The fifth annual SMART Day at the Races will be held at Fonner Park Race Track in Grand Island, Neb., Friday, April 17, at 3 p.m., Union Pacific General Committee of Adjustment GO 953 reports.
In previous years, attendees included members from a number of locals in Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa and Wyoming, from both the Sheet Metal and Transportation Divisions.
Food and beverages will be available at the track and free clubhouse seating will be provided for those who reply in advance.
Transportation Division Local 506 at Herington, Kan., will be donating a horse blanket emblazoned with the SMART logo to be presented to the owner of the winning horse in a specified race.
Please R.S.V.P. by contacting Local 7 Chairperson Cliff Gordon at (308) 530-5766 or at cgordonutue@hotmail.com, or Local 286 member Ed Mueller at (308) 530-6711 or by email at meeko@kdsi.net, if you’re planning to attend. Special room rates are available at the Midtown Holiday Inn in Grand Island by calling (308) 384-1330. Mention code “UTU” or “SMART” when making a reservation.
Author: matrixsuperadmin
The fifth annual SMART Day at the Races will be held at Fonner Park Race Track in Grand Island, Neb., Friday, April 17, at 3 p.m., Union Pacific General Committee of Adjustment GO 953 reports.
In previous years, attendees included members from a number of locals in Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa and Wyoming, from both the Sheet Metal and Transportation Divisions.
Food and beverages will be available at the track and free clubhouse seating will be provided for those who reply in advance.
Transportation Division Local 506 at Herington, Kan., will be donating a horse blanket emblazoned with the SMART logo to be presented to the owner of the winning horse in a specified race.
Please R.S.V.P. by contacting Local 7 Chairperson Cliff Gordon at (308) 530-5766 or at cgordonutue@hotmail.com, or Local 286 member Ed Mueller at (308) 530-6711 or by email at meeko@kdsi.net, if you’re planning to attend. Special room rates are available at the Midtown Holiday Inn in Grand Island by calling (308) 384-1330. Mention code “UTU” or “SMART” when making a reservation.
Funding to save the Southwest Chief did not make it into the budget proposed by the Colorado legislature this week, Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith reports.
“We must now seek support from Gov. Hickenlooper and the Joint Budget Committee, which will review appropriation requests beyond the current proposed budget,” Smith said. “We need to get their attention and approval as soon as possible. Please call the governor and the following legislators and ask them to fund the Southwest Chief Commission.
“This train is essential to Colorado’s transportation system,” Smith said. “You might also remind Gov. Hickenlooper that he committed to finding funding for the train at the bill signing last year.”
Hickenlooper’s office phone number is (303) 866-2471.
For funding to pass, the bill needs the support of the following members from the state’s Joint Budget Committee:
- Sen. Kevin Grantham, (303) 866-4877, Kevin.Gratham.senate@state.co.us
- Sen. Pat Steadman, (303) 866-4861, Pat.Steadman.senate@state.co.us
- Rep. Millie Hamner, (303) 866-2952, Millie.Hamner.house@state.co.us
- Rep. Dave Young, (303) 866 2929, Dave.Young.house@state.co.us
SMART Transportation Division-represented conductors and trainmen employed by the Canadian National/Grand Trunk Western Railroad unanimously ratified a new six-year agreement March 17, Vice President Doyle Turner reports.
The agreement provides for six annual wage increases retroactive to Aug. 1, 2010, with the final wage increase to be effective Aug. 1, 2015, totaling 18.6 percent and resulting in a cumulative wage increase of 20.08 percent over the life of the agreement.
The accord includes conductor certification pay rolled into the rates of pay and full retroactive back-pay for all active trainmen and employees, and to retired or deceased employees who earned compensation subsequent to Aug. 1, 2010.
The agreement provides that all employees on guaranteed extra boards will have a five-day work week, with two consecutive scheduled rest days per work week, provides “smart-rest” benefits, improves bereavement leave, provides for a furlough retention board and institutes provisions for temporary transfer to other CN properties.
Participation in the UTU National Health and Welfare plans continues.
Turner, who assisted with the mediated negotiations, expressed his appreciation to CN/GTW GO 377 General Chairperson Jason E. Reineke (1075), Vice General Chairperson William T. Miller. Jr. (72) and General Committee Secretary John R. Purcell II (1075) for their exceptional effort in bringing the members’ concerns to the bargaining table.
This agreement makes GTW employees some of the highest paid rail employees in the country.
The school bus operators and monitors of Local 1704 at Kansas City, Mo., have obtained a first contract with First Student, Inc., the operator of school bus service for the city’s school district.
