In an article published by the Asbury Park Press, SMART TD General Chairperson (GCA 610) Steve Burkert said that he is still hopeful that a deal will be struck between New Jersey Transit (NJT) and the Rail Labor Coalition. NJT and the Rail Labor Coalition have already had two Presidential Emergency Boards (PEB) assigned by President Obama to work out an agreement. Both PEBs’ findings supported the Rail Labor Coalition’s stance. However, since the PEBs’ recommendations are non-binding, NJT has been dragging its feet in adopting the PEBs’ recommendations to provide a workable contract. The Rail Labor Coalition, which represents 17 unions, including SMART, and 4,200 union members has authorized a strike on March 13, if a deal can not be reached. NJT has also threatened a lockout on the same date. Click here to read the full story.
Author: matrixsuperadmin
Lohud: The Journal News reports that Rockland Coaches is set to receive 64 new buses for its Red and Tan Line, paid for by New Jersey Transit. Each new bus will hold 57 passengers and feature wireless internet. “The upgrade is fantastic news to us. I’m sure the ridership will appreciate that as well,” Sean Hughes, Coach USA’s director of corporate affairs, told Lohud. Click here to read the full story. Members of SMART Transportation Division Local 1558 at Bergenfield, N.J., are employed by Rockland Coaches and drive the Red and Tan Line. Rockland Coaches is a leading provider of motorcoach commuter and transit services. Rockland operates a fixed route service to New York City from and through Rockland County in New York State, and Bergen and Hudson Counties in New Jersey.
The Missouri State Legislative Board is holding two more “Surviving Layoff” workshops as a result of the success of the last workshop held Jan. 29. “We are happy to announce that after the success and desire for this program to be made available to more members, we have been able to schedule two more furloughed rail worker workshops,” Missouri State Legislative Director Jason Hayden said. The workshop is open to all rail employees (furloughed and possibly going to be), and will be 1.5 – 2 hours long and includes a Q&A session. The next workshop will be held at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 2 Hall, 2902 Blue Ridge Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64129. This workshop is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25, at 1 p.m. The second workshop will be held at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 Hall, 2319 Chouteau Ave., Ste. 200, St. Louis, MO 63103 on Friday, Feb. 26, at 9 a.m. RSVP is not required, but is appreciated so that the board can have enough materials for all in attendance. Please contact Hayden if you plan to attend. He may be reached by emailing director@smartmoslb.org or by calling 573-634-3303. “We are still working to try and schedule a couple more workshops in different areas of the state,” Hayden added.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has selected Great Lakes Airlines to provide Essential Air Service Program flights from the Salina Regional Airport to the Denver International Airport. Great Lakes will provide Salina area residents and businesses with nonstop service in 30 seat Embraer Brasilia regional airliner. The new flights are scheduled to start on April 1, 2016. Doug Voss, Great Lakes chairman and CEO commented that “we are looking forward to providing Salina passengers access to the Denver hub that offers nonstop, connecting flights to over 180 destinations. Our code share partnership with United Airlines will make ticketing easy and convenient.” Improvements to the passenger screening and seating areas at the M.J. Kennedy Air Terminal are underway in order to better accommodate Denver flights. The improvements will enable Great Lakes to offer passengers easy check-in and a remodeled boarding area. Salina Airport Authority board chairman, Mike Hoppock stated that “Denver flights will benefit area businesses and colleges who need to bring visitors and students to Salina from across the nation. The terminal building improvements will benefit both local residents and visitors to our community.” The USDOT selection can be found at www.salinaairport.com.
By John Previsich, president of SMART Transportation Division and Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (www.ttd.org).
Alabamians sure love their college football, but what we’ve just recently learned is that they also like their passenger trains — and they’re willing to pay for them. A recent state-wide poll by DFM Research shows that passenger trains don’t only thrive in the big cities on the corridor between Washington, D.C. and Boston – they are quite popular in the Heart of Dixie, too.
More than half of those polled in Alabama say they want to see an increase in the service provided by Amtrak, our national passenger railroad. When asked about expanding Amtrak’s once-daily passenger service through Alabama, nearly 85 percent support the idea of adding an additional route from Birmingham or Mobile to New Orleans or Atlanta. This poll shouldn’t surprise anyone given that others in Gulf Coast states are pushing aggressively to restart Amtrak service lost after the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
The people of Alabama aren’t alone in their views. All across the country, in red states and blue, in rural counties and major metropolitan cities, Americans are calling for more passenger rail service — and it’s easy to see why. With 31 million passengers last year alone, Amtrak’s popularity has soared, and over the last decade, Amtrak has broken its ridership record almost annually. Here’s the best part: during a time when pollsters are churning out the views of voters on a daily basis, our national passenger railroad actually polls better than anyone auditioning for president.
