SMART UnionROCKVIEW, Mo. – Seven people were injured early Saturday, May 25, when two freight trains collided, spurring the collapse of a highway overpass.
Dispatcher Clay Slipis of the Scott County Sheriff’s Department said two vehicles were on the Highway M overpass about 2:30 a.m. when a Union Pacific train T-boned a BNSF Railway train.
Read the complete story at St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
U.S. Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) and Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) announced May 23 the formation of the Congressional Public Transportation Caucus aimed at addressing issues facing the country’s public transportation systems, including rail, light rail, bus rapid transit, and traditional bus service.
The bipartisan Caucus will provide a forum for members of Congress to engage in constructive dialogue on the challenges and needs of mass transit agencies across the country as increasing demand and decreasing funding are putting unprecedented pressure on America’s public transportation systems.
Both Lipinski and Grimm were endorsed by the SMART Transportation Division prior to the 2012 congressional elections.
“Many SMART Transportation Division members are employed by the country’s public transportation systems, from Los Angeles Metro to the Long Island Rail Road, from Philadelphia’s SEPTA to Charlotte’s CATS system. We fully support Reps. Lipinksi and Grimm in this effort and appreciate their understanding of the importance of public transportation,” SMART Transportation Division President Mike Futhey said.
“Public transportation is vital to people from all walks of life in communities all across northeastern Illinois. Buses, trains, and light rail that run safely and reliably reduce congestion on our roads, improve travel times across all modes, cut down on air pollution, and make our communities more attractive places to live, work, and own businesses,” said Lipinski, who sits on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. “Maintaining and improving our public transportation systems must be a part of the solution to creating jobs at home and ensuring our competitiveness in the global marketplace. I look forward to joining Congressman Grimm in calling attention to these issues as co-chair of the new Congressional Public Transportation Caucus.”
“New York City has the largest public transit system in the nation – transporting millions of commuters each day by bus, rail, and ferry,” Grimm said. “A strong public transport system is crucial to our economy and our livelihood, which is why it must be maintained and updated to meet growing demand and ensure the highest levels of safety. Unfortunately, there is currently a gap between where our public transportation infrastructure needs to be and where it is today, which is why this caucus is so important. As co-chair of the Congressional Public Transportation Caucus, I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on solutions that will improve our aging public transportation system and bring it well into the 21st century.”
The America Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), in its annual report card on America’s infrastructure, gave the country’s transit infrastructure a “D” grade. Yet the impact from investing in our public transportation infrastructure would be substantial, not just for improving safety and reliability, but for creating jobs.
According to a release from Lipinski’s office, every dollar spent on transit generates an economic return of at least four to one.
For every $1 billion of capital spending on transit, 24,000 jobs are created, according to a report by the Economic Development Research Group. Additionally, transit has been shown to increase nearby property values and relieve the economic costs and pollution caused by traffic congestion.
“Transit is a key component of America’s transportation system, which is the backbone for the country’s economy,” said Joe Costello, Executive Director of the Northeastern Illinois Regional Transportation Authority and founding member of the transit advocacy group Getting America to Work. “We appreciate the leadership of Congressmen Lipinski and Grimm in creating this caucus to focus more national attention on this critical need.”
WASHINGTON – The Amtrak board of directors is extending the contract of President and CEO Joe Boardman for his achievements in improving the operational and financial performance of America’s Railroad and providing the continuity of leadership critical to the ongoing implementation of the company’s strategic plan.
“We are extremely pleased with the progress Amtrak has made under the leadership of Joe Boardman,” said Chairman Tony Coscia. “The changes Joe is managing within the railroad are resulting in real accomplishments and it is important for him to stay on, continue his work and provide leadership for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”
At its May meeting, the Amtrak board of directors approved a two-year renewable contract for Boardman, who was appointed president and CEO in November 2008.
“As a result of the good work Amtrak employees across the company are doing to implement our plans and produce our achievements, the board of directors asked me to continue in my role,” said Boardman. “Key to our current success is our improved financial position and our plans for growth are made more attainable because Amtrak is covering more of its operating costs, and costs are under control and in line with industry standards.”
Under Boardman’s leadership, Amtrak has experienced many accomplishments including record ridership and revenue, continued reductions in the need for federal operating support, a significant reduction of debt, the best ever system-wide on-time performance, expansion of state-supported services, the introduction of Wi-Fi service and eTicketing, and the creation and implementation of a corporate strategic plan.
In addition, he is managing new equipment orders for Northeast Corridor (NEC) and long distance services, a major planning effort for the development of next-generation high-speed rail, a comprehensive employee safety program, enhanced security initiatives and numerous capital projects to improve Amtrak infrastructure, stations, maintenance shops and other facilities.
On his first day at Amtrak during the 2008 Thanksgiving holiday travel period, Boardman walked the platforms at Washington Union Station, greeting passengers and talking with employees and has continued that practice whenever and wherever he travels. It is not uncommon to see him speaking to passengers aboard a train or visiting with employees out on the railroad at crew bases, rail yards, stations and other locations. He has logged over 200,000 miles traveling on Amtrak trains during his tenure.
