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By Calvin Studivant
Alternate Vice President, Bus Department

As we follow the demonstrations of the 99 percent against the greed and wealth of America’s
top one percent, I am reminded of a 1967 speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in which Dr. King advocated a transformation “from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society.”

Each day jobs are exported from our shores, layoffs are announced, health care insurance is cancelled or scaled back, and pension plans are eliminated, I feel the pain of the millions of fellow Americans who are fit, willing and able to work, yet unable to find jobs — or, if they do, cannot earn enough to support a family, much less afford adequate medical care. They, and we, are rightfully angry when corporate profits become the most important objective.

Unemployment numbers hardly reflect the full pain in America, because unemployment numbers do not reflect the millions more who, after years of searching for a job, simply gave up looking, or the millions more in part-time employment without benefits because they are unable to find full-time jobs.

How much more painful it is to realize that employers, emboldened by the worker pain of our times, are using economic hardship to frighten those with jobs against voting “union, yes” in the workplace.

In Congress, we see lawmakers more interested in protecting tax breaks for the very wealthy than passing stimulus measures to put Americans back to work; and proposing legislation making it more difficult to join labor unions.

It is unconscionable that Congress eliminated funding for high-speed rail construction that could relieve the intolerable congestion at airports and on highways and create thousands of new jobs.

It is equally unconscionable that Congress resists requests for more flexible transit funding to allow a shift in budgets from buying new equipment to using some of those funds to retain and expand existing service that would end transit system layoffs.

As we celebrate Dr. King’s legacy this month, let us realize that he advocated not only racial harmony, but economic opportunity and trade unionism.

In response to anti-union politicians and employers, Dr. King preached: “In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as ‘right-to-work.’ It provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘works.’ Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining. We demand this fraud be stopped.”

As we approach Election Day this November, let us unite in support of labor-friendly candidates. Let us support our UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund and our UTU PAC. Let us do this in the non-violent but aggressive spirit of Dr. King.

The strength of working families today is at the ballot box. There is so much at stake, for ourselves, for our families and for the millions of Americans seeking a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. United in solidarity we can make a difference with our votes. There is  no better, more productive and more effective way to honor Dr. King’s legacy.

AMARILLO, Texas – A BNSF maintenance-of-way employee was killed here Jan. 9 after being struck by a rail car, according to media reports.
One report said the accident occurred as a rail grinder was being moved in a BNSF yard.
The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating the accident.

James F. Carrico Sr., 61, former Indiana State Legislative Director of the United Transportation Union, died Jan. 4.
A member of Local 333 at North Vernon, Ind., Carrico entered rail service as a conductor with CSX in 1974 following discharge from the U.S. Army. He was a graduate of Indiana State University.
He is survived by his wife, Marjorie Ann, son, James Carrico Jr., daughter, Alicia, and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and infant twin sisters.
Graveside services will be at 11:30 a.m., Jan. 9, at St. John Cemetery in Washington, Ind.
 

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Members of the UTU Transportation Safety Team have joined investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railroad Administration here following a collision and derailment involving three CSX trains Jan. 6.

Valparaiso is some 60 miles southeast of Chicago.

Two unidentified crew members were transported to a local hospital with what were described as “non-life-threatening injuries. There were no other reported injuries. The accident site is surrounded by open fields. There was a short-term precautionary evacuation of nearby buildings.

A fire that erupted at the crash site was said to have been caused by leaking diesel fuel.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that “two westbound trains collided when the first train stopped and the second struck it from the rear. A train headed in an unknown direction on a parallel track subsequently rolled through the debris from the first crash. The first train had 77 cars and two engines; the second contained 60 cars and two engines; and the third train had 48 cars and three engines.”

Although one of the trains was said to contain empty ethanol tank cars, there was no report of a hazmat leak.

Marie C. (Armagno) Weisbarth, mother of UTU International Director of Membership Services Jeff Weisbarth, has died. She was 83. Memorial contributions may be made to the Kidney Foundation of Ohio, 2831 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115.

Improvements to existing passenger train emergency systems regulations have been proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration.

The improvements are aimed at helping passengers and passenger-train crew members better locate and operate emergency exits during evacuations, and to assist first responders in reaching trapped passengers more quickly.

