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PAULSBORO, N.J. — A signal  problem and/or a bridge-locking defect may have been contributing factors in a Conrail bridge collapse and CSX train derailment here Nov. 30. Paulsboro is some 20 miles southeast of Philadelphia.

Some 12,500 gallons of the hazardous material vinyl chloride spilled into a creek from four derailed tank cars. There were no crew injuries. While some 60 of those in the area were treated for respiratory problems, none of the injuries was reported as serious.

News reports quote National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman that there were possible problems with a track signal and/or the swing-bridge locking system.

Hersman said the CSX crew encountered a red signal, although the bridge was not in an open position to permit boat traffic on the creek below to pass. The crew, reporting the conflict, and after visually inspecting the bridge, was given authority by a dispatcher to cross the bridge, Hersman said. According to news reports, the locomotive and five cars had crossed the bridge at 8 mph when it collapsed.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are being assisted by members of the UTU Transportation Safety Team.

This is the second time the swing bridge has collapsed. In 2009, it collapsed causing the derailment of 16 coal cars of a 50-car coal train. It was repaired then and placed back in service.

 

Civil penalties for school bus firms operating unsafe equipment have been increased, effective Dec. 27, by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The regulation applies to all schools or school systems who own or operate school buses. All school buses, whether in interstate or intrastate operation, must meet the federal standards.

The new maximum civil penalty for penalty for each violation involving school buses or school bus equipment is $11,000. The new maximum penalty for a series of such violations is in excess of $17 million.

To read the new rule, click on the following link:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-11-27/pdf/2012-28694.pdf.

 

Stem

“Every Amtrak employee should be placed in a productive position that supports the needs of customer service and managed growth of operations,” UTU National Legislative Director James Stem told Congress Nov. 28.

“Amtrak operating crews are among the most productive workers in that system and our members are ready and eager to work,” he said in testifying before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “Assign us a train and provide for instructions and where to go, and our members will show up for duty and get Amtrak passengers to their destination safely and on time. We in labor are Amtrak’s partners.”

Stem praised Amtrak’s Next Generation Plan that “provides a road map for improved service and identifies the funding requirements. But for us to succeed, Congress must provide Amtrak with consistent and predicable multi-year funding for modernization and capacity upgrades. Amtrak’s Next Generation Plan for the Northeast Corridor will cut the transit time in half between Washington, D.C.’s Union Station and New York’s Penn Station, as well as between New York and Boston.

“What Amtrak really needs is dramatic increases in capital investments,” Stem said. “Capital spending to increase speeds and upgrade Amtrak’s infrastructure is the ticket to transporting American’s in a cost effective and energy efficient manner.”

Stem reminded lawmakers that “Amtrak also plays a central role in financing Railroad Retirement, which is a self-funding pension, unemployment and disability benefit program that covers almost one million active and retired railroad workers. Changes in the financial treatment of Amtrak, such as significant funding cuts or passenger rail privatization, could jeopardize the solvency of the system.

“Americans want a national intercity rail passenger network, and Amtrak is uniquely able to fill that need. Highways and commercial aviation will not alone meet the nation’s future passenger transportation needs and demands. The coordination of air and rail passenger services should be mandated to free more air slots and provide timely rail services for shorter travel distances.”

Stem also made clear labor’s “full support for the expansion of our freight rail capacity. Amtrak and our freight railroads work together as partners and both have capacity needs that can be mutual goals. We support the expansion of Amtrak services and understand that this expansion must also address the capacity needs of our freight rail partners.”

UTU National Legislative Director James Stem, right, testifies before the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Nov. 28 with Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman, left, and Amtrak
Inspector General Theodore Alves.

Palmetto GBA logoThe Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has once again awarded its Medicare contract to Palmetto GBA, which will continue to handle Medicare Part B claims for Railroad Retirement beneficiaries.

The award, which was announced Sept. 28, names Palmetto as the Railroad Specialty Medicare Administrative Contractor (SMAC).

The transition to the new contract award does not have any impact on beneficiaries and Palmetto GBA’s beneficiary contact center telephone number and hours will remain the same.

Claims will continue to be processed as usual, and Palmetto is notifying beneficiaries’ doctors, practitioners and suppliers about the award of the SMAC contract. There will be no changes in how they bill Palmetto and no delays in claims processing, the company said.

