Author: bnagy

Home>Articles by: bnagy

Homendy

The AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), of which the SMART Transportation Division is a member, released the following statement to senators from President Greg Regan Aug. 4 as National Transportation Safety Board Member Jennifer Homendy’s nomination as NTSB chairperson was advanced today by the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), our 33 affiliated unions, and millions of frontline transportation workers, I urge you to advance the nomination of Jennifer Homendy for Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) when the Senate Commerce Committee considers her nomination.
Member Homendy brings decades of experience in transportation safety and a fierce devotion to the protection of transportation workers, passengers, and the public writ large. Since joining the NTSB in 2018, she has worked tirelessly as an advocate for necessary safety improvements across all modes of our transportation network. Prior to joining the Board, Homendy shepherded major safety legislation through Congress as Staff Director of the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. Equally important to her deep policy expertise, Homendy possesses a crucial understanding of the role transportation workers play in ensuring the safety and security of our transportation system. There is no person more qualified to serve as Chair of the NTSB.
Member Homendy’s distinguished career in public service and steadfast commitment to transportation safety have proven that she has the leadership, experience, and expertise to confront our transportation network’s most pressing challenges with a strong voice. TTD is proud to endorse Jennifer Homendy, and I urge you to support her nomination.

Sincerely,

Greg Regan

President, AFL-CIO TTD

U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, responded to a recent Fortune Magazine column by a pair of economists who defended the rail industry’s Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) scheme and accused unions of hampering productivity.

DeFazio

DeFazio, along with New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne Jr., who is chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, were two of the main architects of the INVEST in America Act (H.R. 3684), a surface transportation reauthorization bill that encompasses substantial investment in the nation’s infrastructure as well as in the safety of the people who keep the country moving that passed the U.S. House on July 1.
“PSR is not some fancy optimization strategy to increase freight volume or improve operations and reduce emissions; rather, it is a business strategy promoted by Wall Street to boost short-term profits,” DeFazio wrote.
He noted in his column that shippers, communities and the rail workforce all have been negatively affected by PSR.
“Let’s not forget that prior to COVID-19, from 2015 to 2019, the freight railroad industry slashed the average size of its workforce by over 17%,” DeFazio wrote. “It’s little wonder that STB Chairman Martin Oberman has sought information about how such a reduction may be related to or contributed to recent shipper complaints.”
Read DeFazio’s full column.
The INVEST in America Act looks to protect bus and transit workers from assault, improve school bus safety and maintain safe freight rail operations. It contains increased funding for Amtrak passenger rail service and protects the environment, the public and rail workers alike by putting into law the Rule of 2 — that, like a pilot and co-pilot in the air — a certified engineer and a certified conductor remain present in the cab of freight trains when operated through the nation’s communities.
The bill is under consideration by the U.S. Senate, and SMART-TD members are encouraged to send messages to their senators to pass H.R. 3684 for the sake of public and worker safety.

Local 1261 in Atlanta is mourning the loss of a longtime local chairperson. Joshua Allen Morstad, 39, passed away Sunday, July 11, 2021, three days after he was injured in an automobile accident while traveling home from work.

Morstad

Brother Morstad was a loyal member of our union for 20 years, local chairperson of LCA-169A (Central of Georgia) since May 2015 and an engineer for Norfolk Southern.
“Josh was loved, respected, a friend to all, and will be missed by his family, friends and co-workers,” General Chairperson James E. Stewart Jr. of GCA-169 wrote.
Brother Morstad enjoyed being outdoors, hunting, fishing, golf and playing sports with his children. He had a fierce love for his family and always made sure they were cared for. He is survived by his wife, four sons and an unborn son who is due Sept. 7, 2021. Other survivors include his parents, brother and in-laws as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and extended family and friends.
In his last selfless act, Brother Morstad was an organ donor and gave of himself so that others may live.
SMART Transportation Division extends its deepest condolences to Brother Morstad’s family, friends and to Local 1261 in this time of painful loss.
Read Brother Morstad’s full obituary.

