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Amtrak LogoWASHINGTON – In its Fiscal Year 2015 budget request to Congress, Amtrak is seeking a change in federal passenger rail investment and warns that continuation of current funding levels leave Northeast Corridor infrastructure vulnerable to a bigger, costlier and far more damaging failure than anything yet seen.

“Infrastructure deterioration and changes in business patterns have reached a point where something has to change,” said President and CEO Joe Boardman. “If America wants a modern intercity passenger rail system, the problems of policy and funding must be addressed.”

“Increased ridership, enhanced operating performance and stronger financial management are part of an improving Amtrak. It is time to consider a new paradigm for federal financial support,” said Tony Coscia, Amtrak board chairman. “The reality is that status quo federal funding levels put the Northeast Corridor infrastructure at increased risk of major failure with serious economic consequences for the nation.”

“The nation cannot afford to let a railroad that carries half of Amtrak’s trains and 80 percent of the nation’s rail commuters fall apart,” Boardman stressed, noting the NEC is vital to the mobility, connectivity and economy of the entire Northeast region.

Boardman explained a new federal policy and funding arrangement should create a significant and reliable multi-year capital investment program to reverse the decay of NEC infrastructure and support other intercity passenger rail projects. A strong federal commitment will allow Amtrak to plan and implement major multi-year projects such as replacing century-old NEC bridges and tunnels, and make critical capacity improvements such as the Gateway Program between New Jersey and New York.

Boardman said that NEC revenues exceed operating costs by more than $300 million a year and are today used to cover some costs of state-supported and long-distance trains. To provide additional funding for NEC improvements, Congress should fully fund the operating and capital needs of the long-distance routes so the NEC revenues can be reinvested in the NEC.

By dedicating NEC revenue to meet NEC needs, it could be leveraged to pay for debt service on loans to address the most urgent NEC infrastructure issues. It also could be used to finance other funding solutions such as public-private partnerships, grants of assistance, and state and commuter rail agreements.

Boardman said long-distance trains have been a core federal responsibility since 1971, and Congress should fulfill its obligation by funding their full cost. Long-distance trains form the backbone of the Amtrak national system, connect small towns to major cities, support local economic development, deliver passengers to state-supported corridor trains and conduct interstate trade and commerce. They are vital to the communities and people they serve, and increasingly important as airlines and bus companies abandon significant regions of America.

“It is clear that Americans want a national system of intercity passenger rail, and will continue to use it in greater numbers if we can provide it,” said Boardman. “Our work over the past decade proves this, but to maintain and improve that system will require both an increase in the overall capital levels and a real federal commitment to deliver the needed financing.”

For Fiscal Year 2015, Amtrak is requesting $1.62 billion in federal capital and operating support, an increase of approximately 16 percent from Fiscal Year 2014 federal appropriations.

A NEC Infrastructure Advisory Commission report details the growing risk to critical NEC infrastructure. A copy of the Amtrak FY 2015 budget request is attached.

scales_gavelIn 2012, 50 workers at Greenbrier Rail Services in Tucson, Ariz., filed for a representational election to join the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association Local  359, now the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART). In response, the company allegedly laid off one third of them, threatened to close its facility, threatened, interrogated and spied on employees while at the same time promising benefits to those who would vote to not unionize.

In a rare move, a U.S. District Judge in Arizona ordered the company yesterday to immediately reinstate its terminated employees, recognize and bargain in good faith with SMART as its employees’ collective bargaining representative, and restore operations at its facility to its original level.

This 1(j) injunction, and bargaining order, is a rare a remedy for egregious unfair labor practices by an employer. These are only used when a union has shown they had majority support and that the employer has destroyed the will of its employees with conduct so serious that it prevents a fair election from being held, such as a widely broadcast threat to close a plant or mass firings.

According to Local 359 Business Manager Dion Abril, “This is a great day for our local union as we never gave up on the workers and for the workers who never gave up on forming a union. It proves that there is justice and that workers do have the freedom to form a union of their own choosing without intimidation and threats from unscrupulous employers.”

BISMARCK, N.D. – Great Lakes Airlines will be leaving North Dakota by the end of the month after serving the state for more than two decades.

The Wyoming-based regional airline announced last week that it was suspending service to Dickinson and Williston. In January, it pulled out of Devils Lake and Jamestown.