All jokes aside, this begs one very important question — if Amtrak is so highly valued by the American people, why do we still have politicians in Washington trying to kill it? Yes, there was actually an amendment on floor of the House late last year to eliminate Amtrak’s funding and quite a few who serve in Alabama’s congressional delegation voted for it. To be clear, such a plan would bankrupt the railroad, strand riders in Alabama and across the country, and put thousands of middle class employees out of work. And think about this: while other nations such as China are racing toward launching 400 mile-per-hour train service, America is still electing politicians who want to abandon passenger rail entirely.
If people in Alabama knew this, we’re sure they would be asking why their politicians are not listening. Most voters in the state think any attempt to eliminate federal funding for Amtrak is a terrible idea. When told that Amtrak receives over $1 billion per year in federal support, 75 percent say they reject attempts to eliminate it and want funding to continue at current levels.
It seems people in Alabama understand what some in Congress do not: that rail transportation is vitally important to our nation’s economy. Long-term economic growth cannot happen without a greatly enhanced transportation infrastructure, and that includes expanding passenger rail services.
Supporting a healthy economy also involves making sure rail transportation is safe, so it’s no surprise that people in this state emphatically favor policies that do just that.
Like a super-majority of Americans polled across a wide swatch of our country, the people of Alabama believe that running 19,000-ton freight trains — many containing hazardous materials — with only one crew member is a bad idea. That’s why nearly 90 percent of residents support legislation mandating a minimum of two crew members on all freight trains. Since Amtrak shares tracks with freight trains in most parts of the country, the crew sizes used in freight operations will also affect the safety of passenger trains.
America can’t compete in a global economy without fully-funded national passenger rail service and modernized infrastructure to boot. That takes long-term investment by the federal government, in partnership with states and the private sector. We also need to make sure that our freight rail system, which provides the track for much of Amtrak’s service, is safe and adequately staffed.
Alabamians agree with people from California to Florida and most stops in between: our country needs modern and reliable rail transportation with the resources to pay for it and the federal rules to ensure its safety.
This article originally appeared on AL.com.
February 3, 2016 – Talks between the eleven unions in the NJT Rail Labor Coalition and negotiators from New Jersey Transit continued today, but no agreement was reached. Both sides pledged to continue negotiating.
Today’s talks were the first since Presidential Emergency Board 249 selected the unions’ final offer as the “most reasonable”.
Under Section 9a of the Railway Labor Act, which is the law covering NJT commuter rail workers, the cooling off period expires 12:01 am on March 13. If no deal is reached by then, the unions can strike and/or NJT can lock its workers out. A strike or lockout can only be ended by the parties agreeing to a settlement, or Congress passing a law to end the dispute, which both sides believe would be highly unlikely.
The unions adopted the impartial recommendations of President Emergency Board 248 as our final offer. The recommendations call for a contract averaging 2.5 percent a year coupled with significant increases in employee health care contributions. NJT’s offer is for 0.6 percent net wage increases per year. The two Presidential Boards consisted of six experienced and expert arbitrators appointed by President Obama.
Coalition spokesmen said, “The last thing we want is a strike. We have gone five years without a contract. Our settlement proposal is modest and fair. All we are asking is what has been recommended by two expert neutral panels. Congress changed the Railway Labor Act to try to prevent commuter work stoppages by having a second PEB recommend the most reasonable offer, with penalties imposed on the side that doesn’t accept the recommendation. That has almost always led to a settlement. Yet now NJT refuses. We call upon NJT to end this dispute without disruption to the riding public.”
The Coalition includes every rail union on NJT, representing more than 4,000 commuter workers.
For further information, contact:
- Steve Burkert, General Chairperson SMART Transportation Division, (973) 527-7018
- Dave Decker, General Chairman BLET, (973) 497-2497
- Mick Barrett, General Chairman BMWE-D, (215) 245-2236
- Anthony Stevens, Division Chairman TCU/IAM, (908) 220-6736
Click here to view the official press release from the New Jersey Transit Rail Labor Coalition.
