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Legislation to protect communities along rail lines and railroad workers by requiring trains and light engines carrying freight within California to be operated with an adequate crew size received support from the State Assembly with a 51-28 vote.

The bill, authored by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Solano, now goes to Governor Jerry Brown (D).

“Today’s freight trains carry extremely dangerous materials, including Bakken crude oil, ethanol, anhydrous ammonia, liquefied petroleum gas, and acids that may pose significant health and safety risks to communities and our environment in the case of an accident,” Wolk said. “With more than 5,000 miles of railroad track that crisscrosses the state through wilderness and urban areas, the potential for derailment or other accidents containing these materials is an ever present danger. I urge the governor to sign this bill into law, providing greater protection to communities located along rail lines in California, and to railroad workers.”

Read more from Progressive Railroading.

Tags emergency relief funds, FTA, NJ Transit, NJT

Former Kansas State Legislative Director Donald F. Lindsey Jr., 67, died surrounded by his family Aug. 20, 2015 at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Lindsey fought a long battle with cancer since his first diagnosis in 1995.

Lindsey served in the United States Army Reserves from 1967 until 1973 and received an honorable discharge.

Lindsey hired out with Missouri Pacific/Union Pacific in 1966 as a conductor and had more than 43 years of railroad and union service upon his retirement. He served his union as secretary and treasurer for Local 533 (Osawatomie, Kan.) for 40 years as well as legislative representative and delegate for 21 years. Lindsey also was elected Kansas state legislative director for six consecutive terms from 1988 until his retirement in 2010. He also served as the UTU representative for BNSF System SACP, serving on two subcommittees. Upon his retirement, Lindsey became a member of the UTU Alumni Association.

“Don was a leader in Kansas politics and will be sorely missed,” Kansas State Legislative Director Ty Dragoo said. “His work and fight for the labor movement will never be forgotten.”

Lindsey enjoyed membership with the Eugene V. Debs Foundation, Osage Valley Lodge 24 AF & AM in Osawatomie, Kan. and was a life-member of the International Supreme Council, Order of DeMolay.

Lindsey is survived by his wife Judy; two daughters, Suzanne Barbour and Ericka Hart; two sisters Pam Cook and Cheryl Meinig; brother Steve Lindsey; five grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

Visitation for Lindsey is set for Tuesday, August 25 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. at Lenexa Baptist Church, 15320 W. 87^th Pkwy, Lenexa, KS 66219. Funeral services will immediately follow at the church.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Miami County Cancer Foundation and sent in care of Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home, 605 O’Neal Ave., Osawatomie, KS 66064.

Click here to leave condolences for the family.

Tags Don Lindsey, Donald F. Lindsey, Kansas State Director

WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued policies and procedures* for applying a new process for resolving whistleblower disputes. The new process is an early resolution process that is to be used as part of a regional Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program. The ADR program offers whistleblower parties the opportunity to negotiate a settlement with the assistance of a neutral, confidential OSHA representative who has subject-matter expertise in whistleblower investigations. The Administrative Dispute Resolution Act* requires that each federal agency “adopt a policy that addresses the use of alternative means of dispute resolution and case management.”

“OSHA receives several thousand whistleblower complaints for investigation each year,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “The Alternative Dispute Resolution process can be a valuable alternative to the expensive and time consuming process of an investigation and litigation. It will provide whistleblower complainants and respondents the option of exploring voluntary resolution of their disputes outside of the traditional investigative process.”

OSHA piloted an ADR program in two of its regions from October 2012 to September 2013. The pilot proved that the early resolution ADR process is a successful method for helping parties to reach a mutual and voluntary outcome to their whistleblower cases. The pilot program demonstrated that having staff dedicated to facilitating settlement negotiations provides an efficient and effective service that is highly desired by complainants and respondents alike.

The success of the early resolution ADR process has resulted in the agency making it available to all of its regions. This directive does not prohibit OSHA whistleblower offices from offering complainants and respondents other alternative dispute resolution processes, such as third-party mediation.

OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of 22 statutes protecting employees who report violations of various securities laws, trucking, airline, nuclear power, pipeline, environmental, rail, maritime, health care, workplace safety and health regulations, and consumer product safety laws. For more information, please visit www.whistleblowers.gov.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

Tags Administrative Dispute Resolution Act, ADR, Alternative Dispute Resolution, OSHA, whistleblower

WASHINGTON — In a letter to the leadership of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), together with member unions and coalition partners, is urging lawmakers to follow established protocol for developing federal drug testing procedures and exclude provisions for hair specimen testing from any House surface transportation bill.

Historically, experts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have determined how and when new drug testing procedures should be administered. Those guidelines are then used by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to create federal drug testing standards for bus and truck drivers, and other transportation employees.

