BOTKINS, Ohio – CSX conductor Dennis A. Hemme, 59, became the ninth UTU member to die in an on-the-job accident in 2011 when he reportedly was crushed to death here Sept. 8 during a mainline shove of a stalled train. Botkins is some 110 miles north of Cincinnati.
Hemme, with some six years of service, was a member of UTU Local 14 (Cincinnati) and is survived by his wife and three children.
Visitation will be Thursday, Sept. 15, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Staley-Crowe Funeral Home, 7140 Plainfield Rd., Deer Park, Ohio 45236. Funeral Mass will be Friday morning, Sept. 16, at 10 a.m. at St. Michaels, 11144 Spinner Ave., Sharonville, Ohio 45241.
Just since July 25, six UTU members have been killed in on-the-job accidents.
For more information on UTU members killed on-the-job in 2011, click on the following link:
https://www.smart-union.org/td/memorials-to-utu-members-killed-on-the-job-in-2011/
Month: September 2011
WASHINGTON – House Republicans are supporting a budget plan that Amtrak says will eliminate all state-supported Amtrak service nationwide beginning Oct. 1 — the start of a new federal fiscal year.
Fifteen states currently provide Amtrak with subsidies in exchange for Amtrak operating additional intercity trains in their states that transport nine million passengers annually.
The Sept. 8 budget proposal would prohibit federal funds from being used for those state-supported trains.
While the Amtrak budget cuts – proposed by the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee — could likely pass the entire Republican-controlled Appropriations Committee and Republican-controlled House of Representatives, the provisions could face strong opposition in the Senate. Still, given the budget-cutting pressure in Congress, nothing is easily predicted.
The proposed budget cuts fly in the fact of a provision of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 that encouraged Amtrak to leverage federal subsidies of 80 percent with state contributions of 20 percent to develop new intercity passenger routes and improve existing ones.
The Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee’s budget proposal would also:
* Restrict the use of federal funds for any overtime costs in excess of $35,000 for any individual employee.
* Require Amtrak to achieve savings through operating efficiencies, including modifications to food and beverage service, first-class service and long-distance routes.
“The House Republican plan is shortsighted and is the wrong policy for America,” said Amtrak President Joseph Boardman. “It will result in the loss of jobs and reverses significant progress made to use passenger rail to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.”
Following are the 15 states — and the Amtrak trains — targeted:
* California: (Capitol Corridor, San Jose-Oakland/San Francisco-Sacramento/Auburn); Pacific Surfliner (San Luis Obispo-Los Angeles-San Diego); San Joaquin (Bakersfield-Oakland-Sacramento).
* Illinois and Wisconsin: (Hiawatha, Chicago-Milwaukee). Illinois: Lincoln (Chicago-St. Louis); Illini & Saluki (Chicago-Carbondale); Zephyr & Carl Sanburg (Chicago-Quincy).
* Maine: (Downeaster, Portland-Boston).
* Michigan: (Blue Water, Port Hurton-East Lansing-Chicago); Pere Marquette (Grand Rapids-Chicago).
* Missouri: Missouri River Runner (Kansas City-St. Louis).
* New York: Adirondack (New York City-Montreal).
* North Carolina: Carolinian (Charlotte-New York City); Piedmont (Charlotte-Raleigh).
* Oklahoma and Texas: Heartland Flyer (Oklahoma City-Ft. Worth).
* Oregon and Washington: Cascades (Eugene-Portland-Seattle-Vancouver).
* Pennsylvania: Keystone Corridor (Harrisburg-Philadelphia-New York City).
* Vermont: Ethan Allen (Rutland-New York City); Vermonter (St. Albans-Washington, D.C.).
* Virginia: (Extended Northeast Regional (Washington, D.C.-Richmond; Washington, D.C.-Lynchburg).
A joint rail-security project involving the United Transportation Union and Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) has received more than $176,000 in funding from the Department of Homeland Security’s Freight Rail Security Grant Program.
TRRA has pledged a 25 percent match to meet requirements of the federal funding.
“The UTU, which assisted TRRA with the grant application process, will now assist TRRA in designing, developing and administering drills and exercises involving management and 225 TRRA employees,” said Bruce Feltmeyer, administrative assistant to UTU International President Mike Futhey.
“The drills and exercises are aimed at improving security awareness skills and coordination between the railroad and first responders with the objective of training employees to better recognize and report suspicious activities or incidents,” Feltmeyer said.