Gina Jenkins, Program Manager for Railroad Medicare and SMAC, said the Palmetto team is looking forward to continuing its high levels of service to its beneficiary customers.

“While Palmetto GBA has held the Railroad Medicare contract for more than 10 years, many of the staff here at our Augusta office have processed claims and answered inquiries for Railroad Medicare beneficiaries for more than 35 years,” Jenkins said. “We look forward to being here for you and providing the highest levels of customer service that you have come to expect, and most certainly, deserve.”

Palmetto’s beneficiary contact center can be reached by telephone at (800) 833-4455, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST). The hearing impaired can call TTY/TDD (877) 566-3572. That line is for the hearing impaired with the appropriate dial-up service.

Beneficiaries can also reach Palmetto’s website at www.PalmettoGBA.com/rr/me or visit their Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/MyRRMedicare.

UTU members covered by the Railroad Employees’ National Vision Plan will see improvements in the program effective Jan. 1 when benefits formerly provided by VSP will be administered by EyeMed Vision Care. 

Enhancements include: 

• A larger national network of providers, consisting of both independent and retail-affiliated providers; 

• Five of the top six eye-care providers – LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical and JCPenney Optical – will participate in the program; 

• Employees will receive identification cards to ensure eligibility and benefits; 

• Those insured will enjoy greater discounts (40 percent versus the current 30 percent) on complete second pair purchases. There are no restrictions on how often or where an insured member can use the EyeMed additional-pairs discount; it applies at all in-network locations, at any time. 

• Members are eligible for discounts on LASIK or PRK services; 

• During 2013, each member can receive a $60 discount on non-prescription Ray-Ban polarized sunglasses at participating providers. Visit www.rayban.com and click on “store providers” to locate a participating provider; 

• A no-cost discount plan for early retirees will be introduced. This plan will not be a part of the Railroad Employees National Vision Plan but will provide early retirees with savings on eye exams and material purchases at EyeMed provider locations. 

Workers covered by the vision-care plan should have received a postcard from EyeMed announcing the changeover. Covered participants will receive ID cards, information on participating providers and a summary of benefits by mail in January. 

For more details on the improvements, click here.

FRA logoDistractions occur everywhere in our daily lives, but when those in safety sensitive positions are distracted on the job, the results too often result in death or career-ending injuries.

A collaborative effort among the Federal Railroad Administration, rail labor and carriers has been launched to educate and raise awareness through peer-to-peer programs of the dangers of being distracted by using electronic devices while on the job.

Specifically, the FRA has asked carriers to adopt anti-distraction programs and to remind and reinforce among rail workers in safety sensitive positions that use of electronic devices while on the job is not only in violation of federal and carrier regulations, but “socially unacceptable.”

In 2008, the FRA issued an emergency order prohibiting the use of electronic devices by rail operating employees, and it was followed in 2010 by a new permanent regulation that applies to all operating employees.

“Addressing the use of electronic devices as a safety hazard requires integrity in the process, consistency in application to all employees and all devices, and common sense in the design of the process,” said UTU National Legislative Director James Stem. “When we push the decision making process down to the level of local employee representatives and local managers, and a consensus based approach, all hazards will be addressed.”

Stem compares this consensus based approach to the success of Operation Redblock programs and the new model for success known as the Confidential Close Call Reporting system.

Stem also reminds members that in the event of a collision, derailment or fatality, one of the first actions taken by the National Transportation Safety Board is to pull the phone records of all crew members involved, as well as the phone records of crew members on other trains in the area of the event. “You don’t have to be directly involved to have your phone records examined by NTSB investigators,” Stem said.

“A good and safe practice,” Stem said, “is for all conductors and engineers starting their shift to show other crew members that they have turned off their cell phones.”

Click here to view FRA Administrator Joe Szabo’s message.

Medicare beneficiaries will see their standard Medicare Part B monthly premium increase by $5 monthly to $104.90 beginning in January.

A small number of beneficiaries will continue to pay higher premiums based on their modified adjusted gross income, which depends on the extent to which an individual beneficiary’s modified gross income exceeds $85,000 ($170,000 for a married couple).  Only about 5 percent of Medicare beneficiaries pay higher rates.