Members have been able to spend half a year now with the 2021 SMART-TD bus and rail timebooks that were revised last year with membersʼ input.
Weʼre sure there are things you like about the revisions and things that you would want to have changed about the timebooks so they are of the best use to you.
Now through August is your chance to make suggestions for any changes or improvements to the books with mid-September the deadline for local officers to place their orders for the 2022 edition.
Please send improvement suggestions in to Dora Wolf in the Updating Department at dwolf@smart-union.org.

On June 15 and 16, 2021, the simmering dispute between the SMART Transportation Division and carriers over crew consist finally reached arbitration before neutral party John LaRocca in Sacramento, Calif.
Class I railroads BNSF, UP, NS and KCS initiated a claim in October 2019, just prior to the opening of the current round of national contract handling, that asserted the moratorium provisions of various local agreements no longer barred the service of a Section 6 notice regarding the topic of crew consist.
At the arbitration, 13 SMART-TD General Committees presented their arguments against the National Railroad Labor Conference (NRLC), which represented the railroads involved.
The arbitration hearing was a result of a long court battle in which it was determined that the question of whether the moratorium language in the various agreements barred serving a notice was a “minor dispute” within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act and would have to be arbitrated.
The moratoriums were a result of negotiations in the late 1970s and early 1980s when the parties involved decided to lay to rest negotiations over crew consist until the last covered employee voluntarily separated. Despite the fact that the event has not occurred, the carriers have taken the position that the language of the moratoriums cannot be read to now bar negotiation over crew consist.
The railroads are seeking to bypass the agreed-upon wait time that bars such negotiation and to seek crew size changes now. SMART-TD argued that the language and intent of the moratoriums clearly bars any negotiation on crew consist until the last person standing is gone.
The arbitration was the largest conducted by the union in decades and was presented by a combined team of the SMART-TD International, SMART-TD Legal Department and multiple General Committees. A decision on the issue is expected by September 2021.
A ruling by LaRocca in favor of SMART-TD would leave current crew-consist agreements closed from negotiations until the expiration of the moratoriums. A ruling by LaRocca in favor of the carriers would open these agreements up for negotiation on the respective properties as the current round of national contract discussions continues.

Middlemas

Brother Karl Middlemas, 62, of Local 807 (Tucson, Ariz.) – a member of our union for more than 13 years – died when the crew van he was being transported in collided with a tractor-trailer late on July 6.
Brother Middlemas hired on in 2007 and most recently served as a conductor for Union Pacific. He had completed his shift July 6 and was en route back to Tucson from Nogales when the van was struck at 11:24 p.m. local time on Interstate 19 south of Tucson. He was killed instantly in the crash.
He enjoyed working on and restoring cars, especially classic Mopars.
Additional details on a memorial will be updated when received.

Join the SMART_TD Field Support Department with your questions and get them answered!
Each session will begin with going over anything new, reminders or important tips or tricks. Then the floor will be open for all your questions. The forum will end when there are no more questions.
There is no need to pre-register for these Q&A forums. Join us by clicking the link for the session. Forums will be hosted using Microsoft Teams. If you have not joined us for a session in the past visit this page for info on how to get Teams set up prior to the forum. (Start with #3) You can also join by phone using the call-in phone number and Conference ID.
Wednesday August 25th 1 p.m. EST
Join on your computer or mobile app.
Or call in (audio only) +1 440-462-0346
Phone Conference ID: 978 528 22#
Wednesday September 22nd 3 p.m. EST
Join on your computer or mobile app.
Or call in (audio only) +1 440-462-0346
Phone Conference ID: 713 462 91#

President Joe Biden last week announced two nominees — Gerald Fauth III and Linda Puchala — to return to the National Mediation Board (NMB).
Gerald W. Fauth III, the current NMB chairman, was nominated for another three-year term. He has served on the board since November 2017.