Read the complete story at The Bismarck Tribune.

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By Joe Nigro, SMART General President – Recent news reports have been bleak when it comes to the status of working families in the United States. While much of the news focuses on unemployment, and rightly so, there’s a relatively unknown, legal way that corporations are going to impact the job market and the wealth of manufacturing workers throughout the United States.

On the wealth side, the stock market has never been any higher; however, the wealth gap between the wealthiest one percent and everyone else has reached levels not seen since the 1920s and 95 percent of the new income generated in the past decade has gone to the top one percent. In fact, only 2.3 percent of the financial wealth generated by all Americans belongs to the bottom 60 percent. In addition, the median middle class income of American families has fallen by $5,000 since 1999.

Forty years ago, President Ronald Reagan promised the nation that throwing money at the rich would result in their prosperity trickling down to the rest of us. For 40 years, Americans have waited and have only seen their fortunes slide backwards.

On top of that promise, we were told that so-called free trade agreements like NAFTA would open new markets for our products made here at home. What we got instead were more of our good-paying jobs disappearing overseas.

Unfortunately, there are politicians in Washington and CEOs on Wall Street looking to double down on these failed policies that only benefited the top one percent. Rather than fix badly constructed agreements like NAFTA, they’re looking to give us a heavier dose of the same.

Fast Track authority for a new trade deal called the Trans-Pacific Partnership is their newest proposal. What Fast Track does is give the White House the power to present Congress with trade agreements that lawmakers cannot amend once they are brought to a vote. For six years, this Trans-Pacific Partnership has been shrouded in secrecy and now its backers want to rush it through Congress.

Journalists and public interest groups, along with the majority of Congress, have been denied access to the text of this agreement. At the same time, 600 corporate advisors and lobbyists – including Wall Street bankers and companies like Wal-Mart – have been given access to it and are actually allowed to be involved in negotiations. The actual text will not be released until four years after the talks have been concluded or a deal has been reached. Every step involved in the process of crafting this treaty has been hidden from the public.

Even with all the secrecy, there have been some leaks of what is inside the agreement. As many feared, the treaty has been geared towards reducing labor costs here and abroad, while undercutting workers’ rights. Labor, environmental, health and banking regulations that could impact corporate profits are rendered ineffective by a process that allows foreign companies to challenge American laws that negatively impact their profits. American and Canadian courts would be superseded by international unelected tribunals when disputes arise under the treaty. The goal of this treaty is not to raise the standard of living for the citizens of its participating countries, but to instead maximize corporate profits at all costs.

This treaty directly threatens every working family in the United States and Canada, along with the other 11 nations involved in its formulation. The Founding Fathers gave Congress the power over trade, but Fast Track eliminates the ability of your elected representatives in Congress to set trade policy and surrenders the sovereignty of our nation to unelected international tribunals.

Right now, there is a broad-based coalition of groups working together to stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty. Not only are union, environmental and civil rights groups involved on the left, but we are being joined by groups on the right concerned about this treaty’s effect on our nation’s sovereignty. Join the SMART Action Team at www.smartaction.org if you have not already and sign up for action alerts that we will be sending periodically. You can also find updates on this fight at our website at smart-union.org/stop-the-tpp.

This is a threat we can fight off, but only if we stand together. Do this for the good of SMART members and for the future world in which our children and grandchildren will live.

railyard, train yard; trainsRepresentatives from Class 1s, shortlines, suppliers, as well as other railroad supporters joined forces on Thursday, March 13, to take part in Railroad Day on Capitol Hill, the industry’s annual event to advocate for freight rail-related issues.

The event’s partnering associations, which include the Association of American Railroads, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association (NRC), Railway Supply Institute, Railway Systems Suppliers, Inc., Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association and Railway Tie Association, say Railroad Day on Capitol Hill is “the single most effective way to get our message to Congress.”

Read the complete story at Railway Track & Structures.

RRB_seal_150pxEmployers and employees covered by the Railroad Retirement Act pay higher retirement taxes than those covered by the Social Security Act, so that railroad retirement benefits remain higher than social security benefits, especially for “career” employees who have 30 or more years of service.

The following questions and answers show the differences in railroad retirement and social security benefits payable at the close of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2013. They also show the differences in age requirements and payroll taxes under the two systems.

