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A Wisconsin county judge has invalidated the state legislature’s law curtailing collective bargaining rights for most public employees, but an appeal is expected to the state supreme court whose conservative majority may overturn the lower court ruling as it did in 2011 in the face of another successful lower court challenge.

Earlier this year, a federal court invalidated a provision of the law barring dues check-off and requiring annual representation elections. That ruling remains intact.

The controversial anti-union mandate, supported and signed into law by Wisconsin conservative Republican Gov. Scott Walker, drew massive public protests and resulted in a labor union-led drive to successfully unseat a number of conservative lawmakers who backed its passage. An attempt to recall the governor failed.

The UTU Collective Bargaining Fund and UTU members played a meaningful role in those recall elections.

The county judge overturning the law banning public-employee collective bargaining ruled it violates the state and U.S. constitutions’ rights of free speech, free association and equal representation under the law.

Union officials in Wisconsin say ultimate relief will be at the polls in November. If a labor-friendly majority controls the legislature, it is expected the anti-union law will be repealed and further assaults on labor unions will be ended.

 

 

In the wake of devastating Hurricane Isaac, which caused significant property damage and loss to scores of UTU members in its path along the Gulf Coast in August, the UTU is soliciting donations to assist those struggling brothers and sisters.
To speed the collection and disbursement of donations, the UTU is using the same special bank account that was established to aid our brothers and sisters in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Thus, checks to aide UTU brothers and sisters in need of assistance following Hurricane Isaac should be made out to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.
Contributions should be sent to:
Hurrican Katrina Relief Fund
United Transportation Union
Attn: Cheryl Sneed
Suite 340
24950 Country Club Blvd.
North Olmsted, OH 44070-5333

Former UTU International officers Daniel W. Collins and Paul J. McNamara have died.

Collins

Daniel W. Collins, age 90, who retired in 1992 as UTU assistant general secretary and treasurer, was a member of the 40-person committee that laid the groundwork for merger of the predecessor unions that formed the UTU in 1970. At the time he was general secretary and treasurer of the Switchmen’s Union of North America (SUNA), which came together in merger with the Order of Railway Conductors, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen.

A native of Olean, N.Y., Collins hired on as a brakeman with former New York Central Railroad (now part of CSX). He left the railroad twice – to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II and again during the Korean conflict — and later earned a degree in economics from Canisius College. He was first elected to a SUNA office  in 1948 and as SUNA GS&T in 1955, and held the position of UTU assistant GS&T until his retirement in 1992.
During his UTU service, Collins was chairman of a joint labor management task force that sought to promote rail service in the face of trucking industry growth, and was appointed by former Ohio Gov. Richard Celeste to the Ohio High-Speed Rail Commission.
He helped to establish the industry’s substance abuse prevention program and served on a labor-management advisory committee of the National Council of Alcoholism. He also helped to promote Operation Redblock on Amtrak.
Following his retirement, Collins was appointed to the Amtrak Board of Directors by President Clinton. He also served as a consultant to Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, where he helped create a collection of railroad history and labor documents.
Friends recall an oft-repeated comment by Collins: “Come down from the bleachers and get into the game!”
Collins is survived by his wife of 69 years, Margaret, 10 children, 27 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Paul J. McNamara
Paul J. McNamara, age 97, and a native of Massachusetts, retired in 1980 as an International vice president. A 70-year UTU member, he completed the trade union program at Harvard University, and in 1975 earned the Cardinal Cushing Award for Excellence in Labor Management Relations.
McNamara is survived by his wife of 72 years, Doris, two daughters, seven grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
He was a New York Central Railroad employee, where he elected a general chairperson. McNamara stayed current on UTU activities well into his 90s. New England States Legislative Director George Casey said McNamara attended his 2008 legislative department reorganization meeting. In 2004, McNamara attended the UTU regional meeting in Boston where he engaged former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in a lively chat.
The family asks that donations be made in Paul J. McNamara’s name to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (26 Broadway, 14th Floor, N.Y., N.Y. 10004); or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (http://pages.lightthenight.org/wpa/Pttsbrgh12/tmooney)

MILLINGTON, Tenn. – A UTU-represented trainman employed by Canadian National Railway subsidiary Illinois Central was seriously injured here early Sept. 5 when reportedly struck by a passing train on a mainline while performing duties on an adjacent track. Millington is a suburb north of Memphis.

Shawn D. Hall, 34, married with four children, reportedly lost one foot as well as suffering broken arms, ribs and internal injuries in the accident. Hall, a member of UTU Local 753 in Memphis, has eight years of service. He is being treated at Regional Medical Center in Memphis where he was said to be in stable condition Sept. 6.

