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KCS_rail_logoDuring a meeting with the presidents of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the SMART Transportation Division on April 24, 2013, Kansas City Southern Railway announced that it intends to install and begin to use inward facing cameras in all of its locomotives over the next few weeks.

According to KCS, each locomotive will have two cameras – one behind the engineer focused on the control panel, and one across the cab focusing on both crew members. (Some locomotives with cameras installed already are in use in Mexico; others are being fitted for cameras in Shreveport.)

The carrier told the two presidents that it has “management prerogative” to take these actions and does not have to, and does not intend to, bargain with the unions over the use of these cameras, or the effects of this dramatic change on its operating craft employees.

Without notifying the unions, that same day KCS filed suit in federal district court in Shreveport, La., to obtain a ruling allowing it to implement its plan. Upon learning of these developments, BLET National President Dennis Pierce and Mike Futhey, President of SMART Transportation Division, together told the carrier that both unions vehemently disagree that the carrier has the right to install and use inward-facing cameras unilaterally without exhausting the bargaining processes of the Railway Labor Act.

The two presidents and the leadership of both unions view this as a serious change in working conditions and have agreed to work closely to resist its implementation. A coordinated effort is being undertaken in response.

Not only will both unions be fervently opposing KCS’s lawsuit, they will be asking the court to enjoin the carrier from going ahead with its plan.

As of now, and until the court has issued a ruling regarding the parties’ respective rights, the carrier has agreed not to turn on or use the cameras.

Union members who work for KCS on a locomotive that has a camera installed should request assurances from the proper carrier officials that the camera is not turned on and not in use. Any instance where that assurance is not given should be immediately reported to your general chairperson.

Also, to avoid any possibility of discipline, no member should attempt to move, cover or otherwise tamper with the cameras they encounter. Cooperation in this manner is vital. 



Lastly, train and engine employees can be assured that their unions are diligently working to protect them and their interests in this matter. No legal stone will be left unturned in opposing the carrier on this issue.

DIPP logo_150pxEffective April 2, 2013, item 12 has been added to the list of exclusions for which benefits under the Discipline/Income Protection Program will not be paid to a participant who is suspended or discharged from employment for disciplinary/decertification reason.

Item 12 has been added to the list as a result of action taken by SMART Transportation Division Board of Directors.

The complete list of exclusions is as follows:

1. Conduct endangering the life or livelihood of a fellow employee;

2. Unavailability for duty, sleeping on duty or missing calls;

3. Insubordination;

4. Misuse, theft or destruction of property of the participant’s employer;

5. Falsification of reports;

6. Failure to take or pass a required examination;

7. Failure to qualify for mandatory promotion;

8. Use, possession or evidence of intoxicants or illegal drugs while on duty or subject to duty;

9. Discipline due to criminal or civil action;

10. An act or acts, or failure to act, which constitutes a violation of public policy;

11. Involvement in altercations, verbal or physical; or

12. If decertified, the failure to exercise seniority to its fullest that does not require a change in residence.

metlifeActive and retired railroad employees covered under The Railroad Employees’ National Health and Welfare Plan or The NRC/UTU Health and Welfare Plan may be eligible for life and accidental death and Dismemberment benefits from MetLife.

For eligible active employees, the death benefit is in most cases $20,000, and there may be an additional AD&D benefit that could pay up to $16,000. For eligible retired employees, the death benefit is $2,000.

Most employees filled out a designated beneficiary form when they began work for a participating railroad and MetLife urges employees and retirees to keep this form with your other important papers. If you need to update your beneficiary form, or if there is doubt as to whom you designated, it is recommended that you complete a new form and send it to MetLife.

A beneficiary form, as well as a copy of the full summary plan description book, can be found at www.rrinfodepot.com. There is a direct link to that web page from www.utu.org. Hovering over the “Healthcare” tab on the UTU home page will provide you with a drop down menu for the Railroad Information Depot.

You can also obtain information about this benefit by calling MetLife toll-free at (800) 310-7770.

This is a very important benefit for all eligible active and retired railroad employees covered under the national health and welfare plans, although many employees, especially retired employees, may not be fully aware of it. We urge you to post this notice at appropriate work locations on the property and remind all retirees with whom you may come in contact that they should contact MetLife to inquire about their eligibilty for the $2,000 death benefit.

jerrick_jackson
Jackson

Norfolk Southern conductor and UTU member Jerrick A. Jackson, 47, was shot multiple times and killed May 7 in an apparent robbery at his home in Atlanta.

Jackson was a member of Local 1245 in Atlanta and the local has established a memorial fund to assist his family, Local Secretary & Treasurer Jay C. Roy reports. Contributions payable to the Jerrick Jackson Memorial Fund, c/o Kim Little may be sent to the Jerrick Jackson Memorial Fund, c/o UTU Local 1245, 75 Biltmore Ln., Dallas, GA 30157.