U.S. passenger railroads, including Amtrak and commuter carriers already have the most advanced passenger safety regulations on the globe. The Congressional Budget Office reported in 2003 that European and Asian nations impose lower crashworthiness standards than are imposed in the United States.

Specifically, the proposed new rules affect vestibule doors, emergency lighting, signage and markings for emergency entrances and exits, and rescue access. The new rules also require photo luminescent materials to highlight emergency exit path markings, and require instructions for emergency systems operations and requirements for debriefing after emergency situations and simulations.

“The proposed new requirements are based on the latest developments in passenger train emergency system technologies and best practices,” said FRA Administrator Joe Szabo.

UTU National Legislative Director James Stem said, “These amendments to the passenger train emergency systems rules are based on improvements in modern technology and the experiences of many years of operations.”

The proposed new rules were recommended by the FRA’s Railroad Safety Advisory Committee’s (RSAC) Passenger Safety Working Group and its Emergency Preparedness Task Force, and incorporate three industry standards developed by the American Public Transportation Association.

UTU members participating in making the recommendations included District of Columbia Legislative Director Willie Bates (Local 1933), Long Island Rail Road Vice General Chairperson Michael Denn (GO 505), and retired Amtrak Local Chairperson David Brooks (Local 1470).

To read the Jan. 3 Federal Register Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, click here.

Wisconsin Rally; Wisconsin; Rally; protestA new assault on labor unions is commencing in Indiana, with the Republican-controlled legislature setting their No. 1 2012 priority on passing right-to-work legislation that would permit workers covered under collective bargaining agreements to opt out of paying union dues.
The objective is to weaken union finances, bargaining clout and political power, says The New York Times, which reports that while right-to-work laws are on the books in 22 states in the West and the South, this would be the first right-to-work law in the East, New England and the Midwest.
If the legislation passes the Republican-controlled Indiana legislature, it is expected to be signed into law by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, who has been identified by the Economist magazine as a possible emerging candidate for U.S. president this spring.
The UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund will be assisting other labor unions in an educational campaign among Indiana voters, similar to the efforts in Wisconsin that unseated two Republican senators in a recall and which resulted in voter ballot-box repeal of legislation in Ohio that curtailed public employee collective bargaining rights.
The New York Times says Democratic lawmakers in Indiana “have also hinted that they might once again flee to Illinois, as they did last year, to block votes on anti-union bills.”
According to The New York Times, 8.2 percent of Indiana’s private sector workers belong to unions, compared with 6.9 percent nationwide. “That is down from more than 20 percent three decades ago as many unionized factories have closed and largely nonunion industries like finance and retail have expanded,” reported the newspaper.
The New York Times cited a study that the portion of free riders in right-to-work states ranged from 9 percent in Georgia to 39 percent in South Dakota. And another study cited found that in the five years after states enacted right-to-work laws, the number of unionization drives dropped by 28 percent, and in the following five years by an added 12 percent, while organizing wins fell by 46 percent in the first five years and 30 percent the next five.
To learn more about the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund, click on the following link:
https://www.smart-union.org/collective-bargaining-defense-fund/

Canadian National has completed the merger of Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway and Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Railway into its Wisconsin Central subsidiary.

CN said the merger, approved by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, will make operations more efficient and customer focused.

In October, in preparation for the merger, UTU represented conductors and brakemen employed by the three CN subsidiaries ratified an implementing agreement consolidating the three properties under a single agreement.

That new agreement provides for four stand-alone general committees under the jurisdiction of one general committee – with General Chairpersons Matt Koski (DW&P, GO 325), Steve Haus (DM&IR, GO 315) and Saint W. J. Laurent (DM&IR, GO 321) merging with General Chairperson Ken Flashberger (WC, GO 987).

“The merger reduces the administration costs associated with four general committees,” said then-UTU International Vice President John Babler, who assisted with negotiations. “The implementing agreement satisfied both New York Dock, Article 1, Section 4, merger conditions and the parties’ Railway Labor Act Section 6 notices.”

Also provided by the agreement are general wage increases, additional personal leave days, up to eight new extra board positions, a reduction in the number of years to qualify for additional weeks of vacation, a new bid rule and prior-rights zones.

Additionally, the new agreement provides terminal protection for DW&P and DM&IR trainmen, preserves no-furlough clauses on each former property, reduces call windows to four hours, guarantees consecutive days off for extra boards and pools, and establishes an order of call when the extra board is exhausted.