Members planning to attend one or both of the SMART Transportation Division regional meetings this summer can now make reservations for either city.
Click here to register online for the San Francisco regional meeting. Click here to register online for the Chicago regional meeting. Click here for the mail-in registration form.
Regional meeting registration is available online now by going to the Meetings page and clicking on the respective city. Hotel information can be accessed by visiting www.utu.org and clicking on the “Meetings” box on the bottom of the homepage. Links to the host hotels, city visitor bureaus, and online car-rental are also available.
Regional meetings will be held July 4-6 in San Francisco and July 25-27 in Chicago.
Each regional meeting will run for 2.5 days, ending early on the afternoon of the third day. The evening of the first day has been left unscheduled so you, your family and friends will be free to explore and enjoy the many offerings of the regional meeting cities.
All those attending the regional meetings must be registered in order to attend any planned social function. Children ages 11 and under who are pre-registered are complimentary.
The pre-registration fee for the 2016 regional meetings is $150 per member, spouse or child over age 11, the same fee charged the last eight years. Additional fees apply for the golf outings and family tours. You must make your own room reservations, and certain deadlines apply.
The $150 registration fee covers all workshop materials; a welcoming reception the night before the meeting; three lunches and one evening meal. Those wishing to attend only the workshops do not need to pay the registration fee. No one-day registrations are offered.
You may cancel your meeting registration 10 days prior to the first day of the meeting or the golf outing without penalty. Call the SMART Transportation Division at (216) 228-9400 or email ghenges@smart-union.org immediately regarding any changes or cancellations.
If you choose to register by mail, you must submit a completed registration form listing each attendee, regardless of age. Complete payment in U.S. funds must be received at the SMART Transportation Division, 24950 Country Club Blvd., Suite 340, North Olmsted, OH 44070-5333, by June 19 for the San Francisco meeting or by July 3 for the Chicago meeting, or the registrant will be charged an on-site registration fee of $200.
?WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board opened Monday the accident docket and publicly released more than 2,000 pages of information as part of the NTSB’s ongoing investigation of the May 12, 2015, Amtrak passenger train derailment in Philadelphia.
Amtrak passenger train #188 derailed, after entering a curve at 106 mph where the speed is restricted to 50 mph. Of the 250 passengers and eight Amtrak employees who were on board, eight passengers were killed and more than 200 others were transported to area hospitals.
Included in the docket are documents containing interview transcripts, letters, factual reports, photographs and other investigative material.
The public docket contains only factual information collected by NTSB investigators, and does not provide analysis, findings, recommendations or probable cause determinations. No conclusions about how or why an accident occurred should be drawn from the docket. The docket opening marks a transition in the investigative process where the majority of facts needed for the investigation have been gathered and the NTSB can move ahead with analysis of those facts. Opening the docket affords those with a need and desire for its contents the opportunity review what factual information has been gathered about the accident. Any analysis, findings, recommendations, or probable cause determinations related to the accident will be issued by the Board at a later date.
The docket material is available at: http://go.usa.gov/cEecP.
Additional material may be added to the docket as it becomes available.
Pennsylvania State Legislative Director Paul Pokrowka reports that the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee will be conducting a public hearing on House Bill 1797 – the state’s two-person crew bill – Feb. 4, at the SEPTA Headquarters, 1234 Market Street (Mezzanine Level), Philadelphia, PA. The hearing will start at 1:00 p.m.
Pokrowka was instrumental in getting this bill to fruition, having brought the two-person crew issue to the Pa. House of Representatives’ attention almost a year ago. Transportation Committee Chairman John Taylor (R – District 177), has asked Pokrowka to act as a presenter at the hearing.
H.B. 1797 reads as follows:
“(a) No train or light engine used in connection with the movement of freight may be operated unless it has a crew consisting of at least two individuals.
“(b) Any person who willfully violates this section shall be guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay the following:
- not less than $250 nor more than $1,000 for a first offense;
- not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 for a second offense committed within three years; and
- not less than $5,000 nor more than $10,000 for a third offense and subsequent offenses committed within three years of the first offense.
“(c) The provisions of subsection (a) do not apply to hostler service or utility employees.”
Pokrowka encourages all Pennsylvania members to attend this important public hearing in support of H.B. 1797.