According to a report by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Jackson and his fiance were returning home from a fast-food restaurant around 1 a.m. when they were approached by several males with guns drawn.

After robbing Jackson and the woman of a wallet and purse outside the home, the suspects ordered the couple inside the home, where Jackson and one of the suspects began to fight, according to police. One of the suspects then shot Jackson several times before the suspects left the home.

Jackson’s soon-to-be step-daughter, Anbiya Mitchell, told CBS Atlanta News she had no idea why anyone would want to rob and murder the man she called dad.

She said she was upstairs when she heard her mother and Jackson being forced inside their home. “At that time, I barricaded myself in my room and call 911,” Mitchell said. “I loved him. And I really do consider him a hero because he did protect me from the four guys getting upstairs.

Jackson was the younger brother of Bishop Wiley Jackson, founder and pastor of the Gospel Tabernacle Cathedral. In a statement released May 7, Wiley Jackson asked that those responsible for his brother’s death to surrender.

“To the young men who committed this senseless act, as a man of faith and a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I have already forgiven you,” he said. “But I ask you to turn yourselves in so that you can begin the process of true redemption.”

Roy said Jackson was a great person who genuinely cared about others and offered any help he could give. “That guy was well liked by everybody. Everybody down here is just in shock,” he said.

Roy said Jackson hired out with Norfolk Southern in May 2006. He was qualified as a conductor on the Georgia Division, Inman Yard/North District on Oct. 1, 2006, and has been an active member of Local 1245 in Atlanta since Dec. 1, 2006.

A service will be held for Jackson on Monday, May 13, at 2 p.m. at The Gospel Tabernacle Cathedral at 277 Clifton St. S.E. in Atlanta.

The evening of Jan. 5, 2005, was dry and cool in Graniteville, S.C. At 6:10, a 12-car Norfolk Southern freight train pulled up to the Avondale Mills textile plant, and Jim Thornton, a conductor with 18 years’ experience, climbed down from the locomotive to open a switch and let the train roll onto a siding.

It was getting close to the hour by which, according to law, the crew had to quit for the day and rest.

Read the complete article by Dan Baum at Popular Science.

afl_cioWASHINGTON – In 2011, 4,693 workers were killed on the job, according to a new AFL-CIO report, “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect.” That is an average of 13 workers every day.

In addition, another estimated 50,000 die every year from occupational diseases – an average of 137 a day, bringing the total worker fatalities to 150 a day.

North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska and Arkansas had the highest workplace fatality rates, while New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Washington had the lowest. Latino workers, especially those born outside of the United States, continue to face rates of workplace fatalities 14 percent higher than other workers, the same as last year.

In 2011, 3.8 million workers across all industries experienced work-related illnesses and injuries. The true toll is estimated to be two to three times greater, but lack of reporting in this area results in lower official figures.

The job fatality rate had been declining steadily for many years, but in the past three years the rate has essentially been unchanged, at 3.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers. Similarly, for the past two years, there has been no change in the reported workplace injury and illness rate (3.5 per 100 workers).

This year’s report comes on the heels of a horrific explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, which killed 15 people, injured hundreds more and caused widespread destruction.

The report also examines the role of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 43 years after its creation. It finds that OSHA remains underfunded and understaffed, and that penalties are too low to deter violations. Because of the underfunding, federal OSHA inspectors can only inspect workplaces once every 131 years on average, and state OSHA inspectors would take 76 years to inspect all workplaces.

OSHA penalties are too low to be taken seriously, let alone provide deterrence. The average penalty is only $2,156 for a serious federal health and safety violation, and only $974 for a state violation. Even in cases involving worker fatalities, the median total penalty was a paltry $5,175 for federal OSHA and $4,200 for the OSHA state plans. By contrast, property damage valued between $300 and $10,000 in the state of Illinois is considered a Class 4 felony and can carry a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years and a fine of up to $25,000.

Criminal penalties under OSHA are also weak. While there were 320 criminal enforcement cases initiated under federal environmental laws and 231 defendants charged in fiscal year 2012, only 84 cases related to worker deaths have been prosecuted since 1970.

In the face of an ongoing assault on regulations by business groups and Republicans in Congress, progress on many new important safety and health rules has stalled. The White House Office of Management and Budget has delayed needed protections, including OSHA’s draft proposed silica rule, which has been held up for more than two years.

“In 2013, it is unacceptable that so many hardworking men and women continue to die on the job,” said AFL-CIO President and third-generation coal miner Richard Trumka. “No one should have to sacrifice his or her life or health and safety in order to earn a decent living. Yet, elected leaders, business groups and employers have failed to provide adequate health and safety protections for working families. At the same time, too many politicians and business leaders are actively working to dismantle working people’s right to collectively bargain on the job and speak out against unsafe, unjust working conditions. This is a disgrace to all those who have died. America’s workers deserve better.”

“Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect” was released after hundreds of Workers Memorial Day vigils, rallies and action were held across the country to commemorate all those workers who died and were injured on the job.

U.S. Capitol Building; Capitol Building; Washington D.C.The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and their ruling that workplaces must display posters about union organizing, bargaining and protests.

The law would have insisted that more than six million private employers post a “notification of employee rights.” The one-page poster was to include basic rights protected by Federal Labor Law, including the right to join a union and go on strike. Failure to comply with the rule would have resulted in charges being brought against the employer in an unfair labor practice case.

The three-judge-panel stated that the rule was a violation of employers’ rights to freedom of speech, as the poster did not include any opposing information such as how to decertify a union or avoid paying dues.

The rule was scheduled to go into effect last year but was put on hold due to legal challenges posed by the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Right to Work Legal Defense, National Federation of Independent Business, Education Foundation and other business lobbyists. They challenged that the poster requirement was to promote unionization of the work force.

Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson wrote, The National Labor Relations Act “simply does not authorize the board to impose on an employer a freestanding obligation to educate its employees on the fine points of labor relations law.” Unions and the NLRB itself are free to display posters and do so, Henderson noted.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka came out against the ruling stating, the “D.C. Circuit has once again undermined workers’ rights – this time by striking down a common-sense rule requiring employers to inform workers of their rights under federal labor law. In today’s workplace, employers are required to display posters explaining wage and hour rights, health and safety and discrimination laws, even emergency escape routes. The D.C. Circuit ruling suggests that courts should strike down hundreds of notice requirements…”

bus2A bill in the New York Legislature is proposing that ignition interlocks be placed on all school buses. The ignition interlock would detect alcohol on the driver’s breath and would refuse to start up if alcohol is detected.

This bill was prompted by several accidents involving intoxicated bus drivers in N.Y. within the past year. One intoxicated driver ran his bus with kids aboard into a house.

“Parents entrust their children’s lives and safety to school bus drivers,” said Senator Charles Fuschillo. “They have every right to expect and demand that the bus driver is sober.”

If passed, the new law will go into effect in 2015.

bus; CATS; CATS busSEPTA and Port Authority employers are awaiting a decision to be made by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) on whether or not they can continue to ignore state law and keep drivers on the clock for shifts lasting up to 18 hours. SEPTA drivers can work up to 30 hours within a two-day period. Pennsylvania state law currently states that it is illegal for drivers to drive for more than 10 hours or work shifts longer than 15 hours. SEPTA employers frequently overlook this law.

PennDOT was petitioned by the Port Authority as well as SEPTA to put in place a temporary waiver to the law. They are asking for a three-year waiver to the law and propose to work with PennDOT and Pa. legislators to amend the hours-of-service policy. Transit employers want the law changed to the same policy as rail transit drivers. The policy for rail transit drivers states that a driver can be scheduled to work up to 16 hours with no more than 14 hours of actual work during that span and at least 10 hours rest between shifts.

SEPTA and Port Authority argue that to obey the current law they would have to spend millions to hire enough drivers. SEPTA argues that to be in compliance, the city of Philadelphia would need to hire an additional 135 drivers at a cost of $4.7 million a year and a one-time training cost of $600,000. If additional drivers are not hired, SEPTA claims that they would have to cut service by four percent to be in compliance.

SEPTA asserts that sleep and public safety do not factor into this issue and are “unaware of any evidence to suggest that the long-standing practice of exempting Pennsylvania transit agencies from hours-of-service regulations presents any substantial risk to public safety.”

Sleep experts disagree. It is a well-known fact through numerous sleep studies that sleep has an effect on a person’s ability to perform. According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), “sleepiness/fatigue in the work place can lead to poor concentration, absenteeism, accidents, errors, injuries and fatalities.

People who work in the transportation industry face some of the most serious challenges. They battle fatigue because of their irregular sleep schedules and endure long tedious hours at the controls or behind the wheel. In fact, research suggests that driver fatigue behind the wheel caused by sleep deprivation is one of the leading safety hazards in the transportation industry.”

The foundation also states that the more tired you are, the more likely you are to experience what is called a “microsleep” which is an involuntary bout of sleep brought on by sleep deprivation that lasts for a few seconds.

PennDOT is expected to make a decision on this issue by the end of this month. 

OLD FORT, N.C. — A railroad worker who was killed early May 6 in a mudslide, was the father of three children and always had a smile on his face, his wife said.

Joe Drewnoski, 33, of Waynesville, died on Old Fort Mountain early Monday morning while inspecting track after a mudslide with another Norfolk Southern worker.

Read the full story at the Asheville Citizen-Times.