“General Chairpersons Flashberger, Koski, Haus and Laurent played key roles in the negotiations, each recognizing the value of a negotiated settlement, and came to the negotiations fully versed on their respective agreements,” Babler said in October. “They came prepared to make the tough choices that would best suit their members’ needs in the short-term and long-term. They also did a remarkable job holding town hall meetings to inform members about the implementing agreement,” Babler said.

By Dr. Norman K. Brown
UTU Medical Consultant

When I want to get started on a job that I have been putting off, I eat a few chocolate chip cookies (think sugar), and my enthusiasm picks right up and I am on my way.  

Unfortunately, there is a downside to our easy access to energy-packed food – sugars.

If we eat more sugars (think calories) than we burn up in a day, our bodies, being good stewards, turn this spare energy into fat. When we continue this, day-after-day, excess fat can make us vulnerable to many medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks and liver ailments.

Please note that I say sugars, not just sugar, since there are many sugars, and newer information indicates which ones we eat may make a difference.  

Table sugar contains both fructose and glucose. Some believe that high fructose corn syrup, a relatively new product, which is added to sweeten many foods, especially sodas, is contributing to our obesity epidemic in America. 

Despite the controversy about this form of sweetener, all agree that it can be sweeter than table sugar, and appears more likely to turn into fat in the liver and may not be good for us. While the jury is still out, please consider limiting foods containing this additive.

Our ancestors took in their sugars, including some fructose, through sweet fruits, such as berries, that also contain a lot of fiber. The mixed in fiber slows the sudden surge of sugars into our bloodstreams, such as may occur after a soft drink, and many experts believe the slowing is beneficial. Turning that idea around says that sugar, without fiber, is less healthy for us.

Sugar substitutes are now very available in the form of saccharine, aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda) and Stevia. Studies have been inconclusive as to whether each is totally safe, but if one helps you to keep down your sweet intake, do consider using it in small quantities.

The bottom line is that each of us should work hard to keep our calorie intake in balance with our calorie expenditure so we are not carrying much excess fat.  

The bathroom scale and our waistlines are the best monitors of how we are doing.  Reading labels on packaged foods about sugar content also can help. 

Fructose in processed foods appears to be especially worrisome. While I believe we will one day learn which of us can or should eat what foods to our best benefit, I personally have found that a diet high in protein and lower in carbohydrates and fat helps me most in keeping my own weight down while still having the energy to pick on myself and UTU members about our eating habits. 

OSHA logo; OSHAWASHINGTON –The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has created a webpage to provide worker and employer guidance during winter weather:

http://s.dol.gov/L1

The web page includes links to guidance from OSHA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross, the National Weather Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Safety Council.

On the webpage, OSHA will transmit information relating to worker safety that includes tips on avoiding:

* Being struck by falling objects such as icicles, tree limbs, and utility poles

* Accidents due to slippery roadways

* Carbon monoxide poisoning

* Dehydration, hypothermia and frostbite

* Exhaustion from strenuous activity

* Back injuries or heart attack while removing snow

* Slips and falls due to slippery walkways

* Electrocution from downed power lines and downed objects in contact with power lines

* Burns from fires caused by energized line contact or equipment failure

* Falls from snow removal on roofs or while working in aerial lifts or on ladders

* Roof collapse under weight of snow (or melting snow if drains are clogged)

* Lacerations or amputations from unguarded or improperly operated chain saws and power tools, and improperly attempting to clear jams in snow blowers

OSHA also offers the following winter-weather tips for workers and employers:

* Assume all power lines are energized and stay well clear of any downed or damaged power lines

* Make certain all powered equipment is properly guarded and disconnected from power sources before cleaning or performing maintenance

* Use caution around surfaces weighed down by large amounts snow or of ice

* Scoop small amounts of snow and using proper lifting form to avoid over-exertion or injuries

* Clear walking surfaces of snow and ice and use salt or its equivalent where appropriate 

* Employers should provide and ensure the use of fall protection and provide and maintain ladders 

* Stay in the vehicle – do not leave the vehicle unless help is visible within 100 yards

* Wear reflective clothing, and eye, face and body protection

* Establish and clearly marking work zones

* Use engineering controls, personal protective equipment and safe work practices to reduce the length and severity of exposure to the cold