TRRA President Jonathan G. Carnes said TRRA “is pleased to work with our labor partners in this endeavor. Securing our railroad has never been more important, and we are thankful for the support of the UTU.”
Delegates at the UTU’s Eleventh Quadrennial Convention amended the UTU Constitution by adopting eight proposals, one of which will remove the dues obligation of officers on E-49 status, and another of which will require all UTU Locals to adopt a set of bylaws.
The changes to the Constitution become effective Nov. 1, 2011, except where otherwise indicated.
A PDF of the UTU Constitution as amended at the convention will be posted on the UTU’s website at www.utu.org.
Article 2, which defines the UTU’s hierarchical structure, was amended to remove the requirement that the six alternate vice presidents not representing the Bus Department be tied to certain geographic locations. Under the change, which took effect immediately, all six were elected on an at-large basis, instead of having two elected from the eastern territory, two from the western territory and two from the southern territory.
The change to Article 2 also immediately altered the method of filling a non-Bus Department vice presidential vacancy that might occur between conventions, again decoupling the candidates from a geographic territory. Such vacancies are now to be filled via a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors, who will choose from among the six alternate vice presidents not representing the Bus Department.
Article 2 continues to call for one Bus Department alternate vice president to come from the west, and one from the east, with the Mississippi River serving as the line of demarcation. Also unchanged is the Article 2 provision calling for a vacancy in the Bus Department vice presidential position to be filled by the senior alternate vice president representing the Bus Department.
Meanwhile, in a “housekeeping” move which took effect immediately to remain consistent with the immediate changes to Article 2, delegates amended Article 36 to reflect the language change adopted in Article 2. The minor language change in both articles clarified that the UTU International has seven vice presidential positions, one of which represents the Bus Department.
In another “housekeeping” action taking immediate effect, delegates amended Article 3 to reflect the reality that the UTU International has not, for decades, actually been located within the city limits of Cleveland, Ohio, but is located in the Cleveland, Ohio, area.
Among changes to take effect Nov. 1, 2011, was amendment of Article 7, which addresses eligibility for elective office. The amendment aimed to correct an unintended consequence of action taken at the Tenth Quadrennial Convention.
Over the past several years, the U.S. Department of Labor has maintained that, under Article 7, members in “E-49” status (i.e., temporarily relieved of paying dues as a result of sickness or being laid off, in accordance with the provisions of Article 49) had to continue to pay full dues to retain their elective offices.
The intention of the Article 7 amendment adopted at the recent convention is to allow members in E-49 status to continue to hold office while exempt from dues payments.
To enact this correction, delegates amended Article 7 to include a new final paragraph, designated as paragraph (h), reading: “Is serving as a Local Officer and/or Local Committee of Adjustment Officer who serves on a part-time basis need only be members in good standing to retain their office.” The added paragraph, which appears somewhat awkward on its own, completes a sentence begun at line 1 of Article 7.
Article 12, dealing with International dues and assessments, includes a provision allowing Locals to petition for reduced International dues. Action taken by delegates provides for an annual review of such reductions, effective Nov. 1, 2011.
Delegates also took action to alter the authority of the General Secretary and Treasurer (GS&T) through amendment of line 2 of Article 19, which previously had granted “exclusive jurisdiction and authority over the financial affairs” of the UTU to the GS&T. Effective November 1, the GS&T is assigned “joint jurisdiction and authority with the International President over the financial affairs” of the UTU.
Adoption of a one-word change in line 13 of Article 39 will also take effect November 1, requiring all UTU Locals to adopt a set of bylaws. Previously, the line indicated that bylaws for UTU Locals “may be adopted, subject to the approval of the International President.” The word “may” has been removed, with the word “shall” in its place.
A bylaws template, available in hard-copy form or as an editable Microsoft WORD document, is available from the UTU International upon request. The Microsoft WORD document and a writable PDF of the WORD document for review purposes) also can be downloaded by going to the “S&T Tools” page of the UTU website at www.utu.org, scrolling down to the bottom of the “Forms and Documents” column, and clicking on “More forms…,” or by clicking here for a direct link.
UTU Locals enacting their first set of bylaws or considering updating existing bylaws are urged to stick closely to template. Once approved by members of a UTU Local at two meetings, the bylaws must be submitted to the office of the International President for review and approval.
