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Nigro
Nigro

By Joe Nigro, 
SMART General President – 

The First SMART General Convention represented a new beginning for all of us. So, now is the time to take advantage of the opportunity and begin forging a path to ensure the dialogue between the leadership and convention delegates at our convention extends to an open communication between our membership and their elected leaders.

As a first step, we have to recognize that a dialogue can only exist when both parties participate and the quickest way to harm an organization is by ignoring the voice of the membership.

I believe our members can and will speak up when they trust that their voices will be heard.

The only way to build that trust is through transparency and accountability. If members feel they can trust their leaders, they will lend their support to the organization and make meaningful contributions to the discussion.

A quiet membership eventually devolves into an ailing union. A quiet membership becomes disinterested and apathetic, allowing its leaders to do as they please without any accountability.

Without involvement by the membership, the dues a member pays become nothing more than another unwanted deduction. That will not become the legacy of this organization.

I encourage everyone to take the opportunity to attend local union meetings, ask questions of your leadership, and learn about the ways your union can assist you and how you can assist your fellow brothers and sisters. The more active and aware you become, the better our union will represent you.

Also, keep in mind that within any organization news travels fast, but is often not always accurate. Sometimes rumors and innuendo are advanced by individuals on the outside whose goals do not align with yours.

Let your leaders know when you hear something that doesn’t seem right. Getting answers before we pass something on can stop those who wish to divide us and will show them we are a united union.

Let’s squash those rumors and get moving on making this union as strong and as vibrant as possible.

Finally, if you’re unhappy with the direction of the organization on any level, or feel you are not receiving the representation you deserve, call your leadership and let them know how you feel.

I strongly believe in having an open door policy that allows members to voice their concerns. I also believe that when it comes to leadership, I hold myself to the same standards that I expect of other elected representatives in this organization, along with our staff.

This is why I am including my telephone number here – (202) 662-0800 – so you can contact me with any of your questions or complaints.

You may not like my answers or what I tell you, but I do promise, you will at least have a voice.

Always remember, this is your union.

Fraternally,

Joseph J. Nigro
SMART?General President

 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Oct. 21 announced it has awarded $1 million in grants to nine technical and community colleges across the country to help train returning military veterans for jobs as commercial bus and truck drivers. The funding is provided through FMCSA’s Commercial Motor Vehicle – Operator Safety Training (CMV-OST) grant program.

“Those that we entrust to protect and serve our nation deserve opportunities that utilize the skills and training they received on the job on military bases overseas and at home,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We can think of none more appropriate to safeguard our highways as commercial vehicle drivers than the thousands of veterans who have already proven they can safely handle large vehicles under extremely stressful circumstances.”

“These unique grants are designed to help recruit, train and place veterans and their spouses in good jobs that are in high demand and in an industry that is vitally important in keeping our national economy moving forward,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling. “Graduates of these training programs are continuing to serve our nation by ensuring that the goods and products we depend on are delivered professionally, efficiently and, most importantly, safely.”

FMCSA awards CMV-OST grants to organizations that provide truck driving training, including accredited public or private colleges, universities, vocational-technical schools, post-secondary educational institutions, truck driver training schools, associations, and state and local governments, including federally-recognized Native American tribal governments. The funds are used to recruit, train, and provide students job placement assistance after graduation.

The 2014 FMCSA grants announced today will provide training for nearly 400 new students. The awards were made to the following organizations:

  • Florida – South Florida State College, Avon Park, Fla., $58,003
  • Illinois – Joliet Junior College, Joliet, Ill., $165,800
  • Minnesota – Century College in White Bear Lake, Minn., $91,080
  • Missouri – Crowder College, Neosho, Mo., $72,160
  • Nebraska – Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, Ne., $47,614
  • Pennsylvania – Northampton County Area Community College, Bethlehem, Pa., $134,400
  • Pennsylvania – The Sage Corporation, Camp Hill, Pa., $249,968
  • Texas – Lone Star College-North Harris, Houston, Texas, $73,704
  • Virginia – Tidewater Community College, Norfolk, Va., $107,271

The Commercial Motor Vehicle – Operator Safety Training Grant Program was established by Congress in 2005 through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), to expand the number of commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders possessing enhanced operator safety training to help reduce the severity and number of crashes on U.S. roads involving large trucks and buses.

