The Republican National Convention has made it official and in writing – the Republican Party, its presidential candidate Mitt Romney and its vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan are in agreement to end all federal funding for Amtrak and high-speed rail.
Romney previously signed on in support of a Ryan budget proposal Ryan introduced in Congress as a member of the House of Representatives. That proposal, which was approved by the Republican-controlled House – but not the Democratic controlled Senate – was to slash guaranteed federal funding for mass transit, and fold Railroad Retirement into Social Security and cancel all Railroad Retirement benefits in excess of what is paid by Social Security.
Here is what the Republican platform says about Amtrak:
“Amtrak continues to be, for the taxpayers, an extremely expensive railroad … It is long past time for the federal government to get out of the 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.”
What neither the Republican platform nor Romney and Ryan acknowledge is that no passenger rail system in the world earns a profit, and the few private sector firms that have expressed interest in operating passenger trains say it can only be done with help from tax subsidies.
Moreover, whatever few intercity rail passenger routes that might be taken over by private companies almost certainly would be accompanied by cancelling collective bargaining rights, and reducing wages and benefits.
Thus, the result of the Republican-Romney-Ryan approach, formalized in the Republican platform, is the end of Amtrak and intercity passenger rail, and huge reductions in transit funding throughout America.
John Previsich has been elevated from International vice president to assistant president by the UTU Board of Directors, succeeding Arty Martin, who retires Sept. 1.
UTU International President Mike Futhey said of Martin’s departure, “It is difficult to lose a talent like Arty Martin with all the institutional knowledge he has gained through his years of service to UTU members. We certainly wish him and Cindy the best on their retirement adventure.
Previsich
“In turn, we are truly fortunate to have someone like John Previsich willing to take on the responsibilities of assistant president,” Futhey said.
Previsich, age 58 and a member of UTU Local 31 (San Jose, Calif.), began his railroad service with Southern Pacific (now part of Union Pacific) in 1973, working in yard, road and engine service. He currently holds seniority as a switchman, brakeman, conductor, fireman and engineer on UP, and worked in commuter and long-distance passenger rail service for 10 years.
He was elected to numerous positions, including local chairperson, vice general chairperson and general chairperson — the latter to which he was elected five times by acclamation — representing brakemen, assistant conductors, conductors, firemen, hostlers, engineers and train dispatchers on short lines, passenger lines and Class I railroads.
As an elected Local 31 delegate, Previsich attended International conventions in 1991, 1995 and 1999. Additionally, he served on the peer support committee for UP’s Operation Red Block (1993 to 1998), UP’s Safety Assurance and Compliance Program, chairperson of the UTU’s Union Pacific General Chairperson Association for three terms (2002-2006), and as the UTU’s representative on Southern Pacific’s 401(k) Plan board of directors.
Previsich was elected an International vice president in 2007 and re-elected in 2011. His assignments have included assisting general committees on UP, BNSF, Kansas City Southern, CSX, CN/IC, Canadian Pacific, Delaware & Hudson, San Joaquin Valley Railroad, Kyle Railroad, Nebraska Central, Birmingham Southern, Amtrak, Progressive Rail, Connex, Terminal Railroad of St. Louis, Louisiana & Northwest Railroad, Dakota Minnesota & Eastern, Great Lakes Aviation and Lynx Aviation pilots’ group.
He also was assigned to assist the National Legislative Office in passage of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, and serves on behalf of the UTU on the act’s safety advisory committee, the FRA Medical Standards Working Group, the Positive Train Control Advisory Committee and the Close Call Reporting System (C3RS).
He and his wife, Kathy, have four children.
Arty Martin
Arty Martin, age 66, is a fourth generation railroader, having been elected assistant president in 2007 and re-elected in 2011.
He signed on with Union Pacific in Pocatello, Idaho, in 1966 while attending Idaho State University, where he earned a degree in business administration, with a minor in labor law. An Air Force veteran, he also played minor league baseball as a catcher, including one professional season in Alaska.
