SMART UnionMcCOOK, Neb. – Great Lakes Airlines will suspend its flights to and from McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport in southwestern Nebraska next month.
Commercial air service will be suspended effective April 1 through April 27, Great Lakes Airlines announced Wednesday (March 12). The airline currently offers flights from McCook to Denver and back.
Read the complete story at The Bismarck Tribune.
The Benchmark building information modeling (BIM) training software has become a feather in the cap of unionized sheet metal education. Members can be trained and certified on the system, a three-dimensional collaborative drafting program that allows skilled union workers to design heating and air conditioning systems, and take the technology with them to their contractor for continual on-the-job use. Benchmark contains a number of modules, including detailing, estimation, fabrication, field installation, land-based positioning, project management, administration and fitting input.
With approximately 160 training centers across the country, many in rural areas, workers can’t always make it to one of 39 training centers accredited to train and certify in BIM. Therefore, the International Training Institute for the unionized sheet metal industry (ITI) also offers online training, on-site contractor training for small and large companies and hosts academy classes for large numbers of students at training centers nationwide.
“They see Benchmark and they see savings,” said Ron McGuire, BIM program coordinator for the ITI. “For the big contractors, it’s a great opportunity. It’s also great for a small contractor because they can’t afford to spend $10,000 to $20,000 on software to be competitive on BIM.”
Apollo Mechanical, a $200 million annual contractor in Kennewick, Wash., saw an opportunity with Benchmark to get software, training and support for little monetary investment.
“We’ve always been detailers, but you’re always looking for that product to take it to the next level. Benchmark came along, and it was practical. We could put our union detailers to work. It was economical,” said Michael Daniel, CAD manager at Apollo Mechanical. Although it didn’t cost tangible dollars to have their employees trained, Apollo Mechanical invested 40 hours per employee to take the certification class. “If your department is set up to do BIM and detailing, you’re set up to run the program. But you have to invest in your people.”
As McGuire said, Benchmark software can benefit smaller companies as well. AIRmasters in Springfield, Ill. added a construction division to the 20-year-old heating, cooling, refrigeration and sheet metal company in 2012. The company started its detailing department last summer. Currently, Donny Kerber, HVAC project manager and estimator, is the only employee using Benchmark.
For a smaller company, having Benchmark available to them opens doors. The company can bid on retrofit projects and negotiate work they couldn’t before, as well as complete projects for existing service clients instead of referring customers to other contractors.
“If they have an outdated system and they need a new system, we can do it all in-house now,” Kerber said.
No matter the size of the company, Benchmark helps save time. Three-dimensional BIM software allows draftsmen more control over a project. Additional visibility, as well as the ability to make easier changes to existing designs, allows every detail to be in view as if the designer were standing in front of a finished product. The software allows the trial and error in a project to be reduced to very little, if any.
“Without any software like this, you’re sending a guy into the field to measure everything,” Kerber said. “With this, I have a three-dimensional drawing to work off of. It cuts many steps out of the process. It frees us up to do larger jobs.”
Kerber and Daniel agree Benchmark’s support staff is a great value. No matter the question or problem, the staff is there to guide them.
“A lot of the support staff with Benchmark have come up through the construction industry and know the type of things we go up against,” Daniel said. “In all, you really have to do what makes sense for your business, for your company. Commercial companies want to sell software. They say they’re going to do all these things, but when you get it, it doesn’t do what it said it would. Benchmark delivered on what it said it would. I’ve been doing this too long. I wouldn’t use something that didn’t deliver what it says.”More than 15,000 apprentices are registered at training facilities in the United States and Canada. The ITI is jointly sponsored by SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (formerly the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association) and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA).
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) March 13 announced a proposal to require interstate commercial truck and bus companies to use Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) in their vehicles to improve compliance with the safety rules that govern the number of hours a driver can work.