Joseph H. Boardman was appointed president and chief executive officer of Amtrak by its board of directors in November 2008. Under his leadership, Amtrak has improved its operating and financial performance, and is building the equipment, infrastructure and organization needed to ensure its strong growth continues. The company is investing in projects critical for enhancing the passenger experience and essential for supporting its national network of intercity and high-speed rail services. In addition, Amtrak’s next-generation high-speed rail vision will provide a global competitive advantage for the United States.
Before joining Amtrak, Boardman was the administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), an agency under the U.S. Department of Transportation, and also served as a member of the Amtrak Board of Directors. Prior to his position at FRA, he was the longest serving commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation.
Operating employees of Chicago Terminal Railroad May 20 were successful in their efforts to bring union representation to their property.
The National Mediation Board has certified that 70 percent of eligible employees voted for representation by the SMART Transportation Division.
CTR operates three segments of track in the city and its suburbs, serving a variety of industries. It connects to Union Pacific at the North Ave. and Elk Grove locations, and to Canadian Pacific at its Bensenville, Ill., location.
The Class III railroad comprises 7.6 miles of the trackage and 32 miles of storage tracks. It also interchanges with Kansas City Southern operations at Veals Yard.
The organizing effort was led by SMART Transportation Division Director of Organizing Rich Ross, who was assisted by International Organizer Larry Grutzius.
CTR is a subsidiary of Iowa Pacific Holdings, which also operates San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad, Texas-New Mexico Railroad, West Texas & Lubbock Railway and other lines.
CHARLES CITY, Iowa — Faced with dark and muddy conditions, firefighters used a long ladder to rescue three railroad workers from a train derailment caused by a washed-out rail line near Charles City early Tuesday. No one was injured.
Tuesday night, Ed Greenberg, a spokesman for the Canadian Pacific Railroad, confirmed that the partially submerged 80-car train was leaking ethanol and diesel fuel into the Little Cedar River.
Read the complete story at Mason City Globe Gazette.
By Mike Futhey,
SMART Transportation Division President –
Throughout my career as a union officer, I have experienced every type of carrier safety program imaginable: from official company “snitches” to complex, overly burdensome and intrusive research, to innovative, cooperative, joint ventures. Employees need a program to know the program du jour.
When programs fall by the wayside, a newer, shinier version is released, with all the markings of its failing predecessor.
After such a critique, you may be surprised to know that, through it all, I have been a consistent proponent of collectively bargained, cooperative endeavors that recognize the real value of universal buy-in to a goal of a safer work environment.
The evidence is clear and convincing that a correlation exists between employee involvement and reduced incidences of on-duty injuries. There have been examples of carriers that have entered into collectively bargained agreements with our organization’s general committees that generated reduced rates of personal injuries on the job, only to see the positive results reversed when the agenda and agreement compliance morphed into a managerial option, with “reinterpretations” of long-standing proven processes becoming the standard.
There is one basic premise that must be recognized: “Our members are not masochists. This organization, from every level, desires to see each member go home safely at the end of the shift.”
We want to be a part of what works for the betterment of all concerned, but, we will not subscribe to a system designed to compromise the rights of the members we represent – we know the difference.
We know the difference when the managerial prerogative supersedes the integrity of the process.
We know the difference when the organization extends an offer to carriers to jointly explore a remedy for repeated violations of whistle-blower, provisions only to be met with “lawyering up.”
Genuine partnerships never, ever pull rank. Genuine partnerships must respect the integrity of the process and all who participate.
The process must be consistently adhered to, even when it is not comfortable to do so.
My message to the various decision-makers, whether they be in the airline, bus or railroad industry is, “it’s your call.”
The example you set will resonate, exposing the intent of your rhetoric. Do safety programs produce safety or manipulation of reality?
The answer to both is yes, if that becomes your intent.
Railroad Retirement Act spouse and widow(er)s’ annuities (including divorced spouse, surviving divorced spouse and remarried widow(er)s’ annuities) are subject to reduction when Social Security benefits or dual Railroad Retirement annuities are also payable. Such Railroad Retirement benefits may also be reduced when a spouse or widow(er) is entitled to a public service pension unless certain exemption requirements are met.
Since the payment of Railroad Retirement spouse or widow(er)s’ annuities can be affected by entitlement to certain other government benefits, such dual entitlement, if not reported to the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), can result in benefit overpayments which have to be repaid, sometimes with interest and penalties.
The following questions and answers describe how payments are adjusted by the RRB for spouse and widow(er) annuitants entitled to public service pensions.
1. For social security or railroad retirement purposes, what is considered a public service pension?
A public service pension is any periodic benefit payment, as well as lump-sum payments made in lieu of periodic payments, based on an individual’s own employment with a federal, state, or local government unit. Some examples are pensions paid to teachers, police officers, and civil service personnel on the basis of age or disability. Full salary benefits paid to a retired or resigned judge under the federal judiciary retirement system are also considered public service pensions.
Most military service pensions and payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs will not cause a reduction. A pension paid by a foreign government or an interstate instrumentality also has no effect on a spouse or widow(er)’s annuity.