Martin was promoted to engineer in 1975. Frustration over railroad treatment of employees encouraged him to run successfully in 1977 for UTU Local 78 vice local chairperson, representing engineers. He subsequently was elected vice general chairperson and general chairperson. In 1992, Martin merged the enginemen general committee with one representing conductors, brakemen and yardmen, and today that general committee represents more than 5,000 UP train and engine workers.
His mother, father and grandfather were UP employees, and his great-grandfather ran steam locomotives on New York Central Railroad (now part of CSX).
Martin and his wife, Cindy, have four children, including Brian who is a UTUIA field supervisor, and Dallas, who is a UP conductor in Portland.
Arty Martin, above, during his minor league baseball playing days.
There is an old political saying: “If you stop lying about me, I’ll stop telling the truth about you.”
When it comes to Mitt Romney, we don’t have to tell the truth about him. He already is telling the truth about himself. Here is what he promises to achieve:
* Outlaw labor union political action committees (PACs), which allow union members to contribute toward the election campaigns of labor-friendly lawmakers; but leave in place the ability of employers to spend unlimited amounts of money supporting anti-union candidates.
* End Medicare as we know it, forcing future retirees to purchase health care insurance on their own.
* Phase out Social Security and Railroad Retirement, requiring workers – regardless of their financial skills — to create their own retirement plans by investing in the stock market, where even the savviest of investors can be wiped out.
* Eliminate tax deductions for companies providing employees with health care insurance, which could encourage employers to drop those plans and force workers to purchase their own health care insurance.
* Eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees.
* Repeal the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA).
* Eliminate whistleblower protection for those denied proper medical care for on-the-job injuries, and for those harassed, intimidated and fired for reporting workplace safety concerns.
* End all federal funding for Amtrak and future high-speed rail, which likely would shut down most intercity rail passenger service.
* Slash federal spending on public bus and rail transit.
* Repeal the Affordable Care Act, which allows children to remain on health care policies until age 26, prohibits insurers from limiting maximum patient care payments to those with serious chronic illnesses, prohibits denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions, prohibits copays for certain preventive care procedures, and requires insurance carriers to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on patient care.
* Continue and expand tax cuts for the wealthy while scaling back unemployment benefits.
* Expand to all states right-to-work (for less) legislation, allowing workers to opt out of paying union dues used to negotiate better wages, benefits and working conditions.
Romney’s chosen running mate, Paul Ryan, has been pushing for those same objectives as a member of Congress.
If elected president, Romney would appoint his anti-labor supporters to the National Mediation Board, the National Labor Relations Board, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Surface Transportation Board.
With Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in office, the road to a good contract would face a treacherous negotiating environment.
If you cast your vote for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, be assured all of their above objectives would be assured because that is what they promise – to throw working families under the bus by weakening and destroying labor unions.
<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-13182" style="margin-top: 4px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 12px; margin-right: 12px; border-width: 1px; border-color: black; border-style: solid;" title="Morr, Bonnie.2011" src="http://utu.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Mor How Do I Make My Ex Want Me Back After I Broke Up With Her r-Bonnie.2011.jpg” alt=”” width=”150″ height=”150″ />By Bonnie Morr Vice President – Bus Department
The UTU regional meetings in Portland, Ore., and Memphis, Tenn., provided hands-on workshops – led by experts from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) — designed to improve skills of members and officers in pursing grievances where members’ rights have been violated.
Experts from the NLRB summarized and explained federal labor law, including the process for filing unfair labor practices complaints and governance of union representation elections under the National Labor Relations Act.
FMCS mediator Connie Weimer led workshops in the process of mediation and development of mediation skills – especially how to get to a “yes” and past a “no” at the bargaining table. Included was an interactive presentation on protecting the rights of the collective bargaining process and the importance of labor unions in the workplace.
A mock negotiating session was provided in Memphis by FMCS mediator Luther Bennet, with members in attendance playing the role of management. Needless to say, we were brutal as managers, which helped participants better understand the dynamics of negotiations.
