenagers. won't be expanded to other places on NJ Transit's system, officials said.

Before you put together your Thanksgiving dinner shopping list, check our list of union-made in America food and other items that are essential to a traditional family Thanksgiving feast. Speaking of thanks, a big "thank you" to the Union Label and Service Trades Department (ULSTD), Union Plus and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor's resource site, Labor 411, for compiling their extensive catalogs of union-made products.

After receiving a drubbing in this fall's elections, some union officials want to rethink the labor movement's approach to politics.  Having long tied their fortunes to Democrats -- and having seen Democrats beaten badly, particularly at the state level -- at least some union leaders are thinking about returning to the basics of providing professional services to members and emphasizing issues, rather than candidates.

In a rare win for labor in Silicon Valley, the shuttle bus drivers who ferry Facebook employees to and from work voted on Wednesday to unionize, 43 to 28.  The drivers, who are employees of Loop Transportation, a contractor for Facebook, voted to join Teamsters Local 853, with several of them saying their main concerns were inadequate pay and a stressful split shift schedule.

G.I. Jobs magazine recently named Union Pacific Railroad one of the nation's top military-friendly employers for 2015 - the 12th time in 13 years the Class I has been ranked on the annual list.  Rankings are based on the strength of a company's military initiatives or events, the percentage of new hires with prior military service, and company policies regarding service in the reserves and National Guard.