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RRB logo; Railroad Retirement BoardThe Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) holds informational conferences, and all UTU representatives are urged to attend to learn more about pensions, disability annuities and other services offered by the RRB. 

All informational conference registrations begin at 8:00 a.m., with the programs beginning promptly at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 12:15 p.m. 

For more information, go to www.rrb.gov.

June

*Friday, June 1: Eagan, Minn., Best Western Dakota Ridge, 3450 Washington Dr., I-35E & Yankee Doodle Road

*Friday, June 8: Billings, Mont., Hilton Garden Inn of Billings, 2465 Grant Road

*Friday, June 8: Mansfield, Mass., Holiday Inn Mansfield, 31 Hampshire Street

*Friday, June 15: Portland, Ore., Hilton Garden Inn, Portland Airport, 12048 N.E. Airport Way

*Friday, June 15: Tinley Park, Ill., Tinley Park Convention Center, 18451 Convention Center Drive 

*Friday, June 22: Barboursville, W. Va., Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites, 3551 U.S. Route 60 E. 

*Friday, June 22: Duluth, Minn., Radisson Hotel Duluth Harborview, 505 West Superior Street 

*Friday, June 29: Roanoke, Va., Hyatt Place, 5040 Valley View Blvd., North N.W.

 

September 

*Friday, Sept. 7: Albany, N.Y., Albany Ramada Plaza, 3 Watervliet Ave. Ext. 

*Friday, Sept.14: Fort Worth, Texas, Crowne Plaza Fort Worth South, The Fort Worth Room, 100 E. Altamesa 

*Friday, Sept. 14: Renton, Wash., Holiday Inn, One South Grady Way 

*Friday, Sept. 21: West Des Moines, Iowa, Hampton Inn, 7060 Lake Dr.

 

October 

*Friday, Oct. 12: Little Rock, Ark., Comfort Inn & Suites Downtown, 707 Interstate 30 

*Friday, Oct. 12 Pittsburgh: Greater Pa. Regional Council of Carpenters Union Hall, 650 Ridge Rd. 

*Friday, Oct. 19 Wichita, Kan., Best Western Airport Inn and Conference Center, 6815 W. Kellogg (U.S. Hwy. 54) 

*Friday, Oct. 26 Philadelphia: Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 Union Hall, 1301 S. Columbus Blvd. 

*Friday, Oct. 26: Matthews, N.C., Hampton Inn, 9615 Independence Pointe Pkwy.

 

November 

*Friday, Nov. 16: Metairie, La., Four Points by Sheraton, New Orleans Airport, 6401 Veterans Memorial Blvd.

 

December 

*Friday, Dec. 7: Jacksonville, Fla., Holiday Inn (I-95 Baymeadows), 9150 Baymeadows Rd.

By Calvin Studivant, 
Alternate Vice President, Bus Department – 

The relationship between railroads and bus companies has a long history not known by many UTU members.

Beginning in the early part of the 20th century, railroads began acquiring or creating infant bus lines to extend their passenger networks to where rails didn’t reach.

In 1926, Great Northern Railway (now part of BNSF) acquired control of a Minnesota bus line that had begun earlier in Hibbing with a seven-passenger Hupmobile whose capacity was actually 18 as passengers often stood on running boards and sat on fenders.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus operation, where the UTU represents workers, traces its origin to early bus operations of Southern Pacific (now part of Union Pacific) and its former Pacific Electric subsidiary. 

In fact, the formation of the Greyhound and Trailways brands began with railroad ownership:

* Baltimore & Ohio (now part of CSX) operated West Virginia Transportation, which became a Greyhound brand.

* Great Northern (now part of BNSF) operated Northland Greyhound.

* New York Central (now part of CSX) operated Central Greyhound.

* New York, New Haven & Hartford (later part of Conrail, which was split between CSX and Norfolk Southern) operated New England Greyhound.

* Pennsylvania Railroad (now part of Norfolk Southern) operated Pennsylvania Greyhound.

* Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac (now part of CSX) operated Richmond Greyhound.

* St. Louis Southwestern (now part of Union Pacific) operated Southwestern Greyhound.