One of the most well-attended sessions was led by attorney Steve Young and arbitrator Frank Quinn. A Power Point presentation is available that I will send to members via e-mail upon request. My e-mail address is at the top of this column.
The value of workshops at regional meetings cannot be overemphasized, and it is not too early to begin making plans to attend one of the 2013 regional meetings – in Boston, July 1-3, and Anaheim, Calif., July 29-31. Details and registration information will become available early in 2013.
As Election Day approaches, it is important for members and their families to be registered to vote and to vote. At the UTU home page at www.utu.org that is a box titled, Are You Registered? Clicking on that box takes you to an interactive page where you and family members can verify that your voter registration is current. If it isn’t, you can register to vote at that site. You may use that site to register to vote via absentee ballot.
The October issue of the UTU News will contain a listing of congressional candidates, by state, identified as labor friendly.
Train and engine, mechanical and maintenance of way employees on Columbia & Cowlitz Railway in Washington state – all represented by the UTU — have ratified their first agreement since voting “UTU yes” in October 2011. They are members of UTU Local 1348.
Negotiations were led by UTU International Vice President Paul Tibbit and UTU Assistant President Arty Martin.
Tibbit praised the efforts of members Sean Kibbee and Eddie Steed, “who worked with the membership every step of the process and fully explained the tentative agreement. They presented their case very well and in a professional manner and we achieved nearly everything we sought,” Tibbit said.
Columbia & Cowlitz Railway is part of the Patriot Rail group and operates in southwest Washington state.
The FRA amended its conductor certification rules in February, delaying the time for testing conductors, extending the time for formulating training programs and amending the territorial qualification requirements.
By Sept. 1, 2012, each railroad shall have grandfathered as “certified conductors” all persons who were performing conductor duties as of Jan. 1, 2012. This includes conductors on Class I, Class II, Amtrak and commuter railroads, and means they must have issued “certified conductor” certificates to those conductors.
After Sept. 1, Class I and Class II railroads, as well as Amtrak and commuter railroads, must designate and issue certificates to all persons authorized to perform as conductors between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 1, 2012.
Class III railroads, after Sept. 1, must designate and issue certificates to all persons authorized to perform as conductors between Jan. 1, 2012, and April 1, 2013.
After Dec. 1, 2012, Class I and Class II railroads, as well as Amtrak and commuter railroads, may not initially certify or recertify a person as conductor unless that person has been tested and evaluated in accordance with FRA conductor certification rules.
For Class III railroads, that date is after April 1, 2013.
In all cases, testing and evaluation must be conducted under FRA-approved carrier certification programs. Class I and Class II railroads, as well as Amtrak and commuter railroads, have until Sept. 30 to submit to FRA for approval their programs for training, testing and evaluation of conductors. The programs must be approved by the FRA no later than Dec. 1. For Class III railroads, the submission date is Jan. 31, and the approval date is April 1.
General chairpersons have 45 days to file comments, objections, and alternative plans with the FRA.
The railroads are required to conduct annual reviews of their programs and respond to detected instances of poor safety conduct by certified conductors.
If a conductor lacks territorial qualification on mainline track physical characteristics, that conductor shall be assisted by a person who meets the territorial qualification requirements.
For a conductor who has never been qualified over the particular territory, the assistant shall be a certified conductor who is not an assigned crew member.
If the conductor was previously qualified, but such qualification has expired for one year or less, and who has not regularly traveled over the territory prior to the expiration, the assistant may be any person, including an assigned crew member who meets the territorial qualification requirements.
If the qualification expired more than one year, the assistant may also be any person, so long as the duties of the assistant do not conflict with his safety duties and he is qualified for the main track physical characteristics and that person is not the assigned locomotive engineer.
UTU-represented yardmasters employed by Canadian National Railway’s Illinois Central Railroad have reached a new tentative agreement following mediation assistance from the National Mediation Board. A March tentative agreement was rejected by the membership, which will now vote, through Sept. 15, on the new tentative pact.
