SMART UnionIt was one a pretty good year in 2010 for freight railroads.
Although freight volume trailed pre-recession 2008 figures, the nation’s major railroads reported a healthy 7.3 percent jump in carload traffic and a 14.2 percent increase in intermodal (trailers and containers on flat cars).
AAR officials called the 52-week figures “a positive development.”
Carload traffic remains about 10 percent below pre-recession levels, but its rate of growth continues to increase.
WASHINGTON — President Obama has renominated two Republicans to key transportation posts after the Senate failed to take action on the nominations last year.
Nominated to the three-person National Mediation Board, for a term expiring July 1, 2013, is Republican Thomas M. Beck.
Nominated to the three-person Surface Transportation Board, for a term expiring Dec. 31, 2015, is Republican Ann D. Begeman.
Both must be confirmed by the Senate before taking office.
Both agencies have Democratic majorities and will continue under Democratic control so long as a Democrat is in the White House.
Beck was nominated to succeed Republican Elizabeth Dougherty on the NMB. Dougherty’s term expired July 1, but under NMB rules she may continue serving indefinitely until a successor is confirmed.
Since Oct. 2, Beck has been serving as a Senate-confirmed member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). The FLRA administers labor-management relations for non-Postal Service federal employees.
Previously, Beck was a partner in the law firm of Jones Day, practicing labor and employment law. He is a 1992 graduate of the University of Virginia Law School. Beck also is a part-time professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., where he teaches courses on legislation and public policy.
The other two members of the NMB are Democrats — Chairman Harry Hoglander, who is serving his third term, and Linda Puchala, who was confirmed to her first term in May 2009.
Begeman was nominated to succeed Republican Chip Nottingham on the STB. Nottingham’s term expired Dec. 31, but under STB rules he may continue serving until a successor is confirmed, but no later than Dec. 31, 2011.
She currently is Republican staff director for the Senate Commerce Committee, but has been a long-time aide to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and served as a spokesperson for his unsuccessful run for president. Earlier, she was a legislative aide to Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.).
Begeman earned a degree in business from the University of South Dakota.
The other two members of the STB are Democrats — Chairman Dan Elliott, who is serving his first term; and Frank Mulvey, who is serving his second term.
The STB has regulatory authority over railroad mergers and labor protection for rail employees adversely affected by mergers, line sales and leases, and line abandonments. The agency also regulates railroad freight rates.
By UTU International President Mike Futhey
We continue making progress in negotiations to amend the national rail agreement, affecting some 40,000 UTU members employed by BNSF, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and many smaller railroads represented by the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC).
The national rail contract was opened for amendment in January 2010. The existing agreement remains in force until amendments are concluded under provisions of the Railway Labor Act.
We have held eight formal negotiating sessions with the NCCC. A ninth is scheduled this month. Our objective is to reach a voluntary tentative agreement that recognizes the many and significant contributions our members have made to soaring railroad profitability.
When I took office in January 2008, negotiations in the previous round had stretched aimlessly into their third year. Within 30 days, our new negotiating team reached an agreement with the NCCC that was overwhelmingly ratified by our membership.
Again, this round, our negotiating team is relying on rock-solid research to counter carrier arguments that the recession requires employee give-backs. We have developed financial and economic data on carrier profits and worker productivity to justify our contract demands.
We are utilizing a health care consulting firm to produce hard data on health care costs, and to assist both sides in exploring innovative solutions to slow the spiraling of health care costs.
It is not good enough to say we simply want something, because that list is endless. As our negotiating team did in January 2008, we are utilizing interest-based bargaining — joint problem solving whereby each side understands the needs of the other.
In a collaborative atmosphere, we are negotiating toward a win/win agreement, which requires that both sides attempt solutions not anticipated by either side individually, but achievable jointly through commonality of interests.
There are other issues high on our 2011 agenda:
We are placing increased emphasis on improving workplace safety and security by expanding the role of the Rail Safety Task Force. This includes working jointly with the carriers to refine and improve provisions of the Rail Safety Improvement Act, as requested by UTU members who participated in the task force’s exhaustive safety survey on workplace concerns. Objectives include the matter of time-off – between yard assignments and at away-from-home terminals.
Of importance to our bus and transit members, we are working collectively with other labor organizations to improve – through regulation and legislation – workplace safety and quality of life.
For our highly trained and skilled airline members, we are working to solve some of unimaginable workplace conditions they endure. We represent pilots and flight attendants who can’t afford basic dental care and who qualify for food stamps.