This is their first agreement under SMART Transportation Division representation and Vice President–Bus Calvin Studivant said the employees’ choice already paid off.
“Our members saw their pay raises double, and in some cases triple, compared to what they were accustomed to receiving. They now enjoy more favorable work rules and yearly increases in their charter rates. Their new rates of pay will be retroactive to July 2014,” Studivant said.
“There are also changes to their run-bids procedure, spare drivers received an additional hour on their guarantee, and to better terms were negotiated to their bereavement policy.”
“I thank Local Chairperson Jackie Pearson, Secretary & Treasurer Tonya Stokes, Local Chairpersons Mary Porter, Sharon Harris and Matthew Boyles, and Vice President–Bus Adhi Reddy for their hard work and dedication to seeing this contract through to completion.”
The operators and monitors were formerly represented by the Service Employees International Union, but voted for decertification to seek a new collective bargaining representative. They chose the SMART Transportation Division May 15, 2014.
The local represents approximately 300 drivers and monitors working for the school district.
At the time, Transportation Division Director of Organizing Rich Ross said, “This was a hard-fought campaign, but it was also a well-run campaign. We won, and we won by a large majority because we spent a lot of time out there making our case. The operators wanted representation and chose the best bang for their buck.”
Studivant, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority General Chairperson Waverly Harris (1594) and Vice Local Chairperson Brian Caldwell (1594), CSX and Norfolk Southern new-hire class instructor Justin Humphries, Local 1291 Chairperson Jacob Lane assisted in the organizing effort.
Local 759 member Sheny M. Mendez acting as an interpreter for the company’s Spanish-speaking employees.
Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith asks that all members from the state call or email key legislators to pass the bill funding Amtrak’s Southwest Chief.
“A bill to save the Southwest Chief will be heading to the Colorado Legislature’s Senate Appropriations Committee very soon. We need you to contact key legislators today to help save Amtrak service in Colorado,” Smith said.
“As you may know, SMART Transportation Division and our partners have been working over the past several years to save passenger rail in Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. After a lot of hard work, we now have a bill that gets the fight to preserve Amtrak’s Southwest Chief over the line in Colorado. State Sens. Leroy Garcia (D-Pueblo) and Larry Crowder (R-Alamosa) have introduced Senate Bill 176, a bill that will fund the remaining portion of Colorado’s share of capital costs to save Amtrak for Colorado’s passengers. The bill was endorsed by the Transportation Committee last month, but now it needs to pass the Senate Appropriations Committee before it can reach the full State Senate.
“Your voice will make the difference! Following negotiations, advocates for rail service have managed to cut Colorado’s total share of costs to rehabilitate the Southwest Chief’s tracks from $40 million to $8.9 million. This is a huge victory for passengers, and it only happened because of the federal grant that Southeastern Colorado communities successfully applied for in 2014 in collaboration with Kansas, Amtrak, and BNSF Railway.
“Please take a moment today and contact the following senators via email and phone (it’s fine to leave a message):
- Sen. Kevin Grantham: (303) 866-4877, kevin.grantham.senate@state.co.us
- Sen. Mary Hodge: (303) 866-4855, mary.hodge.senate@state.co.us
- Sen. Rollie Heath, (303) 866-4872, rollie.heath.senate@state.co.us
What we need you to say:
“Personalize your message, but make sure to clearly ask for their support of SB-176 in the Senate Appropriations Committee. And remember: always be respectful.
“Here are a few other points that you can make to the senators about why the Southwest Chief is so important to the people of Colorado:
- The cost has gone done almost 80 percent because of successful negotiations between the state and other stakeholders;
- No less than 12 local communities in Southeastern Colorado have already stepped up and paid their share to keep the train running;
- We need to support rural Colorado;
- Amtrak, BNSF Railway, and the state of Kansas have already spent millions on this project-it’s Colorado’s turn to show our support.”
The Minnesota Senate Committee on Transportation and Public Safety and the Senate Committee on Judiciary have approved legislation requiring two qualified train-crew personnel on all trains in the state with bipartisan support.
Senate File 918 is now before the full Minnesota Senate.
“The policy language is very narrow to assure that we can prevail under any test of federal pre-emption from the carriers,” said SMART Transportation Division Minnesota State Legislative Director Phillip Qualy. “We are emphasizing public safety as we must because that is what this is about. We have set forth that Amtrak and passenger rail operations are included under this legislation.”
“In event any train should run with one person, the second and subsequent fine is for $1,000 for each train.”
In his testimony before the Committee on Judiciary March 19, Qualy said, “Railroads have two persons on all trains. Our S.F. 918 poses no undue burden on commerce. Regarding grade crossing emergency response, for the railroad workers of Minnesota, I submit that we simply cannot leave injured persons lying unattended in the ditches of Minnesota.” Read Qualy’s complete testimony here.
