Year: 2013

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The state of Oregon’s House and Senate have been working to pass bills that are labor-friendly.

Most recently, H.B. 3342 passed through the House and has made its way into the Senate. If passed, the bill would outlaw public sector union-busting. Public employers will no longer be able to use public funds or use public property to hold meetings whose purpose is to deter or assist union organizing.

Two other bills that have passed the House and are awaiting Senate approval are H.B. 2950 and H.B. 2646. These bills would allow workers to take up to two weeks of unpaid leave to deal with the death of a family member and would require prevailing wages on all construction projects on public university lands, even if donor-funded.

Another pro-worker bill in the House is H.B. 3390, which seeks to mandate that employers with six or more employees provide employees with seven days of paid sick leave per year. 

05/02/13 UPDATE: Ohio right-to-work bills were considered “dead-on-arrival” as Senate Republic President Keith Faber rejected the bills last night in an after-hours press conference.
“We have an ambitious agenda focused on job creation and economic recovery, and Right to Work legislation is not on that list. After discussions with other leaders and my caucus, I don’t believe there is current support for this issue in the General Assembly,” Faber said. “The only purpose this discussion serves right now is to generate a bunch of breathless fundraising appeals from the Ohio Democratic Party.”
 
Original Story:
Ohio has joined Pa. and Mo. in the fight against right-to-work bills. Today, two Republican Ohio Representatives Kristina Roegner and Ron Maag submitted bills seeking to take away rights from unions and their members in Ohio.
Roegner’s bill goes after private-sector unions such as UTU-SMART while Maag’s bill focuses on unions of the public sector.
Ohioans are clearly against this type of legislation with 60 percent of Ohio voters having voted down similar legislation in Senate Bill 5 (SB 5) that was introduced in 2011. SB 5 almost cost Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich his job when he sought to make SB 5 law without allowing Ohioans to vote on it. Petitions and outcries were heard loud and clear in Ohio’s government and SB 5 went to the people to be voted on in November 2011 and was voted down.
Ohioans are still working on getting an amendment passed that would allow the people of Ohio to vote to remove a governor from office as a result of the SB 5 fiasco.
Kasich has refused to support any right-to-work bill since SB 5 failed and has instead remained focused on other legislation. Kasich has yet to weigh in on the new legislation that was introduced today.
Pennsylvania and Missouri are also facing similar bills in their respective Houses. Recently, the state of Maine rejected right-to-work bills in both the state House and Senate, effectively killing those bills.

BNSF_Color_LogoSpoon River College (SRC) of Canton, Ill., Carl Sandburg College (CSC) of Galesburg, Ill. and BNSF has partnered together to offer a new Rail Transportation & Power System Technology Certificate.

Students enrolled in the program will study circuits, hydraulics, welding, diesel tractor technology, engine systems, safety in the workplace and much more. Students will have classes at both SRC and CSC. CSC offers access to a BNSF switchyard where students will get hands-on experience. SRC and BNSF have donated equipment for students to use.

BNSF and SRC realized a while ago that current engine technicians (baby boomers) are getting ready to retire. BNSF’s business is booming and so they decided to take steps now to be ready for when the large number of employees retire.

Because of the distance (46 miles or about one hour) between SRC and CSC, the usual 18-week session that is standard for other degrees of this type at the college, has been condensed down into one eight-week session.

Students coming out of the one-year program (31 credit hours) will have obtained a certificate and the experience and training required to get a job with BNSF. Classes are set to start in the fall. SRC is accepting applications for the program now. 

anthony_foxx
Anthony Foxx

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold a confirmation hearing on transportation secretary nominee Anthony Foxx May 22, according to Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.).

President Obama announced April 29 Anthony Foxx as his nominee for the next Secretary of Transportation.

Foxx is currently the mayor of Charlotte, N.C, which he helped turn around since taking office in 2009. Both the city and country were going through a “bruising economic crisis,” President Obama said.

“The economy is growing. There are more jobs, more opportunity,” he said. “And if you ask Anthony how that happened, he’ll tell you that one of the reasons is that Charlotte made one of the largest investments in transportation in the city’s history.