Prior to the convention, Article 47 exempted general chairpersons, local presidents, local chairpersons, secretaries and treasurers, and legislative representatives from requirements that result in others being transferred from one UTU Local to another. In amending Article 47, delegates added local vice presidents to the list of those exempted, effective Nov. 1, 2011, from the transfer requirements.
Delegates also amended Article 82 to dispel ambiguity found in lines 129 to 131, replacing the word “local” with “local committee of adjustment.” Effective Nov. 1, 2011, the line will read: A General Chairperson may not serve as Local Chairperson, except when there is only one Local Committee of Adjustment on a property, the Local Committee of Adjustment shall constitute the General Committee of Adjustment.”
A UTU-member conductor employed by Canadian Pacific in LaCrosse, Wis., suffered a severe injury – being pinned beneath a freight car that derailed and tipped over — during a switching operation Sept. 5. The 43-year-old conductor had less than one year of service.
During the first six months of 2011, 37 serious injuries occurred during switching operations, resulting in three fatalities and eight amputations, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
These accidents emphasize that there is no more dangerous civilian occupation than working in a railroad switching yard, where accidents too often kill, maim and end careers.
Yard safety requires situational awareness, which is a state of mind coupled with teamwork, communication and uninterrupted attention to the task at hand.
To combat yard fatalities and career-ending injuries, the Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis (SOFA) Working Group was formed in 1998.
It is a peer review group comprised of representatives from labor, management and the Federal Railroad Administration — all collaborating to bring railroaders home in one piece.
SOFA’s five lifesaving tips that can save yours:
* Secure all equipment before action is taken.
* Protect employees against moving equipment.
* Discuss safety at the beginning of a job or when work changes.
* Communicate before action is taken.
* Mentor less experienced employees to perform service safely.
The SOFA Working Group also warns of special switching hazards:
* Close clearances
* Shoving movements
* Unsecured cars
* Free rolling rail cars
* Exposure to mainline trains
* Tripping, slipping or falling
* Unexpected movement of cars
* Adverse environmental conditions
* Equipment defects
* Motor vehicles or loading devices
* Drugs and alcohol
The SOFA Working Group’s lifesaving tips are proven to reduce your risk of a career-ending injury or death while on the job.
The UTU is represented in the SOFA group by Louisiana State Legislative Director Gary Devall, Minnesota State Legislative Director Phil Qualy and Kansas State Legislative Director Ty Dragoo.
To view recent SOFA Working Group reports, and advisories related to inexperienced employees, close clearances, industrial track hazards, job briefings and mainline train hazards, click on the following link:
https://www.smart-union.org/td/switching-operations-fatality-analysis/
The UTU also has a Rail Safety Task Force charged with creating action alerts to reduce rail-employee risk while on the job.
Leading the task force is UTU Arizona State Legislative Director Greg Hynes, who is assisted by UTU Arkansas State Legislative Director Steve Evans and Michigan State Legislative Director Jerry Gibson.
The task force works with UTU state legislative directors, UTU general chairpersons, the FRA and carriers in seeking to identify and communicate best practices and techniques to improve situational awareness and keep situational awareness at its highest level.
For more information on the UTU Rail Safety Task Force, and to view its advisories, click on the following link:
https://www.smart-union.org/safety/smart-rail-safety-task-force/
PERRIS, Calif. – In the 24th organizing victory in 43 months, the UTU has added representation of additional employees of Southland Transit here.
Following the lead of bus drivers and mechanics of Southland Transit, who voted “UTU, yes” in June, the company’s call center employees have now chosen the UTU as their bargaining representative. The newest UTU members include dispatchers, schedule editors and vaulters (who count and transfer farebox revenue).
All are now members of the newest UTU local, Local 1700.
The organizing drive was led by Bonnie Morr, alternate vice president, west, of the UTU’s Bus Department.
Southland Transit is a community transit operation serving the disabled and elderly in the Southern California counties of Riverside and San Bernadino, providing transportation on demand and over fixed routes.
UTU members participated in Labor Day events and parades nationwide, demonstrating that a healthy, energized and committed labor union movement is alive and well in America.
In truth, there was not too much to celebrate.
For too many Americans, this Labor Day was just another day without a full-time job; and for millions more Americans, any celebration of Labor Day was eclipsed by concerns of wage cuts, higher health care insurance premiums, loss of health care insurance, loss of collective bargaining rights and efforts by many in Congress to weaken Social Security, Medicare and public transportation.