Unfortunately, Qualy said, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has so far refused to hear companion legislation House File 1166, to date.
“We are sending a letter of appeal to the Republican leadership with the amended Senate language that originated from bipartisan Senate recommendations,” he said.
“We’ve had a good week thus far, but we are far, far away from passing this state legislation into law. The Minnesota Legislative Board thanks all of our members who attended the hearings this week. We also want to thank our good friend, Mr. Larry Mann, who assisted the board and testified in support of this important legislation.”
“The board thanks Minnesota Assistant State Legislative Director Nicholas Katich (1067), Designated Legal Counsel Cortney LeNeave and Ron Barzcak, Minnesota AFL-CIO Legislative Director Jennifer Schaubach, and most importantly, State Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-Dist. 45), who authored and sponsored this legislation.
WASHINGTON – Christopher A. Hart was sworn as the 13th chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board March 17 during a ceremony presided over by Chief Administrative Law Judge Alfonso Montano.
President Barack Obama nominated Hart to serve as chairman in January 2015, and the U.S. Senate confirmed him on March 12, 2015. He has been serving as acting chairman since April 26, 2014.
Prior to stepping into the role of acting chairman, Hart had served as vice chairman and a member of the board since 2009. He also served as a member of the board from 1990 to 1993.
“I am very grateful for this opportunity to lead this dynamic agency that is dedicated to improving transportation safety,” said Hart. “I have been involved in transportation safety for more than 30 years, and the NTSB truly sets the bar higher for continued safety improvement.”
Hart is an aerospace engineer, attorney, and licensed pilot with commercial, multi-engine and instrument ratings. His family has a tradition of accomplishment in the field of transportation. In 1926, his great uncle, James Herman Banning, was the first African-American to receive a pilot’s license issued by the U.S. Government.
After serving as a member of the board from 1990-1993, Hart served as deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, before moving to the Federal Aviation Administration in 1995. He served as the FAA assistant administrator for System Safety and then became deputy director for Air Traffic Safety Oversight before returning to the board in 2009.
Hart holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association.
More than 200 whistleblower complaints against railroad since 2001
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. – For the third time since 2011, the Union Pacific Railroad has violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act at its yard in North Platte by disciplining employees who reported workplace injuries and sought medical attention, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found. Since 2001, the company has faced more than 200 whistleblower complaints nationwide.
In the most recent case, OSHA investigators determined that Union Pacific disciplined a 35-year-employee after the locomotive freight engineer reported injuries sustained in a Dec. 22, 2013, collision and received medical attention. The company has been ordered to pay the engineer $350,000 in punitive and compensatory damages and reasonable attorney’s fees, remove disciplinary information from the employee’s personnel record and provide information about whistleblower rights to all its employees. Prior to this incident, the employee had never been disciplined.
“It is disheartening that this employee, a loyal railroad worker for 35 years, faced disciplinary action because he sought needed medical attention for a work-related injury. Union Pacific’s actions and the repeated complaints filed by their employees are indicative of a culture that doesn’t show that same loyalty to their workers or concern for their safety,” said Marcia P. Drumm, OSHA’s regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo. “Whistleblower protections play an important role in keeping workplaces safe. It is not only illegal to discipline an employee for reporting an injury and seeking medical attention, it puts everyone at risk.”
Any of the parties in this case can file an appeal with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.
Based in Omaha, Union Pacific Corporation is one of America’s leading transportation companies. Its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad, is North America’s premier railroad franchise, in 23 states across the western two-thirds of the United States. It has 47,000 employees and operates 8,000 locomotives over 32,000 route miles.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, worker safety, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime and securities laws.
Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor to request an investigation by OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program. Detailed information on employee whistleblower rights, including fact sheets, is available at http://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 https://www.osha.gov/.
WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that nominations are being accepted for members to serve on the Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee.
OSHA is accepting nominations for six members to serve on the 12-member committee for a two-year term. The six positions will become vacant Dec. 1, 2015. Nominations will be accepted from those interested in representing management (2), labor (2), the public (1), and State Occupational Safety and Health Plan states (1).
Nominations may be submitted electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking Portal, by mail or facsimile. See the Federal Register notice for submission details. Nominations must be submitted by May 18, 2015.
WPAC was established to advise and make recommendations to the secretary of labor and the assistant secretary for occupational safety and health on ways to improve the fairness, efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of OSHA’s whistleblower protection activities.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of Section 11(c) of the OSH Act, and 21 other 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.