In comparing the platforms of the Democratic and Republican parties, Steven Greenhouse of The New York Times says the GOP platform “calls for numerous steps that could significantly weaken America’s labor unions — public-sector and private-sector ones — and help speed organized labor’s overall decline.”

Rather than take his word, here are comparisons of the Democratic and Republican platforms on issues of concern to labor-union members and working families:

ORGANIZING & COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

Democratic Party platform statement: “Democrats believe that the right to organize and collectively bargain is a fundamental American value; every American should have a voice on the job and a chance to negotiate for a fair day’s pay after a hard day’s work. We will continue to fight for the right of all workers to organize and join a union. [W]e oppose the attacks on collective bargaining that Republican governors and state legislatures are mounting in states around the country.”

Republican Party platform statement: “We support the right of states to enact right-to-work laws and encourage them to do so to promote greater economic liberty. Ultimately, we support the enactment of a national right-to-work law to promote worker freedom and to promote greater economic liberty. We salute the Republican governors and state legislators who have saved their states from fiscal disaster by reforming their laws governing public employee unions. We urge elected officials across the country to follow their lead . . .”

Additionally, the Republican platform supports a law ending the use of ‘card check’ as a means for workers to gain union representation. Card check allows employers to grant union recognition once a majority of workers sign authorization cards saying they wish to join a labor union. President Obama and Democrats in Congress were blocked by a House Republican majority from enacting legislation giving labor unions the right to demand card check in organizing campaigns.

 

MEDICARE:

Democratic Party platform statement: “Democrats adamantly oppose any efforts to privatize or voucherize Medicare; unlike our opponents we will not ask seniors to pay thousands of dollars more every year while they watch the value of their Medicare benefits evaporate. Democrats believe that Medicare is a sacred compact with our seniors.”

Republican Party platform statement: “[S]ave Medicare by modernizing it [moving Medicare] away from their current unsustainable defined-benefit entitlement model to a fiscally sound defined-contribution model … we call for a transition to a premium-support model for Medicare, with an income-adjusted contribution toward a health plan of the enrollee’s choice.”

 

SOCIAL SECURITY & RAILROAD RETIREMENT:

Democratic Party Platform statement: “Find a solution to protect Social Security for future generations [and] block Republican efforts to subject Americans’ guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market through privatization.”

Republican Party platform statement: “[Create] personal investment accounts as supplements to the system.”

 

AMTRAK:

Democratic Party platform statement: “We support long-term investments in our infrastructure [including] rail and public transit systems … all critical to economic growth, as they enable businesses to grow.”

Former CBS newsman Wes Vernon wrote in 2009: “For nearly 40 years, every president has viewed passenger rail with everything from benign neglect to outright contempt – until [Barack Obama].” In his 2011 State of the Union message, President Obama advocated a nationwide 17,000-mile network of high-speed and higher-speed trains that could provide 80 percent of the American population access to train travel by 2036.

Republican Party platform statement: “It is long past time for the federal government to get out of way and allow private ventures to provide passenger service to the Northeast Corridor. The same holds true with regard to high-speed and intercity rail across the country.”

Critics warn there is little private sector interest in operating passenger trains elsewhere than the Northeast Corridor, and the wholesale curtailment of nationwide Amtrak service would put most of Amtrak’s 20,000 workers out of a job. When they cease paying into Railroad Retirement, the system would be financially crippled and likely force Railroad Retirement to be eliminated and folded into Social Security — significantly reducing pension benefits to railroad retirees.

Turner

UTU-represented maintenance-of-way employees on Georgia & Florida Railway are voting through Sept. 22 on a tentative new agreement — their first since voting “UTU, yes.”

Negotiations were led by UTU International Vice President Paul Tibbit and UTU General Chairperson Doyle Turner (GO 347). Turner heads the UTU’s shortline outreach program.

“This tentative agreement, as with others negotiated with shortlines, is intended to bring parity in wages, benefits and work rules to the thousands of employees in the shortline industry, along with the many other protections offered by union membership,” Turner said. “The seniority, scope and discipline rules these members now enjoy are what makes union membership valuable.”

Georgia & Florida Railway, an OmniTrax property, is a 264-mile shortline serving south central Georgia and extending into Florida. It interchanges with CSX and Norfolk Southern. Its principal commodities include beer, wood pulp, ethanol and agricultural products.

Wier

UTU-represented employees of Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway and Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway have ratified new five-year agreements. Negotiating assistance on both railroads was provided by UTU International Vice President Dave Wier.

On EJ&E, the ratified contract provides that conductors, brakemen and yardmen receive wage increases, back-pay, an employment guarantee with furlough protection, guaranteed extra boards, elimination of rate progression for conductors/foremen, and 90 percent entry rates for brakemen and helpers that rises to 100 percent after one year of service.