The proposed rulemaking would significantly reduce the paperwork burden associated with hours-of-service recordkeeping for interstate truck and bus drivers – the largest in the federal government following tax-related filings – and improve the quality of logbook data.
“Today’s proposal will improve safety while helping businesses by cutting unnecessary paperwork – exactly the type of government streamlining President Obama called for in his State of the Union address,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “By leveraging innovative technology with Electronic Logging Devices, we have the opportunity to save lives and boost efficiency for both motor carriers and safety inspectors.”
The proposed rule will ultimately reduce hours-of-service violations by making it more difficult for drivers to misrepresent their time on logbooks and avoid detection by FMCSA and law enforcement personnel. Analysis shows it will also help reduce crashes by fatigued drivers and prevent approximately 20 fatalities and 434 injuries each year for an annual safety benefit of $394.8 million.
“By implementing Electronic Logging Devices, we will advance our mission to increase safety and prevent fatigued drivers from getting behind the wheel,” said Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “With broad support from safety advocates, carriers and members of Congress, we are committed to achieving this important step in the commercial bus and truck industries.”
The Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which was sent to the Federal Register to publish on March 12, supersedes a prior 2011 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking related to electronic on-board recorders. It includes provisions to:
In developing the updated proposal, FMCSA relied on input from its Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee, feedback from two public listening sessions and comments filed during an extended period following the 2011 proposed rule. The proposal also incorporates the mandates included in the most recent transportation bill, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Act, and other statutes.
Impaired driving, including fatigue, was listed as a factor in more than 12 percent of the 129,120 total crashes that involved large trucks or buses in 2012.
New federal regulations designed to improve safety for the motoring public by reducing the risk of truck driver fatigue took effect on July 1, 2013: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/news/news-releases/2013/fmcsa-40-13.aspx.
On Aug. 1, 2013, the Obama Administration announced another proposal to eliminate a burdensome daily paperwork requirement for professional truck drivers, daily vehicle inspection reports, and reduce costs to the industry by an estimated $1.7 billion annually while maintaining safety standards: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/news/news-releases/2013/FMCSA-46-13.aspx.
For more information on the Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Electronic Logging Devices, see: www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/rulemakings/rule-programs/rule_making_details.aspx?ruleid=475.
By Bonnie Morr,
Vice President, Bus –
In December, I attended a school bus summit in Washington hosted by the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO. Though the topics of discussion centered around school bus issues, many were pertinent to our global bus community.
Whether we are operating a tour bus, transit bus, school bus, van or shuttle, we are dealing with the same types of management and the same problems, concerns and health issues.
The one topic that really stirs my gut has to do with the practice of privatization. Privatization involves handing over control of public functions to private companies. The government pays a contractor to provide public services. Often, the contractors are foreign entities. Our tax dollars, that are used to fund public transit – rail or bus – that fund school bus systems and special-service transportation, are now going offshore. These contractors are running operations here and are doing it for a profit. How are they making a profit? Off of the backs of labor – by cutting wages and benefits. That’s how.
Our own tax dollars are being used to cheapen our labor, lowering the standard of living for our families and causing harm to our future and the futures of our sons and daughters. This is wrong – very wrong. We must have legislation that compels any company receiving one cent of public money to protect the employees and their families by providing decent wages and health benefits. And when they make a profit, so should the worker. Not one tax dollar should be used against the people that pay the taxes.
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Congress and the Obama Administration have provided transit agencies with opportunities to replace and expand vehicle fleets, restore and modernize aging infrastructure, and engage in procurements that had been deferred or cancelled due to the current economic situation. The goal of that act was to ensure that these purchases “preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery.” Let’s apply the same principle to our service jobs and keep our tax dollars from going overseas. Let’s stop outsourcing our service jobs to foreign companies. It is time for our legislators to get to work on what is in the best interest of the American people.
The Metro-North Railroad has fallen prey to a “deficient safety culture” that prizes on-time performance at the expense of protecting riders and workers, according to a blistering federal review that was ordered after a spate of rail disasters.