* Southern Pacific (now part of Union Pacific) operated Pacific Greyhound.

* Union Pacific operated Union Pacific Stages, which became Overland Greyhound.

As the Greyhound system grew, other railroads — Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, Chicago Burlington & Quincy, and St. Louis-San Francisco (all now both part of BNSF); and Denver & Rio Grande Western (now part of Union Pacific) – created the National Trailways System as a competitor to Greyhound.

By the 1960s, railroads had sold off their interests in bus lines.

However, when railroads turned over their rail-passenger operations to the federally owned Amtrak, Amtrak became a partner with many bus lines across the nation. Today, many Amtrak tickets include onward transportation via bus from Amtrak stations to cities not on the Amtrak route system.

And in some cities, publicly owned transportation companies now operate bus and commuter rail service, such as the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, where the UTU has representation on the railroad and a portion of the bus/trolley operation outside Philadelphia.

The chief executive of Los Angeles Metrolink, John Fenton, who has taken the lead among railroads nationwide in advancing, investing in and implementing positive train control (PTC), is departing after two years on the job to head the Florida-based short line holding company Patriot Rail.

Patriot Rail owns 12 short line railroads operating in 12 states over some 500 miles of track. The UTU represents employees on four of those railroads. Patriot Rail is in the process of being acquired by Steel River Infrastructure Partners, which owns and operates port terminal and storage facilities and natural gas and electric transmission lines.

The UTU also represents conductors on Los Angeles Metrolink, whose commuter trains have operated under contract by Amtrak since June 2010.

Los Angeles Metrolink, America’s third largest commuter railroad, carrying 40,000 riders daily in six southern California counties, was rocked in 2008 when 25 people were killed and 135 injured in a horrific head-on crash with a Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, Calif. The National Transportation Board later blamed the accident primarily on the deceased Metrolink engineer said to have been texting on his cell phone and who ran a red stop signal. At that time, Metrolink trains were operated by Connex Railroad, a subsidiary of France-based Veolia Transport.

Fenton was hired as Metrolink CEO in the wake of the Chatsworth accident following a management shakeup that included, according to the Los Angeles Times, allegations of unaccounted for inventory and a sharply declining ridership.

The Los Angeles Times said that following Fenton’s arrival in April 2010, safety improved markedly, on-time performance improved, ridership grew and costs were reduced. Fenton oversaw the purchase of state-of-the-art rail cars with energy absorbing technology and took the lead among American railroads in pressing ahead with PTC and a timetable to have it operational by 2013, according to the Los Angeles Times.

PTC utilizes the satellite global positioning system (GPS), wireless communications and central control centers to monitor trains and prevent collisions by automatically applying the brakes on trains exceeding authorized speeds, about to run a red light, violate a work zone or run through a switch left in the wrong position.

Safety experts said the Chatsworth accident could have been avoided had PTC been installed. In embracing PTC technology, Fenton told a congressional hearing,“We don’t think there is any time to waste given the unforgiving nature of the environment in which we operate.” In bitter memory of the Chatsworth disaster, Fenton and Metrolink employees wear green wrist bands with the words, “Never Again.”

The Los Angeles Times quoted a safety expert at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering that Fenton’s “departure is a major loss for Southern California and Los Angeles. His safety-culture related accomplishments in such a short time, just two years, were monumental and unique in the country.” Metrolink partners with the Viterbi School of Engineering on safety advances.

Patriot Rail’s 12 short lines include:

* Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway in Montana

* Columbia & Cowitz Railway in Washington (UTU represented)

* DeQueen & Eastern Railway in Arkansas (UTU represented)

* Golden Triangle Railroad in Mississippi

* Louisiana & North West Railroad in Arkansas and Louisiana (UTU represented)

* Patriot Woods Railroad in Washington (UTU represented)

* Piedmont & Northern Railroad in North Carolina

* Sacramento Valley Railroad in California

* Temple & Central Texas Railway in Texas

* Tennessee Southern Railroad in Alabama and Tennessee

* Texas, Oklahoma & Eastern Railroad in Oklahoma

* Utah Central Railway

A memorial service will be held May 7 at 1 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Susquehanna Depot, Pa., for retired former Local 318 Legislative Rep. Robert A. Hagen, who died April 16.
The address of the church is 695 Jackson Ave.
Hagan had also served as vice local chairperson, vice general chairperson of Norfolk Southern Lines GO 687 and a UTU organizer, UTUIA Field Supervisor Art Rayner reports.
He is survived by his wife, Amy, three sons and two daughters.