Also established by the new agreement is a 401(k) plan and disability insurance, more liberal qualification for vacations, and coverage under the National Railway Health and Welfare Plan that includes early retirement and four months of additional health care insurance for dismissed or furloughed employees.

Wier praised the efforts of General Chairpersons Cory Mayberry (GO 329) and Rich Barandela (GO 330), Vice General Chairperson Kevin Wright (GO 329), and Local 740 Chairpersons Mike Caudillo and Ed Cox for “the exceptional effort put forth during the long and difficult negotiations that resulted in an agreement with dramatic improvements in wages and benefits, and provides employment security and parity for members.” 

On TP&W, the ratified contract provides for wage increases with additional compensation for conductors certified as engineers, participation in the RailAmerica Incentive Compensation Plan (with an opt-out provision providing an additional 1 percent annual wage increase), improved working conditions and special allowances.

Wier congratulated General Chairperson Rob Ferrier (GO TPW) and Local 198 Vice Local Chairperson Steve Benedict for “the outstanding effort put forth. The wage increases, coupled with quarterly incentive payments provide members with outstanding pay increases,” Wier said.”

EJ&E, a Class II railroad and a U.S. subsidiary of Canadian National Railway, operates in Illinois and Indiana suburbs surrounding Chicago.

TP&W, a short line and RailAmerica property, operates in Illinois and Indiana.

WASHINGTON – Three senior Democratic senators have asked the General Accountability Office – informally known as the congressional watchdog – to review the state of railroad safety and how the Federal Railroad Administration, state rail safety agencies and other stakeholders cooperate to ensure the safe transportation of rail freight and passengers.

The review as requested by Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), chair of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee; Jay Rockefeller(D-WVa.), chair of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee; and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the assistant majority leader and second highest ranking Democrat in the Senate.

Lautenberg said that the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 “took important steps to address rail safety, but recent accidents have shown the need to continue examining safety and reducing the risk of accidents and fatalities.”

OSHA logo; OSHAEven when railroads return workers to their jobs with full back pay after wrongly terminating them for suffering a workplace injury, significant monetary sanctions may still be imposed by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Case in point is Norfolk Southern, which was ordered to pay damages in excess of $580,000 in August after violating the Federal Railroad Safety Act’s worker protections against employer harassment, intimidation, discipline and termination in retaliation for reporting workplace injuries or safety concerns.

Railroads have been hit with millions of dollars in sanctions by OSHA over the past year for such behavior, but this case is significant in that the railroad unsuccessfully claimed it should not be sanctioned because after terminating the worker it reinstated him with full back pay.

The unidentified conductor, who suffered a shoulder injury, had been riding the lead car to protect a shove at NS’s Decatur, Ill., yard when several cars behind him derailed due to poorly maintained rail ties.

NS initially claimed the injury was fabricated, and fired the conductor for allegedly making a false injury report. A public law board subsequently ordered the railroad to rehire the conductor with full back pay – 10 months after the workplace injury — and he continues to work for NS. During those 10 months of unemployment, the conductor endured significant financial distressed.

A UTU designated legal counsel, who brought a complaint before OSHA under the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act, said NS contended there were no damages to be assessed because the conductor had been put back to work with full pay.

OSHA said the NS arguments were baseless and that the railroad should be punished for violating the conductor’s rights under the Federal Railroad Safety Act.

OSHA then ordered NS to pay the conductor – in addition to the back pay already received – more than $580,000 to cover pain and suffering, punitive damages, loss of employer-paid benefits during the period of unemployment, attorney’s fees and additional lost wages plus interest because OSHA said NS had under-calculated the amount of back pay.

NS also was ordered by OSHA to restore the conductor’s seniority level and vacation and sick days credit, and further credit him with 10 months of service toward his Railroad Retirement pension.

OSHA also ordered NS to provide all workers in its Decatur yard with a copy of an OSHA fact sheet on whistleblower protection, to post in the yard a notice explaining worker rights under the Federal Railroad Safety Act, and to expunge from the conductor’s personnel file all records of his termination and OSHA claim.

“This decision sends a powerful message that terminating an employee for an injury creates financial exposure for the railroad far beyond just having to put him back on the job with back pay,” said UTU International President Mike Futhey. “No longer can a railroad simply calculate the worse-case scenario as having only to provide back pay.”

A rail employee who believes he was improperly harassed, intimidated, disciplined or terminated for reporting a workplace injury or safety concern may file a whistle-blower complaint directly with OSHA, or may contact a UTU designated legal counsel, general chairperson or state legislative director for assistance.

A listing of UTU designated legal counsel is available at:

https://www.smart-union.org/td/designated-legal-counsel/

or may be obtained from local or general committee officers or state legislative directors.

To view a more detailed OSHA fact sheet, click on the following link:

www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA-factsheet-whistleblower-railroad.pdf