1. How do the average monthly railroad retirement and social security benefits paid to retired employees and spouses compare?

The average age annuity being paid by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) at the end of fiscal year 2013 to career rail employees was $3,080 a month, and for all retired rail employees the average was $2,450. The average age retirement benefit being paid under social security was over $1,270 a month. Spouse benefits averaged $915 a month under railroad retirement compared to $615 under social security.

The Railroad Retirement Act also provides supplemental railroad retirement annuities of between $23 and $43 a month, which are payable to employees who retire directly from the rail industry with 25 or more years of service.

2. Are the benefits awarded to recent retirees generally greater than the benefits payable to those who retired years ago?

Yes, because recent awards are based on higher average earnings. Age annuities awarded to career railroad employees retiring at the end of fiscal year 2013 averaged about $3,625 a month while monthly benefits awarded to workers retiring at full retirement age under social security averaged nearly $1,765. If spouse benefits are added, the combined benefits for the employee and spouse would total $4,985 under railroad retirement coverage, compared to $2,645 under social security. Adding a supplemental annuity to the railroad family’s benefit increases average total benefits for current career rail retirees to over $5,015 a month.

3. How much are the disability benefits currently awarded?

Disabled railroad workers retiring directly from the railroad industry at the end of fiscal year 2013 were awarded almost $2,885 a month on the average while awards for disabled workers under social security averaged approximately $1,210.

While both the Railroad Retirement and Social Security Acts provide benefits to workers who are totally disabled for any regular work, the Railroad Retirement Act also provides disability benefits specifically for employees who are disabled for work in their regular railroad occupation. Employees may be eligible for such an occupational disability annuity at age 60 with 10 years of service, or at any age with 20 years of service.

4. Can railroaders receive benefits at earlier ages than workers under social security?

Railroad employees with 30 or more years of creditable service are eligible for regular annuities based on age and service the first full month they are age 60, and rail employees with less than 30 years of creditable service are eligible for regular annuities based on age and service the first full month they are age 62.

No early retirement reduction applies if a rail employee retires at age 60 or older with 30 years of service and his or her retirement is after 2001, or if the employee retired before 2002 at age 62 or older with 30 years of service.

Early retirement reductions are otherwise applied to annuities awarded before full retirement age, the age at which an employee can receive full benefits with no reduction for early retirement. This ranges from age 65 for those born before 1938 to age 67 for those born in 1960 or later, the same as under social security.

Under social security, a worker cannot begin receiving retirement benefits based on age until age 62, regardless of how long he or she worked, and social security retirement benefits are reduced for retirement prior to full retirement age regardless of years of coverage.

5. Does social security offer any benefits that are not available under railroad retirement?

Social security does pay certain types of benefits that are not available under railroad retirement. For example, social security provides children’s benefits when an employee is disabled, retired or deceased. Under current law, the Railroad Retirement Act only provides children’s benefits if the employee is deceased.

However, the Railroad Retirement Act includes a special minimum guaranty provision which ensures that railroad families will not receive less in monthly benefits than they would have if railroad earnings were covered by social security rather than railroad retirement laws. This guaranty is intended to cover situations in which one or more members of a family would otherwise be eligible for a type of social security benefit that is not provided under the Railroad Retirement Act. Therefore, if a retired rail employee has children who would otherwise be eligible for a benefit under social security, the employee’s annuity can be increased to reflect what social security would pay the family.

6. How much are monthly benefits for survivors under railroad retirement and social security?

Survivor benefits are generally higher if payable by the RRB rather than social security. At the end of fiscal year 2013, the average annuity being paid to all aged and disabled widow(er)s was $1,465 a month, compared to $1,190 under social security.

Benefits awarded by the RRB at the end of fiscal year 2013 to aged and disabled widow(er)s of railroaders averaged nearly $1,925 a month, compared to almost $945 under social security.

The annuities being paid at the end of fiscal year 2013 to widowed mothers/fathers averaged $1,755 a month and children’s annuities averaged $1,005, compared to $905 and $800 a month for widowed mothers/fathers and children, respectively, under social security.

Those awarded at the end of fiscal year 2013 averaged $2,765 a month for widowed mothers/fathers and $1,380 a month for children under railroad retirement, compared to $880 and $790 for widowed mothers/fathers and children, respectively, under social security.