WASHINGTON – The FRA has has strengthened its positive train control (PTC) team, naming Mark Hartong as senior scientific technical adviser for railroad electronic systems within the FRA’s Office of Safety.

Hartong’s primary responsibility, said the agency, “will be to ensure that electronic technology is applied in a manner that will support the safety and security of freight and passenger transportation on the national railroad system.”

In announcing the appointment, the FRA said Hartong has “in-depth understanding of the other critical systems, including the locomotive electronics, communications systems and back office dispatch systems that must interface with PTC.”

Hartong earned a Ph.D. in information technology from George Mason University and also earned two masters degrees in software engineering and computer science. Prior to joining the FRA in 2003, he worked with Lockheed-Martin Corporation in the Undersea Surveillance Division as senior engineer for all combat and communications systems for nuclear attack submarines as well as the Trident class ballistic missile submarines.

Hartong served for 14 years in the U.S. Navy, achieving the rank of lieutenant commander.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – UTU Missouri State Legislative Director Ken Menges is halfway toward a goal of creating a public rail commission to study means of expanding and financing improved multi-modal passenger transportation in his state and throughout the Midwest, with an emphasis on creating a track network capable of supporting 150-mph rail passenger service.

In a show of bi-partisan support, the Missouri House of Representatives has voted 134-2 to create a 15-member commission to recommend best practices to “design, build, operate, maintain and finance an improved rail system for Missouri and the Midwest, including “specific recommendations for legislation, regulations, funding sources and way to integrate the improved rail system into existing and planned Amtrak expansions, airports and public transportation systems.”

The House bill is specific that the improved rail system be designed for 150-mph rail passenger service.

The focus now shifts to the state senate.

Menges said he has been working with representatives of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes, as well as Missouri railroads and the state DOT, to gather bi-partisan legislative support.

Small can be big – especially when “small” is small lifestyle changes, such as weight loss, more exercise, a reduction in alcohol consumption, and kicking a tobacco habit.

Such lifestyle changes, say health care experts, may lead to “big” health improvements and a happier you.

Americans spend more on health care than in any other industrialized nation, according to statistics, and those costs are reflected in steadily growing premiums for health care insurance. Notwithstanding this spending, Americans are not the healthiest.

Consider:

* Our nation’s population is largely sedentary

* Obesity and diabetes are reaching monumental proportions

* Tobacco and alcohol use are popular

* Stress is epidemic

Health care experts say that with small lifestyle changes, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancers could be reduced significantly.

By completing a health risk assessment, you can start down a path toward a healthier and happier you.

To complete a health risk assessment, click on your health care provider’s website and register or create an account (see links below). You must register or create an account at the website before being provided the option of completing a health risk assessment.

Below are the websites and toll-free phone numbers (should you have difficulty at the website):

Aetna: www.aetna.com (register or create an account and then follow the steps provided) (866-213-0153).

Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield: www.highmarkbcbs.com (register or create an account and then select “Your Health” tab and then, “Improve Your Health) (866-267-3320).

UnitedHealthcare: www.myuhc.com (register or create an account and then click on “Health and Wellness) (877-201-4840).

Once the health risk assessment is completed, a personalized action plan will be provided to help guide you in your quest of live a healthier life. The plan will include verbal and online wellness coaching, smoking cessation assistance and information on healthy meal choices and recipes.

By UTU International President Mike Futhey – 

Railroaders should not lose sleep over a rumor that Congress will cut Railroad Retirement benefits.

The rumor began after language was inserted in a budget report by conservative Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) suggesting the federal deficit could be cut by eliminating certain Railroad Retirement benefits. He did not understand how Railroad Retirement is funded.