Negotiations were led by UTU International Vice President Paul Tibbit and UTU General Chairperson Doyle Turner (GO 347).
“This tentative agreement, as with others negotiated with Class 1 railroads, is intended to bring parity in wages, benefits and work rules to the thousands of employees in the railroad 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.”
Illinois Central connects Chicago with New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., and also reaches Omaha, Neb., and Sioux City, Iowa. Canadian National gained control of Illinois Central in 1998.
This year’s annual open enrollment for active railroad employees covered by the National Railroad Health & Welfare plans (NRC-UTU and GA 23000) may be completed online during September and October.
You start the open enrollment process by going to the “Alerts and Important Dates” section on the Railroad Information Depot home page (www.rrinfodepot.com). During the open enrollment period in September and October, you can link directly into the railroad enrollment services secured portal.
The new web-based open enrollment period will be available 24/7, and will provide the following capabilities:
• Step-by-step review of personalized benefit election choices with links to everything needed to enroll for the upcoming year.
• Links to your medical provider’s network.
• A quick and easy way to update your information.
• The ability to add, delete, and/or change dependent information. (If you’re adding a dependent who is not listed, you will be required to send in the specified documentation before the dependent can be added to the plan. Information on what is needed and where to send it will be provided on the site.)
• The option to review enrollment information in Spanish.
• Flexibility to make multiple changes during the open enrollment period.
• An immediate confirmation statement once you complete your selections.
If you use the online portal, there is no need to mail any paper enrollment forms.
Additional information will be mailed to eligible railroad workers in September by Railroad Enrollment Services.
For those unable to enroll online, instructions on how to obtain a paper kit will be in the September mailing. You will not need to access the Railroad Enrollment Services portal if you elect to keep your current benefit options for the 2013 calendar year or do not choose to opt out.
For assistance with the online enrollment website, call Railroad Enrollment Services at (800) 753-2692.
Sleep, fatigue, workplace safety and quality of life are stitched together tighter than the seams on a major league baseball – and unpredictable work schedules can undo those stitches faster than a Stephen Strasburg 100-mph heater.
A new website, created by sleep scientists at Harvard Medical School, the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and the Federal Railroad Administration – following anonymous survey input from train and engine workers represented by the UTU and the BLET – provides train and engine workers an interactive guide to a better understanding of factors that contribute to and inhibit proper rest.
The Railroaders’ Guide to Healthy Sleep website provides articles, videos, a game, a quiz and illustrations intended to help understand your body clock, recognize sleep impediments, reduce fatigue, stay alert and safe, and improve your quality of life.
Consider it high-tech chicken soup for the overworked rail struggling to balance work and family life.
Included are practical steps to combat fatigue by adjusting nap times and consumption of caffeine and other beverages and foods, and practical ways to deal with individual variations in sleep needs and the daily ups and downs in human alertness and sleepiness.
A quiz helps you determine how well you sleep, while an interactive game permits you to test your reaction time.
There also is information on sleep apnea and other sleep problems, and how to find sleep specialists in your neck of the woods.
Give the website a thorough test drive by clicking on the following link:
For many rails, the website may ensure your returning home in one piece – and for all rails, the website will help you achieve a better balance between work and family life.
In ice hockey, the scoring by one player of three goals is called a “hat trick.” In baseball, a player striking out four times in a single game is said to have earned a “golden sombrero.”
Norfolk Southern’s feat is to have earned from OSHA a still unnamed fifth significant sanction in recent months for violating – through harassment, intimidation and unwarranted discipline — the rights of injured employees or those attempting to report a safety concern.
While other railroads have earned one or more recent rebukes from OSHA, Norfolk Southern seems headed for a gold medal in this dubious category of employee harassment, intimidation and unwarranted discipline.
OSHA says the reason has been the railroad’s single-minded, if not narrow minded, determination to be declared the nation’s safest railroad – albeit through harassing, intimidating and disciplining workers not to report their workplace injuries.