2. How is the public service pension reduction applied to Railroad Retirement spouse or widow(er)s’ annuities?
For spouses and widow(er)s subject to the public service pension reduction, the Tier I reduction is, under current law, equal to 2/3 of the amount of the public pension. The amount of the public service pension is the current gross amount, before any deductions for income tax withholding, Medicare premiums, health insurance or other benefits.
3. What is the background of the public service reduction in spouse and widow(er)s’ annuities and how does it affect such payments?
The public service pension reduction in Social Security and Railroad Retirement spouse and widow(er)s’ benefits was brought about by 1977 Social Security legislation which also applied to the Tier I benefits of railroad retirement spouses and widow(er)s. The Tier I portion of a Railroad Retirement annuity is based on Railroad Retirement credits and any Social Security credits an employee has acquired. It is computed under social security formulas and approximates what social security would pay if railroad work were also covered by that system. Tier I benefits are, therefore, reduced in the same manner as Social Security benefits when certain other benefits are also payable.
4. Are there any provisions that would exempt Railroad Retirement spouse or widow(er) annuitants from the public service pension offsets?
Generally, in order to be exempt from a public service pension reduction, state and local government workers must be covered by social security throughout their last 60 months of employment with the pension-paying government entity.
The public pension reduction also does not apply to a spouse or widow(er) who filed for and became entitled to her or his Railroad Retirement annuity before December 1977, or to a spouse or widow(er) whose public pension is not based on her or his own earnings.
5. Where can more specific information on how these pension offsets affect Railroad Retirement benefits be obtained?
Persons can contact an RRB field office for information as to how their public service pensions could affect their railroad retirement benefits via the agency’s website, www.rrb.gov, or by calling toll-free at 1-877-772-5772. Most RRB offices are open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on federal holidays.
More than 60 people were injured after two Metro-North Railroad commuter trains collided during rush hour Friday evening near New York City.
An estimated 700 passengers were on board the two trains that collided just outside Bridgeport, Connecticut, according to New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. According to MTA, the crash occurred after a train that left New York’s Grand Central Station en route to Connecticut derailed and was hit head-on by another train.
Read the complete story at The Guardian Express.
Former UTU International President Charles L. Little, 77, died May 15 following a brief illness.
Little was the fifth president of the UTU, elected at the union’s seventh quadrennial convention in 1995 and re-elected in 1999. He served from Jan. 1, 1996, until his retirement in 2001.
Little began his railroading career with Houston Belt & Terminal Railroad Company in 1955. He became interested in union affairs and was elected local secretary & treasurer of Local 1524 in Houston in 1973. He was elected general chairperson of HB&T General Committee of Adjustment GO 425 in 1979.
At the union’s quadrennial convention in 1983, Little was elected an alternate International vice president. He was elevated to the office of vice president in 1984 and was elected to that office in 1987.
In 1991, he was elected to the office of general secretary & treasurer, serving under then International President G. Thomas DuBose.
During his tenure with the UTU, Little also held the offices of alternate delegate and delegate and served as labor co-director of the Houston Terminal Project.
A former U.S. Marine serving from 1953 to 1955, he is survived by his wife, Mary, and six children.
Services are pending near Little’s home in Leander, Texas.
Retired BNSF conductor and UTU member of Local 311 Art Ingalls, 69, is conducting again. This time, instead of trains, he’s conducting music.
Every year the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra of La Crosse, Wis., chooses five people to represent them and go out to the public and collect donations for them in their “Conductor Wannabe” contest.
The two people that raise the most amount of money get to conduct a piece of their choosing.
This year, Ingalls won first place in the contest, with donations totaling over $9,000. The second place winner raised $6,400. In all, the contest brought in $23,464 for the orchestra.
The five volunteers are usually “celebrities” in the community. Ingalls was chosen because a lot of people in La Crosse knew him growing up in the community, working on the railroad and for all of his volunteer work with the orchestra.
Ingalls has been a volunteer for the orchestra for the past 15 years. His sister-in-law became executive director 15 years ago and got him to start volunteering, and he’s been volunteering his time ever since.
Ingalls is considered a “volunteer extraordinaire” for the orchestra as he volunteers for many different events, including the committee for the Valentine Ball, Rising Stars concert, Fourth of July free concert, and the Symphony for Youth, among many other events.
“I consider this a great honor to represent the volunteers of the past, present and future,” Ingalls said, when asked why he was in the contest.
Ingalls expressed that he wanted to win this competition for all the volunteers that give up their time and energy to bring the orchestra together and make events happen.
“My campaign was to drum up the small donation: $5, $10, $20 donations,” Ingalls said. His theme for the contest that helped him win was “help me be a conductor again.”
At first, he had reservations about being able to raise money, but it turned out to be an enjoyable experience.
He got to get out and walk the streets of La Crosse and talked to a lot of people and business owners.
Saturday, April 20, Ingalls conducted Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. When asked if he had a background in music, Ingalls mentioned that he played the cello throughout high school.
Art Ingalls conducts the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra in performing Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man.