The review, from the Federal Railroad Administration, found that the commuter railroad’s operations control center pressured workers “to rush when responding to signal failures,” and that workers struggled to secure the track time needed to perform essential repairs.
Read the complete story at The New York Times.
SMART Transportation Division National Legislative Director James Stem testified March 12 before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy.
The subcommittee’s hearing was held in regard to Senate Bill S.1009, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act, which would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to establish an evaluative framework for chemical risk assessment and management.
Representing thousands of men and women working as railroad employees, who transport thousands of tons of of chemical products each day, Stem offered the subcommittee the union’s assistance in crafting effective, bipartisan reform of the nation’s chemical safety law.
Stem’s complete testimony is below:
“Chairman Shimkus, Ranking Member Tonko and members of the subcommittee:
“Thank you for inviting me to testify at the hearing today on the Chemicals in Commerce Act, the CICA. Currently the CICA is a discussion draft and we appreciate this opportunity to offer input at this stage of the process.
“My name is James Stem. I serve here in Washington as the National Legislative Director of the Transportation Division of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation Workers. We were formerly the United Transportation Union before we completed our merger with the Sheet Metal Workers in 2011. We represent the thousands of men and women who are working as railroad employees today. Each day these employees safely move thousands of tons of a variety of chemical products that are requested by local businesses and local government bodies throughout our country.
“I wish to commend the Subcommittee for its work on CICA, which aims to modernize and strengthen the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) as you continue to refine this draft. As you know, our union and others have already voiced support for the Senate’s effort to modernize and strengthen TSCA through S. 1009, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act. We commend the balanced, bipartisan approach taken by the Senate, and will support that approach in the House as you work to formally introduce the CICA. We are eager to work with you to help pass bipartisan TSCA reform in 2014. Since this is a discussion draft and not a bill, my testimony will address the needed reforms to the TSCA of 1976, which is the goal of all of us gathered in this room.
“Modernizing TSCA takes on new urgency as our American chemical industry prepares to make major investments in U.S. production facilities in the wake of the natural gas boom. The industry has announced over $100 billion in planned U.S. investments that will not only use domestic natural gas to make products but also put our American people to work. The U.S. chemical industry will generate tens of thousands of new American jobs in manufacturing, construction, energy infrastructure, technology, transportation and additional research and development. The industry already provides 800,000 well paid U.S. jobs and indirectly supports millions more. The substantial tonnage of chemical shipments on the nation’s freight railroads helps to support good railroad jobs. Exporting thousands of tons of chemical products manufactured in this country by American workers is not a dream, but a realistic appraisal of the opportunities on the table today.
“Transporting the needed chemical products that our U.S. manufacturing sector requires from the chemical production facilities to the final destination by rail is the safest form of transportation. Railroads have the capacity and the experienced workforce to move these products safely and efficiently without putting thousands of tanker trucks on our overburdened highways.
“We support reform that will achieve the following goals: (1) strengthen our chemical safety law to protect human health and the environment; (2) restore public confidence about the safety of chemicals in commerce; and (3) help the U.S. chemical industry innovate and grow, so it can provide good jobs. Directly and indirectly, TSCA impacts chemical safety, our economy, and the health and well-being of many workers and families. Americans in every state need to be confident in their homes, workplaces and communities that our nation’s chemical regulations are robust and working to protect them.
“The CICA in its final version will provide improvements to fix significant problems that have been encountered with TSCA:
“These improvements will make TSCA more effective. However, we recognize that the drafting process must address additional significant issues. We support bipartisan cooperation to find solutions to the outstanding issues. For example:
“In closing, we thank you again for your work on this important issue and look forward to assisting your efforts to craft effective, bipartisan reform of our nation’s chemical safety law. We look forward to working with the committee to offer additional input as this process continues.”
SMART Transportation Division National Legislative Director James Stem, third from left, testifies
before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy.