7. How do railroad retirement and social security lump-sum death benefit provisions differ?

Both the railroad retirement and social security systems provide a lump-sum death benefit. The railroad retirement lump-sum benefit is generally payable only if survivor annuities are not immediately due upon an employee’s death. The social security lump-sum benefit may be payable regardless of whether monthly benefits are also due. Both railroad retirement and social security provide a lump-sum benefit of $255. However, if a railroad employee completed 10 years of creditable railroad service before 1975, the average railroad retirement lump-sum benefit payable is $1,005. Also, if an employee had less than 10 years of service, but had at least 5 years of such service after 1995, he or she would have to have had an insured status under social security law (counting both railroad retirement and social security credits) in order for the $255 lump-sum benefit to be payable.

The social security lump sum is generally only payable to the widow(er) living with the employee at the time of death. Under railroad retirement, if the employee had 10 years of service before 1975, and was not survived by a living-with widow(er), the lump sum may be paid to the funeral home or the payer of the funeral expenses.

8. How do railroad retirement and social security payroll taxes c
ompare?

Railroad retirement payroll taxes, like railroad retirement benefits, are calculated on a two-tier basis. Rail employees and employers pay Tier I taxes at the same rate as social security taxes, 7.65 percent, consisting of 6.20 percent for retirement on earnings up to $117,000 in 2014, and 1.45 percent for Medicare hospital insurance on all earnings. An additional 0.9 percent in Medicare taxes (2.35 percent in total) will be withheld from employees on earnings above $200,000.

In addition, rail employees and employers both pay Tier II taxes which are used to finance railroad retirement benefit payments over and above social security levels.

In 2014, the Tier II tax rate on earnings up to $87,000 is 4.4 percent for employees and 12.6 percent for employers.

9. How much are regular railroad retirement taxes for an employee earning $117,000 in 2014 compared to social security taxes?

The maximum amount of regular railroad retirement taxes that an employee earning $117,000 can pay in 2014 is $12,778.50, compared to $8,950.50 under social security. For railroad employers, the maximum annual regular retirement taxes on an employee earning $117,000 are $19,912.50, compared to $8,950.50 under social security. Employees earning over $117,000, and their employers, will pay more in retirement taxes than the above amounts because the Medicare hospital insurance tax is applied to all earnings.

BNSF_Color_LogoFort Worth-based BNSF Railway plans to hire 5,000 workers this year as part of a $5 billion investment in the railroad, Carl Ice, the company’s new president and CEO, said this morning during an interview on CNBC.

Ice, who recently took over the CEO post from Matt Rose, said the new jobs will be spread across the railroad’s many functions but that the biggest number will be in train crews to serve its growing business. The company is also adding 500 locomotives and recently announced plans to purchase 5,000 next-generation tank cars to haul crude oil from fields such as the Bakken Shale.

Read the complete story at the Star-Telegram.

triple_trailerConstituents in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and eight congressional districts – Pa. Dist. 9, Iowa Dist. 3, Colo. Dist. 4, Kan. Dist. 1, Kan. Dist.  2, Ill. Dist. 13, Ind. Dist. 4 and Mo. Dist. 8 – overwhelmingly disapprove increasing truck weight limits from the current 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds. Increasing truck weights range from a low of only 13 percent in Illinois to 19 percent in Colo. Dist. 4 (eastern Colorado). The research data from 5,080 interviews conducted between March 2013 to March 2014 clearly indicate that regardless of where you live, what your political viewpoint may be, or your gender and age, there is a convergence of opinion that heavier trucks are not wanted on U.S. Highways.

View the results of this survey by DFM Research conducted on behalf of the SMART Transportation Division.

triple_trailerThis is about a highway homicide – and we know who dunnit. The perp long ago was identified by state and federal authorities. Yet Congress refuses to order the collar, closing its eyes to a mayhem playing out at every hour, on every federal-aid roadway and adversely affecting every taxpayer and every motorist in the wallet, while simultaneously turning on its head the concept of economic efficiency.

Beyond a shadow of doubt is that heavy trucks pummel pavements and weaken highway bridges, shortening the lives of each while avoiding payment for the damage caused. That’s highway homicide.

 Read the complete story at Railway Age.

McCOOK, 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.