Education of members is a high priority. We are beefing-up the educational offerings – air, bus and rail – at regional meetings, and building on initiatives of several of our progressive rail locals to provide educational seminars at away-from-home terminals.
Education includes communication, and within a few months we will launch a redesigned, expanded and easier to navigate webpage at www.utu.org.
Cost control at the UTU International — and within the UTUIA — is of great importance, and is being pursued through more efficient and responsive delivery of services to our members and policy holders.
I pledge that we will continue to represent our members with honesty, ferocity, courage, resiliency and adaptability.
The UTU will be recognized universally as representing hardworking men and women who deliver, with integrity and dedication, essential transportation services to the American economy, which remains the envy of the world.
UTU conductor double-amputee in NS mishap
Norfolk Southern conductor and UTU Local 768 member Larry McVay, age 43, lost an arm and a leg in a switching accident near Lafayette, Ind., the morning of Jan. 3, and is recovering in an Indianapolis hospital.
A UTU member since Dec. 1, 2007, McVay is a resident of Dalton City, Ill. He and his wife, Lisa, lost a daughter in an automobile accident in 2008.
A Larry McVay benefit fund has been established at Land of Lincoln Credit Union, 2890 N. Oakland Ave., Decatur, IL. 62526. More information may be obtained from the credit union by calling (217) 875-1300.
Members who have PayPal accounts may also make a contribution through the PayPal website by sending funds to the e-mail address benefitlarry@yahoo.com.
By James Stem
UTU National Legislative Director
January brings a new session of Congress and the start of state legislative sessions across the country. Our UTU legislative team in Washington and our state legislative directors will be on guard protecting the interests of our members.
Two old UTU friends are in charge of key transportation committees in the House and Senate. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) now chairs the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee; and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) continues as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Among UTU legislative priorities:
Among improvements sought will be: A 10-hour call for all unassigned road service; a provision to allow regular yard jobs only eight hours off-duty between shifts; require yardmaster assignments to be covered by hours-of-service provisions; require advance notice of interim release periods; and, a limitation on limbo time to a maximum of two hours for each tour of duty.
While the UTU has many friends on both sides of the aisle, we expect very few major policy issues to pass Congress the next two years given the divided government (Republicans in charge of the House; Democrats controlling the Senate).
While that may be disappointing, we also expect there to be less opportunity for bad things to happen.
That said, we will keep pressing on and do our very best to protect the interest of our members.
LONGVIEW, Wash. — UTU-represented train and engine employees of Columbia & Cowlitz Railroad here have a new employer in Patriot Rail Corp. after Patriot completed purchase of the shortline from paper manufacturer and forest products supplier Weyerhaeuser.
Also included in the sale is Weyerhaeuser Woods Railroad (a non-UTU property) that connects with Columbia & Cowlitz. The two are slated to be consolidated into one shortline by Patriot, a shortline holding company whose properties include UTU-represented Louisiana & North West Railroad.
UTU Assistant President Arty Martin has met four times in recent months with the UTU train and engine employees on Columbia & Cowlitz, and has assigned International Vice President Paul Tibbit to work in conjunction with General Chairperson Sean Kibbee to monitor the transfer of ownership, which includes protection of seniority and work assignments.
“As the nation’s largest rail union, the UTU has a long history of successful experience in processing grievances governed by the Railway Labor Act, and the UTU will work diligently on behalf of our Columbia & Cowlitz members to ensure a smooth and properly protected transition,” Martin said.
CHICAGO — At the BNSF Corwith intermodal yard here, the railroad has dumped a contractor and said it intends to hire its own workers to load and unload containers and trailers onto and off of flat cars, reports Chicago News Cooperative.
This comes after BNSF told many of the contractor’s 180 workers, represented by the Teamsters Union, that they were too fat, reports Chicago News Cooperative.
Although the same workers were invited to reapply for their jobs, a significant number were not, says Chicago News Cooperative. Among the reasons: They had too much body fat.
Some 30 of the workers not rehired told Chicago News Cooperative that BNSF said they ‘might’ be rehired if they lost weight.
Chicago News Cooperative said the new direct hires would be represented by the Transportation Communications Union (TCU).
One of the Teamsters, rehired by BNSF after losing 50 pounds, told Chicago News Cooperative: “Of course we’re big; we’re Teamsters. You grab your coffee and doughnuts — that’s what Teamsters do.”
BNSF declined to comment, citing potential litigation.