WASHINGTON – The nation’s freight railroads this year project they will spend approximately $26 billion to build, maintain, and upgrade their nationwide rail network, according to an estimate released March 12 by the Association of American Railroads. Railroads also expect to hire more than 12,000 people in 2014, for jobs throughout all areas of the industry and located all across the U.S.
“This year’s projected record investments continue a decades-long trend of private railroad dollars that sustain America’s freight rail network, so taxpayer’s don’t have to,” said AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger. “The result is a rail network that is the envy of the world, serving both freight and passenger railroads, and this massive private financial commitment is a demonstration of the industry’s resolve to never stop improving.”
Hamberger noted that freight railroads have invested approximately $550 billion of their own money into the rail network since 1980, including $115 billion in the past five years alone. From upgrades to bridges and tunnels to new tracks and facilities, freight rail infrastructure is constantly maintained and upgraded to meet the demands of an evolving economy. Thanks to a strong rail network infrastructure, railroads in recent years have been able to successfully meet increased demand for intermodal shipping, a booming domestic energy market and more. The industry’s investments also include implementing the latest safety technology across the rail network.
“The rail industry is committed to safety and we’re investing record amounts to implement safety enhancing technology across the network,” Hamberger said. “Railroads are working to deliver a safe, modern and efficient rail network that can reliably serve our customers and communities. And at the same time, this spending creates jobs for more American workers.”
The freight railroads estimate they will hire more than 12,000 employees in 2014, up from a projected 11,000 new hires in 2013. Company job listings can be accessed via www.aar.org/jobs.
“Freight rail is a great industry for a potentially life-long career with one of our great railroad companies,” Hamberger said. “America’s railroads also have a long history of hiring veterans, and railroad careers rank among the best for military veterans and their families.”
Tomorrow, advocates and representatives from the freight rail community will participate in Rail Day 2014, meeting with policymakers and elected representatives on Capitol Hill to stress the importance of America’s railroads to our economy. “Today’s news of record investments and steady hiring demonstrates how America’s economy rides the rails,” Hamberger said. “That’s a message we’re eager to share.”
In an effort put forth by SMART TD’s Director of Organizing Rich Ross, SMART TD brought three short lines to the fold in an election held March 4, 5 and 6.
The short lines are all owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc., and included: Conecuh Valley Railway, LLC, Three Notch Railroad and Wiregrass Central Railway.
“I would like to thank NS/CSX new hire Instructor/Organizer Justin Humphries for his help in this organizing effort,” Ross said.
The Conecuh Valley Railway (COEH) operates over 12 miles of track southwest from Troy, Ala., to Goshen, Ala. The COEH interchanges with CSX at Troy and handles about 3,000 carloads per year. The line transports poultry feed ingredients, plastic, lead, vegetable oil and food products.
The Three Notch Railroad (TNHR) operates over 34 miles of track southeast from Georgiana, Ala., to Andalusia, Ala. TNHR interchanges with CSX at Georgiana and handles approximately 1,050 carloads per year. The line carries chemicals, polypropylene, fertilizer and agricultural products.
The Wiregrass Central Railway (WGCR) operates 20 miles of track in Alabama, west from Waterford to Enterprise. The line intersects with CSX at Waterford and handles around 8,200 carloads per year, carrying poultry feed ingredients, peanut products and seed.
WASHINGTON – During 2014, Amtrak plans to move forward on key improvement projects, including continued installation of positive train control safety technology, the start of major construction to upgrade Northeast Corridor high-speed rail and expansion of station accessibility for passengers with disabilities.
“With limited federal capital funding we are doing the work that needs to be done to keep the railroad operating and taking action where we can to achieve safety, operational and passenger travel improvements,” said President and CEO Joe Boardman. “However, to truly realize the mobility and economic benefits offered by passenger rail, there must be dedicated federal funding to support a multi-year planning and construction program.”
