A public opinion survey done for the United Transportation Union found strong support for Amtrak in three conservative, Republican-dominated districts where service exists. Less than a quarter of respondents favored eliminating Amtrak funding.
The survey focused on three districts in Illinois, Missouri, and North Dakota. Even in these traditionally conservative districts – all currently represented by Republicans in the House of Representatives – 65 percent said that Amtrak funding “should continue at current levels or increase” when told eliminating federal assistance would lead to elimination of the service, with only 21 percent of respondents saying they believe funding for Amtrak should be eliminated.
The following message was sent to the UTU National Legislative Office from Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo:
Whenever one is discussing an ambitious, long-term program, like our high speed and intercity passenger rail program, it is helpful to remind ourselves – and others – about the original vision we committed to in 2009.
Since the very beginning, we have been executing a clearly laid out plan for a passenger rail network that includes high-speed trains, upgraded regional service, and improved connections for emerging markets. All three are interdependent and fundamental components of passenger rail operations in countries around the globe where high speed rail service is successful. This vision was announced by the president when we released our April 2009 strategic plan Vision for High Speed Rail in America.
I often make the analogy to our modern highway system. In the same way you would not take an interstate highway directly to your neighborhood, one would not use a high speed train for every passenger rail trip. Our interstate system works because we have a robust network of state, county, and local roads that feed into the Interstate system. This same tiered-service concept applies to passenger rail.
With investments focused extensively in five mega-regions, we are moving forward with 152 passenger rail projects in 32 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 50 percent of our investments are producing world-class high speed rail, some 45 percent higher-quality regional service, and the balance higher-performing feeder service. All improve the customer experience by reducing trip times, improving reliability, adding additional frequencies, or improving passenger amenities, and help build a high-performing passenger rail network. And we are doing all of this while preserving or enhancing our thriving freight rail network.
Four years ago we made a promise to deliver on a vision for a more comprehensive passenger rail network and we’re keeping that promise. By executing good project fundamentals, with the leadership of our state partners, we’ll continue to bring projects in on time and budget and advance this next generation of transportation.
The U.S. Department of Energy has shipped large amounts and varieties of radioactive material by rail for years and the number of rail shipments is expected to increase. With this rise in shipments comes the increased risk for rail incidents involving these materials.
The Rail Workers’ Hazmat Training Program has been awarded funding to provide safety training to rail workers to increase their knowledge of the transportation of radioactive materials. To meet this training need, the rail program at the National Labor College will conduct a two-day Radiological Transportation Train the Trainer course from April 25-27, 2013.
This federal grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) provides transportation, lodging and meals for training participants. No stipend or per diem is allowable under the conditions of this grant.
The 16-hour DOE Modular Emergency Response Radiological Transportation Training (MERRTT) course will be held at Holiday Inn in Laurel, Md. The program begins on Thursday morning, April 25, at 8 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. It will include an intermission at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 26, for observance of Workers’ Memorial Day activities at the National Labor College.
Interested rail workers can register online at http://www.hazmatgmc.org by selecting the course desription tab, followed by the “Register Now” link for the Radiological Transportation Training.
Space for this course is limited and registrations must be received no later than 1 p.m. April 10, 2013.
For more information, call Freddie Thomas in the Hazmat office at (301) 431-5457, or email fthomas@nlc.edu.
Members who receive prescription medications through Express Scripts/Medco’s home-delivery pharmacy service may notice a change to their prescription bottle and its packaging beginning May 1.
For those who are unaware, the companies merged last year.
Members may notice different colors of prescription bottles – Express Scripts prescription bottles are orange and Medco bottles are white. Medication may also be dispensed in the manufacturer’s packaging instead of a prescription bottle.
Also, while the content on the prescription packaging labels is the same, the prescription labels may have a different type style and layout.
The changes are due to the location from which your prescription is being sent. You may now get your prescription from an Express Scripts Pharmacy or from a Medco Pharmacy, depending on factors including weather, supply, or proximity of the pharmacy to your home.
Express Scripts is now shipping from both Express Scripts and Medco pharmacies, so you may notice some changes to the color, shape and cap of your prescription bottle and the packaging it’s shipped in. There are no changes to your medications and they are being filled and shipped as safely and accurately as they always have.