Norfolk Southern denies the allegations and is appealing each of the OSHA actions.
BNSF, which also has been sanctioned numerous times by OSHA for similar violations of the rights of injured and safety-conscious employees, recently took the art of intimidation to a new level by attempting to coerce employee witnesses to its alleged violations to allow a BNSF attorney in the room when questioned by OSHA investigators. BNSF denies its intent is to intimidate those employees from being candid with OSHA investigators.
“Railroad workers throughout this country have the right to report an injury without fear of retaliation,” said Cindy Coe, OSHA’s regional administrator in Atlanta. OSHA, she said, “will continue to protect” rail workers from employer retaliation, and employers found in violation “will be held accountable.”
As reported by the Norfolk, Va., Virginian Pilot newspaper, four of the five OSHA-determined violations were announced within months of Norfolk Southern’s winning the railroad industry’s E.H. Harriman gold medal safety award in May for the 23rd year in a row.
“The Harriman program, in place for nearly 100 years, quietly ended with this year’s awards, though news releases about this year’s winners from Norfolk Southern and the Association of American Railroads did not explicitly state that the program was over,” reported the newspaper. “The industry group did not say why it ended.”
A Norfolk Southern spokesperson told the newspaper there was “no connection” between its OSHA-determined violation of employee rights under federal law and the ending of the Harriman program.
The UTU and other rail labor organizations have long held that the Harriman awards program encouraged carrier supervisors to harass, intimidate and discipline injured and safety-conscious employees in an effort to earn cash bonuses and promotions in conjunction with their railroad’s winning of a Harriman gold, silver or bronze medal.
The award is named after the late railroad baron Edward Henry Harriman who, during the late 19th and early 20th century, held financial control of Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, Illinois Central, Central of Georgia, plus other smaller railroads, a steamship line and Wells Fargo Express.
The UTU documented in 2007 that a Norfolk Southern supervisor posed as a clergyman to enter the hospital room of an injured worker. Once there, according to obtained evidence, he tried to convince the attending physician not to prescribe a particular medication, which would have required reporting the injury to the Federal Railroad Administration and putting the winning of a Harriman gold medal at risk.
The Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 extended whistleblower protection to employees who are retaliated against for reporting an injury or illness requiring medical attention. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 added additional requirements ensuring injured workers receive prompt medical attention.
Their purpose is to protect rail workers from retaliation and threats of retaliation when they report injuries or illness, report that a carrier violated safety laws or regulations, or if the employee refuses to work under certain unsafe conditions or refuses to authorize the use of safety related equipment.
An employer is outright prohibited from disciplining an employee for requesting medical or first-aid treatment, or for following a physician’s orders, a physician’s treatment plan, or medical advice.
Retaliation, including threats of retaliation, is defined as firing or laying off, blacklisting, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, disciplining, denying benefits, failing to rehire, intimidation, reassignment affecting promotion prospects, or reducing pay or hours.
UTU designated legal counsel have pledged to investigate and assist UTU members in bringing complaints under these laws.
A rail employee 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:
The Republican National Convention has made it official and in writing – the Republican Party, its presidential candidate Mitt Romney and its vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan are in agreement to end all federal funding for Amtrak and high-speed rail.
By International President Mike Futhey – 
Train and engine, mechanical and maintenance of way employees on Columbia & Cowlitz Railway in Washington state – all represented by the UTU — have ratified their first agreement since voting “UTU yes” in October 2011. They are members of UTU Local 1348.
By Larry Mann, 
UTU-represented yardmasters employed by Canadian National Railway’s Illinois Central Railroad have reached a new tentative agreement following mediation assistance from the National Mediation Board. A March tentative agreement was rejected by the membership, which will now vote, through Sept. 15, on the new tentative pact.
In ice hockey, the scoring by one player of three goals is called a “hat trick.” In baseball, a player striking out four times in a single game is said to have earned a “golden sombrero.”