Labor Day is the traditional start of political campaigns, and the 2012 presidential, congressional and state legislature elections will be a referendum on the future of organized labor and retention of all organized labor has achieved for Americans.
These achievements, all at risk in today’s harsh political climate, include collective bargaining rights, a minimum wage, the right to be heard and to present workplace grievances, an end to discrimination in hiring, overtime pay, paid holidays and vacations, employer provided health care insurance, compensation for workplace injuries, and workplace health and safety regulations.
Although UTU members are mostly secure in their jobs because of outstanding representation, here is a sampling of the climate facing working families in America today:
* Fewer than 7 percent of private-sector workers today belong to a labor union.
* According to a recent Gallup poll, only 52 percent of Americans have a positive opinion of labor unions – 78 percent among Democrats, but only 26 percent among Republicans.
* Across America, 14 million Americans are unemployed, nine million part-time workers cannot find full-time employment, and almost seven million Americas have given up looking for work.
* The current 9.1 percent unemployment rate does not include part-time workers seeking full-time work or those who have given up looking for work.
* Since 2008, average annual wage increases have been less than 2 percent.
* There are currently almost five unemployed workers for every job opening.
* To reduce the current 9.1 percent unemployment rate to 5 percent, the economy must create an average of 282,000 jobs per month. In August, zero new jobs were created, and the job creation rate of an average of 240,000 new jobs monthly during the boom years between 1993 and 2000 still falls short of the 282,000 target figure to reduce the current 9.1 unemployment rate to 5 percent.
* The unemployed finding new jobs generally suffer a 20 percent reduction in earnings.
We know from history that in union there is strength. As we look ahead to the 2012 elections, it is essential that all members of working families eligible to vote are registered and go to the polls on Election Day to elect labor-friendly candidates, regardless of political affiliation. Union members have one of the highest rates of participation in elections, and that enthusiasm and effort must continue.
With assistance from the UTU’s political consultant, the UTU’s national legislative office and state legislative directors, the UTU will be keeping members informed about labor-friendly political candidates.
Participation in the UTU PAC is also important in helping to elect labor-friendly candidates, as these contributions assist them in delivering their message to voters.
Being involved with your union is also essential, and this includes attending meetings of your local.
If you believe in something strong enough, you fight for it.
We can turn things around in America, but it requires solidarity to win this fight and emerge stronger than ever, so that on the Labor Days of the future, organized labor and working families all have something of substance to celebrate.
A new national rail contract, delivering a 17 percent wage increase over 60 months (18.24 percent when compounded), a 78-month cap on health care insurance contributions, plus improvements in health care benefits, has been ratified by solid margins by UTU members in each of the six crafts eligible to vote.
The new contract also provides certification pay, a faster process for new hires to reach full pay rates, provides for no work-rules givebacks and has no prior cost-of-living adjustment offsets.
Health care plan design changes deliver expanded and improved health care benefits, such as personalized medicine and access to centers of excellence. Personalized medicine assures access to the most up-to-date health care products available, while centers of excellence provide access for members and their families to the most advanced treatment centers in America when serious illness strikes.
Retroactive to Jan. 1, 2010, the ratified contract covers some 38,000 UTU members employed by BNSF, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, Soo Line, Union Pacific and numerous smaller carriers – all represented in national handling by the rail industry’s National Carriers’ Conference Committee.
Lump-sum payments of the retroactive portion of the wage increases will be paid by the carriers – 2.0 percent covering the period July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011, and an additional 2.5 percent from July 1, 2011. (See table, below, for each of the wage hikes under the ratified contract.)
“The 17 percent wage increase over the life of this agreement is significantly higher than the rate of price inflation – providing a greater boost in purchasing power than any other national contract in the past 40 years,” said UTU International President Mike Futhey, who led the UTU negotiating team.
“The $200 monthly cap on health care insurance contributions, through July 1, 2016, is less than half what federal workers currently are paying, and is more than $140 less than the average currently paid by private-sector workers,” Futhey said. “With health care costs continuing to rise, this cap will be even more extraordinary in each successive year of this contract.”
Overall, the contract was ratified by a 60 percent to 40 percent margin. The craft-autonomy provisions of the UTU Constitution require that each craft ratify the agreement – and each of the six crafts did so by solid margins (see the table, below, for results by each craft).