Packaging for temperature-sensitive prescriptions may be different based on the pharmacy that it was shipped from, but all packaging meets the temperature requirements for safely shipping your medication.
Be assured that your medications will still undergo the same rigorous processes for safety and accuracy.
Local 243 at Fort Worth, Texas, will be hosting a CPR class at its next monthly meeting at 11:30 a.m. on April 23, according to member Steve Cline.
SMART Transportation Division members who want to receive CPR-certified training should plan on attending.
Members that complete the training will be entered in a drawing for a $50 gift card.
Vice Local Chairperson Joshua Livingston, a CPR-certified instructor, will be teaching the class.
Also, Local 243 will be serving pizza from noon until the start of its regular meeting at 1 pm.
The local meets the fourth Tuesday of every month at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Hall at 1501 Hemphill St. in Fort Worth.
The AFL-CIO and Union Privilege (also known as Union Plus) announced today they have partnered together to offer students a chance to win scholarships commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
They will award 50 scholarships of $5,000 each to high school seniors to help pay for college costs. To apply, students must fill out an application, write an essay and provide a letter of reference from a teacher or other adult familiar with their achievements.
The winners will be chosen from the sons or daughters of union families or of current members of an eligible community organization. Applicants must apply by July 1, 2013.
Airline passengers will soon be able to carry small knives, souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto aircraft, and transportation workers represented by UTU-SMART and others are not happy about it.
The new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) policy permits folding knives with blades that are 2.36 inches or less in length and are less than a half-inch wide. The policy is aimed at allowing passengers to carry pen knives, corkscrews with small blades and other knives.
Passengers also will be allowed to bring onboard as part of their carry-on luggage novelty-sized baseball bats less than 24 inches long, toy plastic bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and two golf clubs, the TSA said.
The policy goes into effect April 25.
The announcement drew an immediate outcry from UTU-SMART and other unions that represent flight attendants and other airline workers.
“UTU-SMART, along with all other airline unions and the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO have objected to this unilateral decision made independently by TSA,” SMART Transportation Division National Legislative Director James Stem said. “We are exploring all options to overturn this sudden decision.”
“The TSA’s recent decision to allow knives, sports bats, sticks, and pool cues into the aircraft cabin is both self-serving and ill advised,” Great Lakes Aviation Vice General Chairperson Diane King said. “It goes against the TSA’s own mission statement, which states: ‘TSA has established guiding principles to maintain the security of the traveling public and continuously set the standard for excellence in transportation security.’
“There is a widely held belief that all flight decks on commercial aircraft have had ballistic doors installed since 9/11. This is simply not true,” King said.
“The vast majority of our fleet is comprised of Beechcraft 1900s, which have nothing more than a curtain separating the pilots from the passengers. Furthermore, the FAA does not require a flight attendant for these aircraft. With the pilots’ attention necessarily focused forward on their instruments, radios, changing weather, the landscape, etc., they are unable to monitor passengers, especially during critical phases of flight.
“Without the benefit of a flight attendant to stand as a final defense between the passengers and the flight deck, these pilots are completely vulnerable to attack by an irate passenger, or a terrorist.
“We are unable to protect our passengers, the flight deck, or ourselves if a passenger wielding a golf club takes out our kneecaps, cuts our throats with a knife, punctures our eyeballs with a corkscrew, or inflicts a severe head injury with a baseball bat, pool cue, ski pole, or lacrosse stick,” King said.
“The admitted ‘convenience factor’ for TSA agents does not, and absolutely should not, outweigh the safety concerns of passengers and crewmembers onboard an aircraft. This latest TSA decision does nothing to maintain the security of the traveling public; on the contrary, it severely compromises both crew and passenger safety,” King said.
There’s no excuse for reversal on the policy to ban knives from the aircraft cabin. Multi-layered security, including prohibition of items that could pose a threat, ensures U.S. aviation is the safest in the world. The ban on dangerous objects is an integral layer in aviation security.
Flight Attendants serve as the last line of defense in aviation security – responsible for ensuring the safety, health and security of the passengers in our care. Join us in keeping our aircraft cabin safe. Tell the TSA to keep knives out of the cabin.