As for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, premiums vary among plans. But the Affordable Care Act requires Part D beneficiaries whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds $85,000 ($170,000 for married couples) to pay a monthly adjustment amount. They will pay the regular plan premium on their Part D plan and pay an income-related adjustment.

Beneficiaries affected by the 2013 Part B and D income-related premiums will receive a notice before the end of December. The notice will include an explanation of the circumstances where a beneficiary may request a new determination.

For more information, visit www.medicare.gov

The manufacturer of the prescription medication Pradaxa(r) is voluntarily recalling all patient-level lots of 75mg dosage of the medication.

The reason is a potential packaging defect that the manufacturer says may compromise the integrity of the bottle and permit moisture to enter and impair the effective dose.

If you have the 75 mg. dose of Pradaxa (r), you should contact your Medco/Express Scripts pharmacy for further instructions on return/replacement.

Medco customers who have been prescribed that medication by their physicians also will be receiving a letter from Medco/Express Scripts.

U.S. Capitol Building; Capitol Building; Washington D.C.One of labor’s strongest friends on Capitol Hill was Rep. Marty Frost, a centrist Democrat from Texas who served in the House of Representatives from 1979 to 2005, and who served two terms as chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

Post Election Day, Frost wrote an opinion article published by The Hill, an independent newspaper that circulates primarily on Capitol Hill and is read closely by members of Congress and their senior staff.

Reflecting on the urgency of congressional action to avoid the well-publicized fiscal cliff that could plunge the nation into a severe recession, Frost called for “a big dose of bipartisan adult leadership,” with Democrats and Republicans putting down their partisan polemic swords and embarking on a productive journey of cooperation and compromise.

“President Obama must turn the other cheek and tell Republicans in Congress that he is ready for a serious, ongoing conversation about the major problems facing the country, notwithstanding the fact that they beat the hell out of him during the election,” Frost wrote. And Republican leaders Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, and John Boehner, the House speaker, “must tell the more extreme elements of their own party to sit down and shut up and that they are ready to deal.“

Frost further suggests that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle collaborate in the weeks ahead and “take a serious look at Republican legislation that passed the House in August establishing fast-track procedures for considering tax reform next year.” For that collaborative process to be constructive, he says Republicans must understand that “any new tax legislation would need to be revenue-positive — that is, raise more revenue than the current system no matter what tax rates it establishes.

“Republicans,” says Frost, “will hate the concept of revenue-positive tax reform and Democrats will hate any continuation of the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy for any period of time, but no one gets everything they want when you have divided government.

“The alternative is the looming fiscal cliff. Try to sell that at the Rotary Club or in the union hall, particularly at Machinists and United Auto Workers halls where the members work in defense plants,” says Frost.

He adds that while entitlements can be on the table, “any thought of radically changing Social Security and Medicare by moving to privatization or vouchers will not fly.

“Tax deductions can be on the table,” he says, “as long as Congress recognizes that not all tax provisions are equal — some of them actually promote legitimate national policy objectives, like energy independence.”

In support of this cooperation and compromise approach, Frost suggests that Congress “pass a ban on political issue ads during the 12 months following an election. That’s a case I would love to see argued before the Supreme Court.

“It’s time for some adult behavior,” says Frost, and “let’s hope the adults show up.”

UTU members and their dependents insured under the Railroad Employees National Early Retirement Major Medical Benefit (ERMA) Plan (GA-46000) will have their lifetime maximum amount of coverage increased, effective Jan. 1.

ERMA is a comprehensive benefits plan for employees who retire at or after age 60 with 30 years of service. The plan covers qualified employees, spouses and dependents until the employee reaches age 65. If the employee qualifies for Medicare before reaching 65, ERMA no longer covers the employee, but dependents continue coverage until the employee reaches age 65. ERMA is not applicable when any covered individual becomes Medicare eligible.

The lifetime maximum, effective Jan. 1, 2013, will be $136,200, an increase of $4,700.

The formula for increasing the lifetime maximum under ERMA was agreed upon by labor and management in 2001. The new lifetime maximum was derived by utilizing the October 2011 Consumer Price Index data for hospital and related services and physician services.

For individuals who have reached the lifetime maximum, the incremental maximum available is applied to eligible expenses submitted for dates of service on or after Jan. 1, the effective date of the new maximum.