BNSF Railway reports that its operations affected by Hurricane Harvey are back to normal with some delays.
“While service has been restored on nearly all affected rail lines, track and signal work continues in some locations,” BNSF said.
Click here to read more from Railway Age.
Author: amyr
In a 128-293 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives voted Sept. 6 to reject an amendment introduced by Rep. Mo Brooks (R – Ala.) to eliminate $1.1 billion of federal subsidies for Amtrak for 2018.
Click here to read more from Railway Age.
Retired UTU Designated Legal Counsel (DLC) David B. Kiker, 70, died Saturday, Sept. 2. An attorney for the law firm Rossi, Cox, Kiker & Inderwish in Aurora, Colo., Kiker served as DLC until his retirement in 2003.
Kiker is survived by his wife of 45 years, Pamela Seale; three natural children, John (Jennifer) Kiker, Chris (Kate) Kiker and Polly (Spencer) Gilligan; embraced children, Ashley (Roy) Sakker and Turner (Angela) Lang; mother, Dorothy Kiker; sister, Kelly (Keith) Beitler; sister, Emily Kiker; 11 grandchildren and many other family and friends. He was preceded in death by his father, George Kiker; birth mother, Shirley Kiker; grandmother, Alma Webb; and his aunt, Jane Webb.
Funeral services will be held Friday, Sept. 8, at 11 a.m. at the Littleton Church of Christ, 6495 South Colorado Blvd., Centennial, CO 80121.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Adoption Exchange, 14232 East Evans Ave., Aurora, CO 80014; The Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, 1775 Aurora Ct., Aurora, CO 80045; or to any animal cause of your choice.
Click here to read Kiker’s full obituary or to leave condolences for the family.
Nancy A. Berryhill, acting commissioner of Social Security, announced Tues., Sept. 5, that three new Compassionate Allowances conditions: CACH–Vanishing White Matter Disease-Infantile and Childhood Onset Forms, Congenital Myotonic Dystrophy, and Kleefstra Syndrome. Compassionate Allowances are a way to quickly identify serious diseases and other medical conditions that meet Social Security’s standards for disability benefits.
“Social Security is committed – now and in the future – to continue to identify and fast-track diseases that are certain or near-certain to be approved for disability benefits,” said Acting Commissioner Berryhill.
The Compassionate Allowances program identifies claims where the applicant’s disease or condition clearly meets Social Security’s statutory standard for disability. Many of these claims are allowed based on medical confirmation of the diagnosis alone, for example pancreatic cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and acute leukemia. To date, almost 500,000 people with severe disabilities have been approved through this fast-track policy-compliant disability process, which has grown to a total of 228 conditions.
By incorporating cutting-edge technology, the agency can easily identify potential Compassionate Allowances and quickly make decisions. For other disability cases not covered by the Compassionate Allowances program, Social Security’s Health IT program brings the speed and efficiency of electronic medical records to the disability determination process. When a person applies for disability benefits, Social Security must obtain medical records in order to make an accurate determination. It may take weeks for health care organizations to provide records for the applicant’s case. With electronic records transmission, Social Security is able to quickly obtain a claimant’s medical information, review it, and make a determination faster than ever before.
“The Compassionate Allowances and Health IT programs are making a real difference by ensuring that Americans with disabilities quickly receive the benefits they need,” added Ms. Berryhill.
For more information about the program, including a list of all Compassionate Allowances conditions, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances.
To learn more about Social Security’s Health IT program, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/hit.
People may apply online for disability benefits by visiting www.socialsecurity.gov.
To create a my Social Security account, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.
By John Risch, National Legislative Director, SMART Transportation Division
Enjoy yourself this Labor Day weekend, provided you’re lucky enough to get the weekend off. In my 30 plus years working freight rail, I worked many a Labor Day weekend, but I am lucky to get this one off and plan to march with our Nebraska members in the Omaha Labor Day parade.
What’s Labor Day all about anyway? While it’s evolved into the last summer picnic or camping trip or a time to hit the back-to-school sales at the mall, that wasn’t the original intent of Labor Day.
Labor Day was started to honor the American worker, or as the Department of Labor states: “Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country.”
On Labor Day I like to reflect on the progress America’s workers have made in the past 135 years, since the first Labor Day. In 1884, there were no weekends off, overtime pay, minimum wage laws, workplace safety regulations, employer provided health insurance, pensions, paid vacations and the list goes on.