“Since Anthony took office, they’ve broken ground on a new streetcar project that’s going to bring modern electric tram service to the downtown area. They’ve expanded the international airport. And they’re extending the city’s light rail system. All of that has not only helped create new jobs, it’s helped Charlotte become more attractive to business.”

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) bus operation is manned by SMART Transportation Division operators and mechanics.

President Obama said that one of the best ways we can grow our economy and rebuild opportunity for the middle class is by putting more Americans back to work by investing in rebuilding our infrastructure.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama proposed a “Fix-It-First” program to put more people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs.

“We need to modernize the infrastructure that powers our economy. We need more high-speed rail, and Internet, and high-tech schools, and self-healing power grids, and bridges, and tunnels, and ports that help us ship products all around the world stamped with three proud words: Made in America. That’s how we’re going to attract more businesses. That’s how we’re going to create more jobs. That’s how we’re going to stay competitive in this global economy.”

President Obama also thanked current Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood for his hard work and dedication to public service.

“Over the past four years, thanks to Ray’s leadership, we’ve built or improved more than 350,000 miles of road — enough to circle the world more than 14 times. We’ve upgraded more than 6,000 miles of rail — enough to go coast to coast and back. We’ve repaired or replaced more than 20,000 bridges, and helped put tens of thousands of construction workers back on the job.

“He is a good man, and has been an outstanding public servant and a model for the kind of bipartisan approach to governance that I think we need so badly in this town,” President Obama said.

Foxx’s transportation credentials include his push for expanding the city’s LYNX streetcar to UNC-Charlotte, creating the Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility that transfers cargo between trucks and trains, and building a new runway at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.

Foxx was born on April 30, 1971, in Charlotte. He was first elected to the Charlotte City Council in 2005, and was elected mayor on November 3, 2009, winning 51.5 percentof the vote and defeating his City Council colleague, Republican John Lassiter. He won a second term on November 8, 2011, winning more than two-thirds of the vote against Republican Scott Stone.

cdl-drivers-manual_webThe federal government is relaxing a rule for drivers of buses and large trucks who are involved in out-of-state traffic violations. ??

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, an office of the Department of Transportation, is eliminating a requirement that drivers notify their state’s licensing agency when they are convicted of a traffic offense in another state. ??

In its final rule published in the Federal Register April 26, FMCSA amends its commercial driver’s license (CDL) rules to eliminate the requirement for drivers to notify the state licensing agency that issued their commercial learner’s permit (CLP) or CDL of out-of-state traffic convictions when those convictions occur in states that have a certified CDL program in substantial compliance with FMCSA’s rules.

Current regulations require both CDL holders and states with certified CDL programs to report a CDL holder’s out-of-state traffic conviction to the driver’s state of licensure.

This final rule amends the CDL rules to eliminate this reporting redundancy for those cases in which the conviction occurs in a state that has a certified CDL program in substantial compliance with FMCSA’s regulations. This change will reduce a regulatory burden on individual CLP and CDL holders and state driver licensing agencies.

“The anticipated benefits of the rule will take the form of reduced paperwork burden hours and expenditures for the reporting of out-of-state traffic convictions,” the agency said in the new rule.

Under the rule, which will take effect in 30 days, states will continue sending reports to each other, but no action will be required from drivers.

“This is a favorable change to this rule, however, it does not eliminate a commercial driver, especially a bus driver, from following a carrier’s policy of reporting traffic or moving violations to the company once convicted, or based on the individual company policy,” said SMART Transportation Bus Vice President Bonnie Morr. “Drivers still need to report a violation based on their employer’s policy.”

The change comes as result of an Obama administration initiative to reduce regulatory burdens. ??

In 2011, the Transportation Department asked the public for suggestions on possible ways to cut back on unnecessary rules.

The SMART Transportation Division’s Legislative Office in offered suggestions to the FMCSA in February 2011.

The federal government has set minimum national standards for drivers of commercial vehicles since the 1986 enactment of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act, but each state has its own procedures and rules for the licenses. ??

In order to receive highway and grant funding, states must meet the benchmarks of the commercial driver’s license program, which includes a requirement that states report commercial drivers’ out-of-state traffic convictions to their home state within 10 days. Drivers were required to report the convictions within 30 days.

RRB logo; Railroad Retirement BoardBANGOR, Maine – Gerald E. Bailey, 68, of Pittston, Maine pled guilty on Tuesday, April 23 to charges of collecting pension that he was not entitled to.

Bailey retired from Springfield Terminal Railway in 2004 and began receiving his pension payments from the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). According to an affidavit filed by assistant U.S. attorney Gail Fisk Malone, Bailey returned to work from 2007 to 2010 with the Maine Eastern Railroad.

Bailey was able to avoid detection during that time by using another person’s social security number and name on his time cards. He received pension totaling $83,398 during that time which he was not entitled to.

Once you retire, it is illegal to continue to work and receive funds from the RRB at the same time. Employers are required to report earnings of each employee yearly to the RRB. It is unclear how the RRB detected the fraud.

At sentencing, Bailey could face up to 10 years in prison with three years of parole and fines up to $250,000. Bailey was not a member of the UTU.

SAN ANTONIO – A bill giving school bus drivers in Texas the power to discipline students by sending them to the principal’s office has passed in the Texas Senate.

Although the bill passed the Senate, it still has to pass in the House before it can become law. The Public Education Committee is reviewing the companion House bill.

SB Railroad Days steam locoSAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A steam powered excursion train will be operated to San Bernardino Railroad Days this weekend. The train will have six private passenger cars that will be pulled by the 1927 AT&SF Steam Locomotive 3751.

A diesel-powered Metrolink Locomotive will be placed behind the steam locomotive to provide head end power.  The passenger cars are:
1. “Tioga Pass” – a 1959 Canadian National business car,
2. “Pony Express” – a 1941 Canadian Pacific baggage/express car and rebuilt as a lounge car,
3. “Acoma” – a 1937 AT&SF lounge-dormitory car,
4. “Overland Trail” – a 1949 club-lounge car,
5. “National Forum” – a 1954 UP open-section sleeping car,
6. and the 1988/89 Amtrak Horizon Fleet chair car built as a coach for Amtrak by Bombardier.
The displays will include New BNSF locomotives, Passenger cars, 1927 Santa Fe Steam Locomotive No. 3751, antique vehicles, model railroad displays, historic fire apparatus, BNSF Operation Lifesaver, the Orange Empire Railway Museum’s Harvey Girls, Women in Railroading, the National Association of Retired and Veteran Railroad Employees, the Pacific Railroad Society and the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society.
The San Bernardino History & Railroad Museum, the San Bernardino Historical & Pioneer Society, BNSF and the city of San Bernardino are hosting the event. The event will be held April 27 & 28 and hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free with free parking. Tickets to ride on the steam locomotive are sold out. More information can be found at http://www.sbdepotmuseum.com/.

IAHA logoVANCOUVER, Wash. — The International Air and Hospitality Academy has added a new program called the Northwest Railroad Institute. The new degree program will be the fourth such program offered in the U.S.

Students taking the six-month program will be provided with training for freight railroad careers including freight conductors, conductor trainees, brakemen, switchmen and yardmen. Training for engineers and passenger conductors is not yet available.

The degree will consist of nine units including yard switching operations, air brakes and train handling rules and hazardous materials practices and handling.

The institute reckons that nearly 20 to 25 percent of the rail workforce will be eligible for retirement within the next couple of years and entry-level jobs will become available.

“A diploma from the Northwest Railroad Institute soon will be a ticket for landing an entry-level job in the railroad industry,” said Terry Keene. Keene is a member of the school’s advisory committee and worked for BNSF Railway for 39 years and was a member of UTU Local 1977.

To start the academy will only be accepting 50 students to the program. Students must have a high school diploma or GED to apply and be at least 18 years of age. The school will start to accept applications for the program beginning June 15 and classes are set to start July 15. 

Similar programs are offered at two locations of Modoc Railroad Academy near Sacramento, Calif. and Marion, Ill., and at the National Academy of Railroad Sciences at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan.

Edward Wytkind, chairman of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, testified April 24 before the House of Representative’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Panel on 21st century freight transportation.

Read his testimony here.