The UTU, SMWIA and other rail union legislative departments, along with carriers and the Railroad Retirement Board, immediately contacted congressional offices to remind lawmakers there are no federal funds used to pay Railroad Retirement Tier I benefits. Every penny of Railroad Retirement Tier I benefits is funded by payroll taxes on railroads and their workers.

Thus, there can be no savings to the federal government by tinkering with Railroad Retirement. As National Legislative Director James Stem said, “We are all confident that Rep. Ryan’s unfortunate draft language will disappear from consideration in Congress.”

This reminds us all to be ever vigilant in protecting Railroad Retirement, and the importance of participating in the UTU PAC.

Railroad Retirement, along with Social Security – which covers virtually all other private sector workers – originated with President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal during the Great Depression.

Railroad unions gained from Congress a guarantee that Railroad Retirement would never provide less in monthly benefits than Social Security. In fact, Railroad Retirement today pays considerably more than Social Security — the additional cost borne entirely by railroads and their workers.

For Railroad Retirement Tier I, the payroll taxes on employers and workers are the same as for Social Security, but Tier I allows railroaders with at least 30 years of service to retire at age 60 with full benefits for themselves and spouse. The cost of early retirement is funded by Tier II payroll taxes, which also fund additional Railroad Retirement benefits similar to private-sector pension plans where they still exist.

The average Railroad Retirement benefit paid current retirees is some $1,700 more monthly than paid to Social Security recipients, while the Railroad Retirement spouse benefit is some $500 more than paid spouses under Social Security.

Carriers pay the bulk of the additional Railroad Retirement taxes – 12.1 percent on payroll up to $81,900 per employee, while employees pay 3.9 percent on the same earnings. This significant pension benefit is what the railroads rely on to keep our professional workforce on the job until retirement.

For more information on Railroad Retirement, visit the Railroad Retirement Board website by clicking on the following link: https://secure.rrb.gov/

Many UTU members obtain their prescription drugs through Medco, which has been acquired by Express Scripts following Federal Trade Commission approval of the corporate combination.

Notwithstanding the acquisition by Express Scripts of Medco, UTU members receiving mail order prescriptions through Medco will continue ordering and receiving their medications as they have in the past, without any changes.

All packaging and labels will remain the same, as will addresses and phone numbers for pharmacy-related questions and other information. Nor will there be a need to change retail pharmacies or alter home delivery orders in any manner.

The combined Express Scripts and Medco, known as pharmacy-benefit managers (PBMs), now control 40 percent of that market, according to the Economist magazine. PBMs, reported the Economist, encourage consumers to fill their prescriptions through the mail instead of going to a more costly pharmacy. 

Express Scripts recently launched a program, ScreenRx, which utilizes software to sift through hundreds of factors that affect patients and forecast who is most likely to forget a refill or simply stop taking their drugs. The company then plans to contact those patients to help them stick with their doctor’s orders.

“Fatigue,” says the National Transportation Safety Board, was “the probable cause” of rear-end accident involving two BNSF freight trains near Red Oak, Iowa, April 17, 2011, that killed a UTU-member conductor and the train’s engineer.

The NTSB concluded that the crewmembers who perished in the locomotive of the train that hit the rear of the first train were asleep at the time of the accident, “which led to their failure to comply with the signal indication requiring them to operate at a restricted speed and stop short of the standing train.”

“Once again, this investigation draws attention to the dangers of human fatigue,” NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said. “The human body is not designed to work irregular schedules, especially during the circadian trough, when our bodies are at their lowest alertness.

“Contributing to the accident was the absence of a positive train control (PTC) system that identifies the rear of a train and stops a following train if a safe braking profile is exceeded,” Hersman said. “Humans are fallible and make mistakes and operational accidents can be prevented with positive train control.”

The NTSB said that also contributing to the severity of collision damage was “the absence of crashworthiness standards for modular locomotive crew cabs.”

The fatal accident involved an eastbound BNSF coal train, which collided with the rear end of a standing BNSF maintenance-of-way equipment train on the Creston subdivision of the BNSF Nebraska Division.

Killed were conductor and UTU Local 199 Vice Local Chairperson Patricia Hyatt, and engineer Tom Anderson, both age 48.