Telephone voting – following town hall meetings across the country to discuss the contract — took place over a 21-day period beginning Aug. 12, with each voting-eligible member mailed a package of materials explaining the agreement. The UTU News and UTU website also provided extensive explanatory materials, with the website offering an opportunity for members to request answers to specific questions.
Votes were tabulated by BallotPoint Election Services, an employee-owned and union-represented firm. Members voted in the craft in which they worked the day prior to the mailing of ballots.
In addition to UTU lead negotiator President Futhey, UTU officers on the negotiating team included Assistant President Arty Martin; National Legislative Director James Stem; UTU International Vice Presidents Robert Kerley and Delbert Strunk; and General Chairpersons John Lesniewski (CSX, GO 049), Pate King (NS, GO 680) and Doyle Turner (CSX, GO 347).
Agreement Wage Hikes | |
| July 1, 2010 | 2% |
| July 1, 2011 | 2.5% |
| July 1, 2012 | 3% |
| July 1, 2013 | 3% |
| July 1, 2014 | 3.5% |
| Jan. 1, 2015 | 3% |
Compounded Total: | 18.24% |
Ratification Vote by Craft | ||
Following is how each UTU craft voted in ratifying the national agreement with most major railroads. The votes were certified by BallotPoint. | ||
| Craft | For | Against |
| Conductors | 59% | 41% |
| Yardmen | 67% | 33% |
| Brakemen | 63% | 37% |
| Engineers | 53% | 47% |
| Firemen/Hostlers | 59% | 41% |
| Yardmasters | 68% | 32% |
| Total: | 60% | 40% |
(The following message is provided by UnitedHealthcare)
High cholesterol affects children, young adults and older individuals — and many do not know they have it because high cholesterol usually doesn’t present noticeable symptoms.
However, it is a major risk factor for heart disease, as cholesterol deposits on the coronary walls narrow the arteries, slowing or blocking blood flow to the heart.
If sufficient blood and oxygen cannot reach your heart, the result may be a heart attack; and heart disease causes almost 600,000 deaths annually – the most common cause of death in the United States.
Cholesterol is a fatty chemical found mainly in foods that come from animals, and is an important part of the outer membrane of the cells in the body.
Cholesterol contains two types of lipoproteins; one is LDL (low-density lipoprotein); and the other is HDL (high-density lipoprotein). LDL is the carrier of cholesterol in the blood and is the main cause of the dangerous fatty buildup in the arteries.
As high levels of LDL are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, LDL is known as the “bad” cholesterol.
More than 102 million American adults over age of 20 have total cholesterol levels at or above 200 mg/dl, which is considered in the unhealthy range. Of these 102 million, more than 35 million have levels higher than 240 mg/dl, which now puts them at high risk for coronary heart disease.
There are many factors which help determine a high or low LDL level. This level may be affected by not just what we eat and heredity, but by how quickly our body produces “bad” cholesterol and disposes of it.
Prior to menopause, women generally have total cholesterol levels lower than men of the same age; but after age 50, women often have higher levels than men of the same age.
Most of us do not realize that our bodies make all of the cholesterol it needs, and we do not require any additional cholesterol from the foods we eat.
Two nutrients in food that cause “bad” cholesterol to rise are saturated fats from animals and cholesterol from animal products. Lowering these may prevent “bad” cholesterol from rising.
Being overweight also increases “bad” LDL levels, so maintaining a healthy weight not only lowers the “bad” LDL level, but also helps reduce triglycerides and raise “good” HDL levels.
Exercise and regular physical activity may lower “bad” cholesterol and raise “good” cholesterol levels. For adults, that means at least one-to-two hours of moderate activity per week.
Although alcohol increases “good” cholesterol, it doesn’t lower “bad” cholesterol, and doctors do know that alcohol damages the liver and heart muscle.
Lifestyle changes that occur due to stress (like eating foods higher in saturated fats) may contribute to higher levels of blood cholesterol in some individuals.
Medications prescribed for other medical conditions can cause high cholesterol. Prior to receiving a new prescription, alert your doctor if you have high cholesterol.
Maintaining a desirable blood cholesterol level is very important to the prevention of heart disease. An annual physical will allow you and your doctor to monitor your cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
As a general rule, consume low-fat and high-fiber foods, maintain a healthy weight, do not smoke and exercise regularly.
For more information on cholesterol and other health care topics, visit the United Healthcare page at the following link: