Year: 2014

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Rich Ross

In representation elections held May 15 on both bus and rail properties, the SMART Transportation Division came out on top, keeping the Organizing Department’s 2014 undefeated streak alive.

Yet another division of First Student bus operators has joined the SMART fold as Kansas City, Mo., school bus drivers overwhelmingly selected SMART over both the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union.

Of eligible voters, 107 selected SMART Transportation Division, 63 selected the Teamsters, 16 selected SEIU and just seven chose to vote for no union.

“This was a hard-fought campaign, but it was also a well-run campaign,” said Transportation Division Director of Organizing Rich Ross. “We won, and we won by a large majority because we spent a lot of time out there making our case. The operators wanted representation and chose the best bang for their buck.”

“We were out near the property every day at 4:30 a.m. to get our message across. The Teamsters came out in force with their parade truck, trying to block us from view, but the First Student operators found us.”

Ross lauded the efforts of Alternate Vice President-Bus Calvin Studivant and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority General Chairperson Waverly Harris (1594) and Vice Local Chairperson Brian Caldwell (1594). He also thanked CSX and Norfolk Southern new-hire class instructor Justin Humphries Local 1291 Chairperson Jacob Lane for their dedicated service throughout the campaign and Local 759 member Sheny M. Mendez for acting as an interpreter for the company’s Spanish-speaking employees.

In Western Michigan, the train and engine service workers employed by Marquette Rail also said “SMART” when they opted for union representation.

With the assistance of Vice President Jeremy Ferguson, Ross concluded another successful campaign in the Great Lakes State.

The Genesee & Wyoming-owned short line operates over approximately 126 miles of Michigan track, primarily on rail route extensions from CSX and Norfolk Southern near Grand Rapids northward to Ludington and Manistee.

Marquette transports chemicals, paperboard, grain, salt, petroleum products and other commodities. It also serves as a storage agent for fleet owners requiring accommodations for seasonally inactive or off-lease rolling stock. Capacity is in excess of 500 railcars.

In representation elections held May 15 on both bus and rail properties, the SMART Transportation Division came out on top, keeping the Organizing Department’s 2014 undefeated streak alive.
Yet another division of First Student bus operators has joined the SMART fold as Kansas City, Mo., school bus drivers overwhelming selected SMART over both the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union.
Of eligible voters, 107 selected SMART Transportation Division, 63 selected the Teamsters, 16 selected SEIU and just seven chose to vote for no union.
“This was a hard-fought campaign, but it was also a well-run campaign,” said Transportation Division Director of Organizing Rich Ross. “We won, and we won by a large majority because we spent a lot of time out there making our case. The operators wanted representation and chose the best bang for their buck.”
“We were out near the property every day at 4:30 a.m. to get our message across. The Teamsters came out in force with their parade truck, trying to block us from view, but the First Student operators found us.
Ross lauded the efforts of Alternate Vice President-Bus Calvin Studivant and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority General Chairperson Waverly Harris (1594) and Vice Local Chairperson Brian Caldwell (1594). He also thanked CSX and Norfolk Southern new-hire class instructor Justin Humphries Local 1291 Chairperson Jacob Lane for their dedicated service throughout the campaign and Local 759 member Sheny M. Mendez for acting as an interpreter for the company’s Spanish-speaking employees.
In Western Michigan, the train and engine service workers employed by Marquette Rail also said “SMART” when they opted for union representation.
With the assistance of Vice President Jeremy Ferguson, Ross concluded another successful campaign in the Great Lakes State.
The Genesee & Wyoming-owned short line operates over approximately 126 miles of Michigan track, primarily on rail route extensions from CSX and Norfolk Southern near Grand Rapids northward to Ludington and Manistee.
Marquette transports chemicals, paperboard, grain, salt, petroleum products and other commodities. It also serves as a storage agent for fleet owners requiring accommodations for seasonally inactive or off-lease rolling stock. Capacity is in excess of 500 railcars.

Presidential Emergency Board 245 determined May 20 that “the Unions’ final offer is the most reasonable” in the four-year-old bargaining dispute between the International Association of Sheet, Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers and its allied unions and the Long Island Rail Road.
The PEB report sets in motion a final 60-day cooling off period. If no agreement is reached during that time, SMART and the other unions can strike on July 19 under provisions of the Railway Labor Act.
Under the RLA’s special 9A provisions for disputes involving commuter railroads, if the parties do not reach agreement after a first PEB issues its recommendations, a second PEB is convened to decide which side’s final offer is the most reasonable.
On Dec. 21, 2013, PEB 244 recommended a six-year contract with 17.9 percent in compounded wage increases. The board also recommended that employees begin paying health insurance premiums that reduced the net value of the proposed contract to 2.5 percent per year. The board rejected Long Island Rail Road’s proposal for sweeping pension, work rule, and other concessions.
In its report, the board notes that “the lack of notice and bargaining on substantial issues in the Carrier’s final offer is of significant concern … The Unions’ final offer, on the other hand, represents a reasonable balance addressing the priorities of both parties … It is noteworthy that the Unions’ assertion that real wage increases for LIRR employees, absent inflation, have not increased at all since 1991, was not challenged by the Carrier.”
“A strong union requires strong members,” said SMART General President Joseph Nigro. “The courage and fortitude these members exhibited shows that there is nothing stronger than the solidarity that comes when working families are united. They are proof of that.
“SMART will provide all the resources needed to ensure an agreement worthy of ratification by these members is produced. They have fought for and deserve every advance they make and will make in the future.”
“Our members on LIRR, led by General Chairperson Anthony Simon, are to be commended for their resolve in seeking the fair and equitable agreement to which they are entitled,” said SMART Transportation Division President John Previsich. “From the very beginning, SMART advised all concerned that management’s offer of a substandard contract was unacceptable and that we would not hold back in our efforts to obtain a just agreement.
“Throughout negotiations and mediation, our position was firm and consistent and management refused to listen. Now that our position is validated by both Presidential Emergency Board 244 and again with PEB 245, it is time for this issue to be resolved. We will not rest until our members receive the agreement that they deserve.”
SMART, along with its coalition partners Transportation Communications Union, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers-Service Employees International Union, submitted the recommendations of the first board to PEB 245 as its final offer.
MTA, which conducted the bargaining for Long Island Rail Road, rejected PEB 244’s recommendations as a basis for settlement. Instead, MTA proposed as its final offer what it claimed was equivalent value to a deal it reached on April 17, 2014, four days before PEB 245 hearings began, with Transport Workers Union Local 100 representing 35,000 New York City Transit Authority workers. The offer was for 11 percent in wage increases over six years, with a 2 percent employee contribution to health insurance, major pension concessions, and a new, reduced-rate progression for new employees.
PEB 245 decisively ruled for the unions. The three-member panel, comprised of renowned arbitrators Joshua Javits, David Vaughn and Elizabeth Wesman, wrote, “The Unions’ final offer … represents a reasonable balance addressing the priorities of both parties.”
In rejecting MTA’s final offer, the board found that there were no consistencies with any comparisons made by the MTA, and the lack of detail to any comparables did not prove that their final offer was reasonable. As PEB 244 noted, state employee agreements have virtually never constituted valid comparators or patterns for commuter railroads. The labor markets, skills, history, and operations are completely different.
SMART Transportation Division Alternate Vice President and General Chairperson Anthony Simon, spokesman for the SMART, TCU, IAM and NCFO-SEIU coalition, called upon MTA “to accept reality and sign the PEB-recommended contract immediately.”
“Our members and all the hard working men and women on the Long Island Rail Road have waited long enough. We sincerely hope MTA will not stick to its twice-rejected position. We are fully prepared to strike on July 19 if MTA continues to stonewall the process,” Simon said.
To read the complete report of PEB 245, click here.

A dedicated group of volunteers from the Central Pennsylvania Building Trades Council and the Ned Smith Center for Nature & Art’s Lands and Trails Committee celebrated the opening of a new footbridge this week, thanks to the completion of a conservation project spearheaded by the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s (USA) ‘Work Boots on the Ground” program. The project involved the hands-on work of about 12 volunteers over two consecutive weekends in April, to tear out the existing, temporary, all-wood bridge and to reconstruct it as a permanent structure, complete with new hand rails and gravel.
The USA’s ‘Work Boots on the Ground’ program, a volunteer initiative that mobilizes skilled labor union volunteers for conservation projects, was tapped by long-time USA member and Ned Smith Board of Trustees Member Matt Roberts. When he learned about the Center’s need to replace its older footbridge in disrepair, Roberts brought the idea for a ‘Work Boots’ project to the attention of the Central Pennsylvania Building Trades Council, and they agreed it would be a great fit.
“I felt this was a perfect situation to bring it all together,” said Roberts, noting the weather was the only small challenge to the volunteer crews out on the job to complete the project. “We had rain from lunch on,” he said, “but the guys wouldn’t give in to Mother Nature’s fury.”
Dedicated crews made up of union sheet metal workers, steel workers and carpenters, along with
community volunteers from the Ned Smith Center for Nature & Art, worked to complete the bridge over a two-day period, despite the weather.
Fred Myers, Executive Director and CEO of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, said that speaks to the spirit of the outdoorsmen and women who enjoy membership in the USA, volunteering their time and talents to support conservation projects.
“There’s no group of people with more skills and know-how than union members to help take on today’s conservation challenges,” said Myers, who founded the non-profit organization seven years ago. “All over the country, we are forming committees, identifying needs, raising money and taking on projects to ensure future generations can enjoy the outdoor opportunities that we enjoy today.”
Ned Smith Center for Nature & Art is home to 12-miles of hiking trails and offers educational value for the thousands of students, families, hikers, anglers and hunters who visit the Center’s 500-plus acres each year. The Center’s Executive Director, Stephen Quigley, is grateful for the partnership between the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance and the Center, in particular, its joint commitment to educating youth.
“The union contractors and partners involved in this project have personal lives as sportsmen themselves, enjoying the outdoors…and know that the youth today are not as connected to the environment as a generation ago,” said Quigley. “While the team worked well together and had fun doing the project, they understand that there is a significant purpose in using these projects as a catalyst for educating our youth about the environment and conservation of our natural resources.”
For more information on the Ned Smith Center’s lands, galleries and education programming, please visit www.nedsmithcenter.org.

PHILADELPHIA – A CBS 3 I-Team investigation reveals the dangers when cars and people wind up in the path of trains along SEPTA’s Regional Rail Lines.

Eyewitness News Reporter Walt Hunter spoke exclusively with a veteran engineer and conductor who tell of the horrifying moments when wrecks happen.

Read the complete story at CBS News Philadelphia.

Conductor Ed Lyons is a member of SMART Transportation Division Local 61 at Philadelphia, Pa.

A White House-appointed mediation panel Tuesday rejected an MTA proposal for a Long Island Rail Road union contract for the second time, calling labor leaders’ offer of a 17 percent, six-year pact a “reasonable” solution.

In its nonbinding recommendation issued last evening, the three-member Presidential Emergency Board 245 called the LIRR unions’ proposal for the contract and, for the first time, employee health benefit contributions “a reasonable balance addressing the priorities of both parties.”

Read the complete story at Newsday.

OSHA logo; OSHADENVER – Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway has been ordered to pay more than $526,000 in back wages and other damages to two workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA found that the company, based in Fort Worth, Texas, was in violation of the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act for terminating the employees in 2010 and 2011 for reporting a workplace injury that occurred at the company’s Havre, Mont., terminal.

“An employer cannot retaliate against employees who report an injury,” said Gregory Baxter, OSHA’s regional administrator in Denver. “OSHA recognizes that employers can legitimately have, and apply, policies to require prompt injury reporting; however, that is not what happened here. When employers mask their retaliatory intent through application of a policy or rule, they violate the law.”

The former employees submitted complaints to OSHA alleging violations of the anti-retaliation provisions of the FRSA. Because of these complaints, OSHA conducted an investigation and determined that the reporting of the work-related injury was a factor in each former employee’s termination, which is a direct violation of the FRSA. Burlington Northern has been ordered to pay back wages with interest, compensatory damages and attorney’s fees, while reinstating and expunging the two employees’ work records.

The reporting of an injury, regardless of an employer’s policy or deadline, is a protected activity under well-established law. The railway carrier failed to demonstrate that it would have taken the same unfavorable personnel action in the absence of the behavior protected by the FRSA.

Burlington Northern or the complainant may file objections or request a hearing before the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges within 30 days of receipt of OSHA’s order. OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA and 21 other statutes, protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, worker safety, public transportation agency, maritime and securities laws.

Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor to request an investigation by OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program. Detailed information on employee whistleblower rights, including fact sheets, is available at http://www.whistleblowers.gov.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

railyard, train yard; trainsThe freight rail industry faces a new tide of regulation that threatens what has been a remarkable industry comeback over the last three decades, from the depths of bankruptcy to one of the strongest industry sectors in the U.S. economy.

To put a finer point on it, the U.S. industry that the National Academies of Engineering called “the envy of the world” is under threat from U.S. regulators weighing a proposal that would smother freight rail growth and have a cascading impact on freight rail’s ability to deliver goods and products.

Read the complete story at Forbes.

LANSING, Mich. – Americans for Prosperity, the conservative advocacy group supported by the Koch brothers, has launched an effort to torpedo a proposed settlement in the Detroit bankruptcy case, potentially complicating chances for completing the deal just as its prospects seemed to be improving.

The organization, formed to fight big government and spending, is contacting 90,000 conservatives in Michigan and encouraging them to rally against a plan to provide $195 million in state money to help settle Detroit pension holders’ claims in the case, a key element of the deal.

Read the complete story at the Associated Press.

The railroad industry took a step toward resolving a dispute with American Indian tribes that has stalled the biggest rail-safety project in U.S. history.

The $13.2 billion build-out of networks of sensors, which automatically slow or stop trains if a crash seems probable, has been held up as some tribes exercised their rights to review whether tower construction would affect their sacred grounds. The Federal Communications Commission said today that it reached an agreement with seven rail companies to begin testing on 11,000 poles that had already been constructed.

Read the complete story at Bloomberg News.