Fauth

Fauth has 40 years of experience in the private sector and federal government working in the transportation industry. He has been directly involved in negotiating, mediating, arbitrating, facilitating, supporting and/or deciding the resolution of hundreds of complex transportation problems and disputes.
In addition to his NMB experience, from 1999 to 2003, Fauth served at the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) as chief of staff and senior advisor to a board member and was directly involved in the decision-making process in hundreds of formal decisions involving all matters of STB jurisdiction. In 1998, Mr. Fauth was named by the STB an original member of the Conrail Transaction Council established to provide a forum for constructive dialogue and timely and efficient communication of information in order to resolve implementation problems and railroad service concerns associated with the Conrail railroad transaction, the largest rail transaction in history.
Puchala

Ms. Puchala has served as a member of the NMB since her confirmation by the U.S. Senate in 2009. Prior to her service as a board member, Ms. Puchala worked as a mediator, sr. mediator (ADR) and as the associate director of alternative dispute resolution services over a 10-year career at the NMB. During her tenure, Puchala has demonstrated leadership and professionalism that has earned her the respect of both parties across the mediation table. Puchala has also pursued innovative strategies to resolve pending arbitration cases, sought to modernize the NMB’s management practices and has fought for policies that will protect the rights of workers to have a union voice. Puchala also obtained important labor relations experience as a former international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, and as a staff director at the Michigan State Employees Association of AFSCME.
Biden’s previously announced nominee to the three-member board is union attorney Deirdre Hamilton.
The NMB is the government body that facilitates labor-management relations in the aviation and rail industries.

Attendees participate in an educational session in Topeka, Kan., on June 23. (Photo courtesy Zach Nagy)

The leadership of GCA-953 (Union Pacific) have kicked off a slate of educational sessions for local officers and members.
The first of six sessions took place June 22 and 23 in Topeka, Kan., with General Chairperson Luke Edington, Associate GC Ian Reynolds and Sr. Vice GC Zach Nagy hosting and teaching the classes.
The curriculum included training on serving as a union officer, an overview of officer duties, website training, filing a proper time claim, writing a discipline appeal and a mock arbitration session.
Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson made a guest appearance through Zoom, Vice President Brent Leonard spoke in person and Larry Romine from Reliable Retirement spoke through Zoom.
“We had attendees including local presidents, local chairpersons, vice local chairpersons and secretary/treasurers from four states in attendance,” Nagy said.
The GCA  has plans for five more sessions in Omaha, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, Portland and Waukesha, Wis., as the summer progresses.
For more information about time and locations, email Nagy at znagy@utu953.org.


CLEVELAND, Ohio (July 1, 2021) — SMART Transportation Division leaders expressed their appreciation as the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act (H.R. 3684) successfully passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives, 221-201, on July 1 with two-person crew and other transportation safety provisions important to TD members remaining intact.
“This bill is a great step ahead for the country as it works to repair years of inattention given to the country’s infrastructure,” SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy R. Ferguson said. “The INVEST Act also pays heed to many safety concerns expressed by labor — the essential workers who helped move our nation through the COVID pandemic — bus operators, freight rail workers and transit workers. We thank Peter DeFazio, Donald Payne and all those in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who spurred H.R. 3684 to passage in the full House, and we now look ahead to consideration in the Senate and beyond.”
The INVEST Act is a surface transportation reauthorization bill that encompasses substantial investment in the nation’s infrastructure as well as in the safety of the people who keep the country moving. H.R. 3684’s components look to protect bus and transit workers from assault, improve school bus safety and maintain safe freight rail operations. It contains increased funding for Amtrak passenger rail service and protects the environment, the public and rail workers alike by putting into law the Rule of 2 — that, like a pilot and co-pilot in the air — a certified engineer and a certified conductor remain present in the cab of freight trains when operated through the nation’s communities.
“We’re very pleased that the House has wisely moved ahead today on the legislative path to ensuring that rail safety’s Rule of 2 is maintained with the INVEST in America Act, and that the bus safety provisions, Amtrak funding and other rail safety components stay in the bill,” SMART-TD National Legislative Director Greg Hynes said. “Now, similar to last year, the time has come to make it crystal clear to senators who might be on the fence that the safety aspects within this bill are not up for negotiation.”
“We truly thank and appreciate those legislators who supported the INVEST Act in its journey through the House and who listened to what we had to say,” Ferguson said. “There is more work to be done and a path to be cleared for this legislation in the Senate, and the members and officers of our union are ready to put in the time.”

###

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 different crafts, including as bus and commuter rail operators, in the transportation industry.