UTU-SMART Transportation Division Alternate National Legislative Director John Risch, right, joins with others on Capitol Hill to protest plans to allow knives on aircraft.
WASHINGTON – On Saturday, May 11, 2013, Amtrak will join communities across America to celebrate the importance of trains to their town at the sixth annual National Train Day.
More than 200 communities are expected to host events at local train stations, railroad museums and other locations commemorating this year’s theme “trains matter.”
“National Train Day invites communities big and small to share the importance of trains as a vital transportation option and engine of economic development and employment,” said Amtrak Chief Marketing & Sales Officer Matt Hardison.
In addition to events in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles, Amtrak is expanding its efforts to support events in many local markets across the country served by America’s Railroad®. Event offerings will vary to include train equipment displays, family-friendly activities and local dignitaries.
Details on National Train Day events and information on how to host a National Train Day event is available at NationalTrainDay.com. Additional events and information will be added to the website frequently. In addition, rail passengers and enthusiasts are invited to share why trains matter to them via Facebook or @natltrainday.
A few weeks shy of their respective first quarter earnings announcements East Coast-based Class I railroads Norfolk Southern and CSX are feeling pretty good about their businesses.
Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman stated in the company’s 2012 annual report that the future is promising for the rail carrier, which saw 2012 come in as its second best year ever in its history in terms of revenue at $11 billion, operating income at $3.1 billion, net income at $413 million, and earnings per share at $5.37.
The negotiating team representing SMART Transportation Division members on the Kyle Railroad has reached agreement with the carrier on a proposed contract for all crafts under its jurisdiction. The Transportation Division represents engineers, conductors, brakemen, maintenance of way employees, signal employees, mechanics, helpers and apprentices, carmen and welders.
General Chairperson Brent Leonard, who was assisted by Local 44 President and Chairperson William Strickland, Local Secretary & Treasurer Dustin Meiller and Vice Local Chairperson Jacob Dougherty, led the negotiating team.
Assistant President John Previsich, who participated in the negotiations, praised the team for its efforts. “This round of negotiations was made more difficult by the sale of RailAmerica to Genesee and Wyoming partway through the process. The sale introduced a number of new concerns regarding preservation of benefits and pay that weren’t present at the start of the negotiations.
“The team did an excellent job of securing the current benefit levels while obtaining new provisions that guarantee pay and time off, along with excellent improvements to wages and working conditions.”
“The proposed agreement contains new working conditions that provide for a quality of life unseen on Class I railroads,” said Leonard. “For the first time on the Kyle Railroad, our members can secure a guaranteed level of benefit and a cost-sharing cap on their health insurance plan.”
The tentative agreement and ballots have been mailed to affected members and ballots must be returned no later than April 22, 2013.
The Kyle Railroad is a short line railroad operating from north central Kansas into eastern Colorado, with 625 miles of track. It interchanges with BNSF Railway, Nebraska, Kansas & Colorado Railway and Union Pacific.
Commodities moved on Kyle include wheat, soybeans, milo maize, alcohols, siding asphalt and roofing granules.
A public opinion survey done for the United Transportation Union found strong support for Amtrak in three conservative, Republican-dominated districts where service exists. Less than a quarter of respondents favored eliminating Amtrak funding.
The following message was sent to the UTU National Legislative Office from Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo:
The U.S. Department of Energy has shipped large amounts and varieties of radioactive material by rail for years and the number of rail shipments is expected to increase. With this rise in shipments comes the increased risk for rail incidents involving these materials.
Members who receive prescription medications through Express Scripts/Medco’s home-delivery pharmacy service may notice a change to their prescription bottle and its packaging beginning May 1.
Local 243 at Fort Worth, Texas, will be hosting a CPR class at its next monthly meeting at 11:30 a.m. on April 23, according to member Steve Cline.
Airline passengers will soon be able to carry small knives, souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto aircraft, and transportation workers represented by UTU-SMART and others are not happy about it.
WASHINGTON – On Saturday, May 11, 2013, Amtrak will join communities across America to celebrate the importance of trains to their town at the sixth annual