Each and every one of those gains have been made because workers – through their unions – have demanded them and won, over the objections of their employers. It was and continues to be America’s unions that have improved American workplaces.
Union density in America has dropped significantly from its high in 1954. Much of the reason is weak labor laws and fierce employer resistance to workers who try to organize. With that decline in union density, worker income has declined as well. We have all heard the adage, “The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer” which is statistically true and the primary reason is that America’s unionization rate has fallen. This gutting of America’s middle-class causes all kinds of socio-economic problems.
The fix to all of this is to fix America’s labor laws and enforcement to make it easier for workers to form unions and negotiate the fair pay and benefits they deserve.
Workers through their unions built America’s middle-class and the decline of our country’s middle-class is largely attributable to the decline in America’s union density. Improved labor laws with strong enforcement will revitalize the labor movement and help rebuild our middle class.
So as you relax this weekend, take a moment and think about what unions have done in our country to make life better for not just union members, but all who work for wages.
Active and retired railroad members and their families covered under The NRC/UTU Health and Welfare Plan, The Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan and The Railroad Employees National Early Retirement Major Medical Plan impacted by Hurricane Harvey can find important information about accessing emotional care, medical treatment and obtaining needed prescription medication on www.yourtracktohealth.com.
Toll-free telephone numbers, hours of operation and services available are listed for all benefit providers under the above plans in the event personal belongings containing identification cards have been lost or destroyed.
Click here to go directly to Your Track to Health’s Hurricane Harvey resource page.
The United Transportation Union Insurance Association (UTUIA) asks those members who are experiencing financial or other difficulties in paying premiums due to Hurricane Harvey, to please call the UTUIA to discuss options that may be available.
The UTUIA may be reached at 216-228-9400 or toll-free 800-558-8842.
The United Transportation Insurance Association (UTUIA), in a show of fraternal solidarity and generosity, has donated $5,000.00 to the UTU Disaster Relief Fund to be used for SMART TD members who have been negatively impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
“Many Brothers and Sisters of the UTUIA have been affected by the devastating flooding in Texas. The officers and staff of the UTUIA have elected to forward a donation of $5,000.00 to help ease the pain and burden placed on those who are attempting to recover from this disaster,” said UTUIA President Ken Laugel.
In response, SMART TD President John Previsich said, “I wish to extend my personal thank you to the UTUIA and President Laugel for this magnanimous donation to a worthy cause. Our union brothers and sisters are hurting and it is donations like this one that will help our members get back on their feet. We must show them that they are not alone and that we care during what is certainly an unimaginably difficult time.”
Members who wish to donate to help their union brothers and sisters may do so by making checks payable and sending them to:
UTU Disaster Relief Fund
24950 Country Club Blvd.
Suite 340
North Olmsted, OH 44070-5333
For questions, please call Transportation Division headquarters at 216-228-9400 and reference Disaster Relief.
According to Gallup, 61 percent of adults say they approve of labor unions. This is the highest approval rating unions have had since 2003 when approval was at 65 percent. Approval is up five percentage points from last year’s poll and is 13 points above the all-time low in 2009.
Click here to read more from Gallup.
Dear Members of the SMART Transportation Division:
The catastrophic flood waters caused by Hurricane Harvey have devastated Houston and its surrounding communities with loss of life and immeasurable destruction of property.
Some of those affected by the devastation are our Brothers and Sisters of SMART Transportation Division (SMART TD) who live in and near the Houston area. The silver lining is, and will continue to be, the generosity of citizens around the country who are giving what they can to help those affected to reclaim their lives.
We are asking the SMART TD family to rise to the call and give what you can so that the daunting task of starting over and rebuilding can begin. Your generous donation will help lessen the struggle and bring real hope and relief to our SMART TD members who are suffering from this great loss. SMART TD will administer donations sent to the UTU Disaster Relief Fund.
Contributions may be sent and made payable to:
UTU Disaster Relief Fund
24950 Country Club Blvd.
Suite 340
North Olmsted, OH 44070-5333
Questions:
Please call the Transportation Division office at 216-228-9400 referencing Disaster Relief.
Fraternally,
John Previsich President,
SMART Transportation Division
The SMART Transportation Division is comprised of approximately 125,000 active and retired members of the former United Transportation Union, who work in a variety of crafts in the transportation industry.
Click here for a pdf of this letter.