In July 2014, FMCSA announced that the Military Skills Test Waiver Program had been expanded to include all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Under this program, state licensing agencies have authority to waive the skills test portion of the CDL application for active duty or recently separated veterans who possess at least two years of safe driving experience operating a military truck or bus. Waiving the skills test expedites the civilian commercial drivers licensing application process and reduces expenses for qualified individuals and operating costs to state licensing agencies.

FMCSA also announced this summer that, commencing with Virginia residents, returning military service personnel who possess a state-issued Skill Performance Evaluation (SPE) certificate due to a limb impairment will automatically be recognized as equivalent to an FMCSA-issued SPE certificate and allowed to obtain an interstate commercial driver’s license (CDL). FMCSA encourages other state licensing agencies to establish comparable equivalency SPE programs.

To learn more about the Commercial Motor Vehicle – Operator Safety Training Grant Program, please visit http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/grants/cmv-operator-safety-training-grant/commercial-motor-vehicle-cmv-operator-safety-training.

For a listing of last year’s CMV – OST grant recipients, please visit http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/federal-motor-carrier-safety-administration-announces-almost-1-million-train-veterans.

To learn more about the Military Skills Test Waiver Program, please visit http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/commercial-drivers-license/military.

To learn more about the U.S. Department of Transportation’s dedication to our nation’s veterans, please visit http://www.dot.gov/veteranstransportationcareers.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) will recommend to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s board that CNR MA Corp. manufacture 284 new subway cars for the agency’s Red and Orange lines, Gov. Deval Patrick announced yesterday.

The board is scheduled to meet today to consider the recommended contract with CNR, which is a joint venture of China CNR Corp. Ltd. and CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles Co. Ltd.

Read the complete story at Progressive Railroading.

SSA-logo

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 64 million Americans will increase 1.7 percent in 2015, the Social Security Administration announced today.

The 1.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that more than 58 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2015. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2014. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $118,500 from $117,000. Of the estimated 168 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2015, about 10 million will pay higher taxes because of the increase in the taxable maximum.

Information about Medicare changes for 2015 is available at www.Medicare.gov.

The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. To read more, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.

Guests at an upscale U.S. hotel can choose to stay in historic train cars that have been transformed into luxury suites and rest on their original tracks.

Built within a major rail station, the Crowne Plaza in downtown Indianapolis, Ind., features 13 authentic 1920s Pullman train cars that offer a king or two double-sized beds and all the usual amenities of an ordinary hotel room.

Read the complete story at the Daily Mail.

The pictures were impossible to ignore: crumpled rail cars jigsawed in on one another at a road crossing in a small American town. 

The derailment of a Union Pacific train in Mer Rouge, Louisiana, this month was just one of the latest to hit the U.S. rail industry; the engineer and conductor were hurt, but nothing caught on fire and injuries were considered serious but not life-threatening.

Read the complete story at Omaha.com.

cp-logo-240Canadian Pacific Railway says it has ended talks with U.S. counterpart CSX about a possible combination and plans no more discussions.

The railway operator did not say why it ended talks, but it did note in a brief statement that regulatory concerns appear to be a major deterrent for railroads considering combinations.

Read the complete story at the Associated Press.

union_pacific_logoFaced with public concern about the risks of crude oil shipments, the Union Pacific railroad last month boosted its rail inspection program on mountain passes in California and the West, dispatching high-tech vehicles with lasers to check tracks for imperfections.

UP officials say they have leased two rail inspection vehicles, called geometry cars, doubling the number of computer-based safety cars in use on the company’s tracks. The move comes amid mounting public concern about hazardous-material shipments, including a growing quantity of highly flammable crude oil from North Dakota being shipped to West Coast refineries.

Read the complete story at the Sacramento Bee.

oil-train-railU.S. railroads are rallying customers, including lumber and steel companies, to fight a government proposal to slow trains hauling crude oil.

Urged by railroads, more than a dozen companies and business groups are warning regulators that cutting speeds to 40 mph from 50 mph would have a cascading effect, delaying other trains sharing the tracks carrying cargo such as furniture, grain and electronics.

Read the complete story at Transport Topics.