In 2014, Amtrak is continuing its aggressive program to install PTC on an additional 1,200 track-miles beyond the approximately 530 track-miles where it is already in operation on some Amtrak-owned sections of the Northeast Corridor and all of its Michigan Line. Amtrak is also taking action to obtain needed radio spectrum to transmit data critical to make PTC operational in the new areas. PTC safety technology can control train movements to prevent train-to-train collisions, derailments caused by excessive speed and certain human-caused incidents such as misaligned track switches. Amtrak is on target to meet a 2015 federal deadline.
In 2014, Amtrak is beginning major construction activities on a 23-mile section of the Northeast Corridor between Trenton and New Brunswick, N.J., to increase top train speeds to 160 mph from 135 mph and improve reliability along this heavily used section. The project will upgrade track and various elements of the electrical and signal systems to support the higher speeds and reconfigure track switches at Penn Station New York to mitigate congestion issues.
In 2014, Amtrak will advance its Accessible Stations Development Program with continuation of existing construction work at eight stations in three states and new construction activities at 21 stations in eight additional states. In addition, necessary ADA-related design work will be completed for 61 stations in 20 states.
Amtrak will also move forward in 2014 on other infrastructure projects including: various planning elements of the Gateway Program to expand track, tunnel and station capacity between Newark, N.J., and Penn Station New York; ongoing construction of a concrete casement through the Hudson Yards commercial development project to preserve a possible pathway for a future Hudson River Tunnel into Manhattan; and design work for replacing major Northeast Corridor and century-old assets such as the Susquehanna River Bridge (Md.), the Pelham Bay Bridge (N.Y.), the Connecticut River Bridge (Conn.) and the B&P Tunnel (Md.).
By the end of its 2014 maintenance program, Amtrak expects to install or replace nearly 165,000 cross ties, 23 miles of rail, and several dozen track switches, turnouts and interlockings. The railroad is also upgrading numerous sections of its electrical and signal systems along the Northeast and Keystone Corridors, and performing various maintenance projects on property it owns in Chicago, New Orleans and elsewhere in the country.
In addition, Amtrak forces will perform significant work as part of state-led projects to upgrade tracks and signal systems between Kalamazoo and Dearborn, Mich.; Poughkeepsie and Albany, N.Y.; and New Haven, Conn., and Springfield, Mass.
ITASCA, Ill. – The National Safety Council (NSC) announced March 11 the appointment of Deborah A.P. Hersman as the president and CEO of the 100-year-old organization chartered by Congress to prevent unintentional injury and death. Hersman, who is currently the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), will be joining NSC at its headquarters in Itasca, Ill., in suburban Chicago.
“Debbie is a recognized leader in safety, with a frontline understanding of the value of protecting human life through thoughtful attention and management of risk,” said Jeff Woodbury, chairman of NSC board of directors. “Her proven leadership and expertise made her the ideal candidate to take the Council successfully into its second century.”
Hersman is acknowledged as a visionary and passionate safety leader who advocates for safety across all modes of transportation. At NTSB, the preeminent accident investigation organization, she has been on-scene for more than 20 major transportation accidents, chaired scores of NTSB hearings, forums and events, and regularly testifies before Congress.
Hersman was first appointed as a NTSB board member by President George Bush in 2004 and was reappointed to two additional five-year terms by President Barack Obama in 2009 and 2013. She was appointed chairman by President Obama in 2009, 2011 and 2013, with unanimous Senate confirmation votes. Previously, Hersman was a senior advisor to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation from 1999-2004 and served as staff director and senior legislative aide to former U.S. Rep. Bob Wise (D.-W.Va.) from 1992-1999.
Hersman has appeared at past United Transportation Union regional meetings as a guest speaker.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead an organization dedicated to saving lives and preventing injuries,” said Deborah Hersman. “The National Safety Council vision of ‘making our world safer’ has the potential to improve every workplace, every community and the way we travel every day.”