HHS has not determined whether hair is a valid and reliable specimen for use in federal drug tests and has not issued technical guidelines permitting its use. Despite this, a provision in the Senate’s version of the surface transportation bill would circumvent HHS and allow bus and truck companies to use hair samples to comply with DOT drug testing.

“The Senate has undermined the expertise of scientists and potentially jeopardized the jobs of thousands of bus and truck drivers with this unproven testing method,” said TTD President Edward Wytkind. “We urge the House to reject the Senate’s hair testing provision and ensure that federal drug tests are backed by scientific and forensically sound evidence. Nothing less should be acceptable.”

Studies show that hair testing may have an inherent racial bias. Darker and more porous hair retains some drugs at greater rates than lighter hair. Hair specimen can also cause individuals to test positive for drugs they never ingested, as drugs from the environment can absorb into hair and cause positive results.

“The science behind hair testing is questionable and the drug test results it produces may be discriminatory and could produce false positives,” Wytkind warned.

The following organizations joined TTD on the letter:

American Civil Liberties Union
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
Air Line Pilots Association
American Medical Review Officers, LLC
American Train Dispatchers Association
Amalgamated Transit Union
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice
National Air Traffic Controllers Association
National Workrights Institute
Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division
Sailors’ Union of the Pacific
Transport Workers Union of America
United Steelworkers

Tags AFL-CIO, AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department, Depart of Health and Human Services, DOT, Edward Wytkind, Hair Testing, TTD, Wytking

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Big Blue Bus (BBB) is preparing to meet the train, embarking upon major service and stop changes over the next twelve months as part of the Evolution of Blue campaign. The first phase of the Evolution of Blue plan to integrate BBB’s service with the Expo Light Rail Line will begin on August 23, 2015 as BBB rolls out major changes on several routes. Route 15, which is a new route, with service along the Barrington Avenue corridor, will be added. Routes 5 and 14 will be modified, including new service to Playa Vista on the Route 14. More service, including during weekends, will be added on the Rapid 3 and Rapid 7, in addition to regular bus stop changes. Three routes will be discontinued – Routes 6, 13 and Rapid 20. See full details at bigbluebus.com/servicechange.

In addition to the route changes, riders will see further improvements in customer serving tools available to them. The award winning “Little Blue Book” system-wide schedule for BBB routes that includes a large foldout System Map is now available on board, at the Transit Store and strategic locations such as local libraries and senior centers. To ensure they get the new version, customers can look for the red band showing the new effective date of August 23, 2015.

In an effort to expand customer communication tools and technology improvements, BBB has recently launched a new website feature with a Google Maps insert on each of its route pages. The new maps show the full complement of bus stops on each route, which is especially useful with the many changes taking place over the next year. BBB launched the NextBus Real Time Mobile Application in July so that customers have access to real time data. Lastly, BBB provides regional seamless fare payment as customers can now pay with TAP cards.

Transit Director, Ed King says, “BBB is in an incredible time of opportunity for our community and our customers, a time of change as our team works to transform all of our routes over the next year.” King adds, “These changes were vetted over an 18-month period with stakeholders, the community and customers. Sometimes change is challenging, especially for customers who will be asked to change their travel patterns. Our goal is to maintain service locally and provide regional access to and from Santa Monica using public transit and trains that are convenient and reliable for even more customers. More people on buses and trains translates to fewer cars on the road, a tremendous benefit to everyone in the region with improved quality of life.”

Big Blue Bus fares are $1 per ride on all routes with a $1 surcharge on the Rapid 10 Express to Downtown Los Angeles. Day-passes are available for $4 that allow unlimited rides in a calendar day and regular priced monthly passes are $60. All passes are available on TAP cards and can be purchased online at taptogo.net.

About the Big Blue Bus
Big Blue Bus operates a fleet of nearly 200 vehicles transporting more than 61,000 passengers daily across a 51-square mile service area. Nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to a cleaner environment, the entire fleet operates on alternative fuels, including liquefied and compressed natural gas (LNG/CNG), which helps to cut emissions by over 80 percent. Serving Santa Monica and the Los Angeles area since 1928, Big Blue Bus has won numerous awards for its customer service, safety and efficiency.

Tags Big Blue Bus, route changes

HOMESTEAD, Pa. — A man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly placing items on railroad tracks in Homestead. According to the criminal complaint, an officer was crossing the railroad tracks when he noticed a struggle between two men.

One of the men flagged the officer down and said that the other man, later identified as Bernard Marshalek, was placing items on the railroad tracks.

The witness said that when he saw a “train go by and hit the items the man placed on the tracks it sounded like an explosion and debris went flying everywhere.”