Nov. 11 is the deadline for returning to Railroad Enrollment Services the annual health and welfare enrollment materials for railroad employees and/or dependents covered under the National Railway Carriers and United Transportation Union (NRC/UTU) Health and Welfare Plan.
For those employees and/or dependents covered under the Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan (GA-23000), the deadline for returning the enrollment materials was Nov. 4.
Included with those materials was a “Dependent Add Form” allowing you to add eligible dependent children – up to age 26 – to your plan who are not already listed on the “Enrollment Form.”
Also, if you have previously opted-out of coverage, you must renew your opt-out for 2012.
The completed forms must be returned to UnitedHealthcare by the due dates of Nov. 4 or Nov. 11, depending upon your benefit plan, for your elections/changes to become effective Jan. 1.
Should you have questions, telephone Railroad Enrollment Services at (800) 753-2692.
Previsich
Operations center employees of South Florida Tri-Rail, who voted UTU “yes” early in 2011, have their first collective bargaining agreement in place.
It provides for a signing bonus; an immediate wage increase, plus additional wage increases in 2012 and 2013; a 40-hour weekly guarantee, plus punitive overtime pay; a reduction in the health care insurance premium; a meal period; and a scope rule.
Additionally, the agreement provides an enhanced vacation entitlement; a path to enter train and engine service with seniority protection; a bid process for assignments; a formal process for grievance and discipline handling; a 401(k) plan with an employer match; and work rules and conditions equivalent to those provided by contract for Tri-Rail’s train and engine workers represented by the UTU.
“Overall, this is an excellent first contract for a newly organized work group,” said UTU International Vice President John Previsich, who assisted with negotiations. “It is always very difficult to provide any improvements to the status quo on a new contract as companies are very reluctant to reward employees for choosing to bargain collectively.
“Negotiations were made more difficult by the unfortunate death of General Chairperson Roger Lenfest (GO 769) midway through the process, but Roger’s successor, Dirk Sampson, stepped in and did an excellent job of bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion.”
Previsich praised the efforts of Sampson and Local 30 (Jacksonville, Fla.) Chairperson Andy D’Egidio “in working with the new members to ensure that they understood the negotiating process and that their wishes were met with the new contract.”
South Florida Tri-Rail, owned by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, is operated by Veolia Transportation Services and runs commuter trains over 71 miles of former CSX track linking West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.
By Carl Cochran UTU Alumni Association Coordinator
So you’ve invested 40 years of your life working on the railroad or with a bus or transit agency.
You paid your dues – figuratively and literally – to your employer and to your union.
Maybe you were an officer in your local, or just involved. Maybe you even helped with the UTU PAC. Now it’s time for those young ones you probably helped to train to carry on in your stead. It’s time to go fishing, clean out the garage, paint the house, or just take a long break. You have it all figured out.
I’m with you. I’ve been retired from the railroad since 2005. And what we have in common is we are all drawing Railroad Retirement or Social Security benefits and we’re covered by Medicare.
Do you know there are about twice as many retired railroaders as there are active ones? This is important, because you may also remember how, every few years, while you were working, politicians wanted to get their hands on your Railroad Retirement? Well, they are at it again.
Do you also know that attacks on Social Security and Medicare are on Washington’s menu again? Those who want to balance the budget and control the deficits on the backs of folks who paid their dues all their lives have their sights and claws all over our present and future retirements. The business of protecting and improving benefits for you, your family and all those following in your footsteps never sleeps.
Given the threats surrounding us, we need you to stay involved more than ever.
The UTU Alumni Association gives you that opportunity to continue belonging – to stay in touch, to learn about the hot-button issues of the day affecting us, and to participate in helping stem the political tide washing over our livelihoods and threatening our retirement security.
UTU Alumni Association meetings and news keep you informed of threats, and provide an opportunity to take collective action. Retirees can’t match the political contributions of our former employers, but we are known to participate in politics and to vote more than any other demographic group in America. Politicians listen to retirees.
Please consider staying involved by joining the UTU Alumni Association.
In addition to keeping you up to date regarding your union and retirement benefits, the UTU Alumni Association provides additional benefits such as an annual calendar, an embroidered baseball cap, listing in the Final Call, membership in the nearest Alumni Association chapter, discounts on car rentals, cruises, airline travel and lodging, discounts on cellphone service, and much more.
Membership in the UTU Alumni Association also ensures you continue to receive the UTU News in your mailbox.
For more information and to download a membership application form, click on the following link:
A safety advisory on autorack cars has been issued by the Association of American Railroads.
Some of these cars have been found to have cut convenience handles, ladder rungs and/or fasteners missing from these devices.
Convenience handles are those handles mounted on end doors, sides of autorack cars or the underside of the roof canopy, and are used by workers when entering and exiting autoracks. Some autoracks have been found with multiple handles cut and others with only one cut handle. The cuts have all been a very fine line smooth cut that is difficult to see without careful inspection.
Ladder rungs have been reported cut at the bottom of the ladder and some at the top of the ladder.
Most of the missing fasteners have been from the convenience handle on the underside of the roof panel.
Workers are advised to make a thorough visual inspection of all convenience handles, steps, ladder rungs, grab handles and other hand holds prior to use.
Upon coming in contact with any cars with these problems, the car initial and number, location, date and other pertinent information should be provided supervisors.
A former president of a UTU local, a former Railroad Retirement Board employee, two physicians and six workers retired from Long Island Rail Road have been charged by the federal government with criminal fraud involving allegedly false Long Island Rail Road employee occupational disability claims filed with and paid by the Railroad Retirement Board.
Among those charged is Joseph Rutigliano, a former president of UTU Local 645, who retired in 1999. Rutigliano’s attorney told Long Island Newsday, “I consider the complaint a masterpiece of creative writing.”
The U.S. attorney in charge of the case said his office would pursue civil cases to recover occupational disability payments from hundreds of Long Island Rail Road retirees who claimed an occupational disability based on allegedly false claims, and that additional criminal charges are likely.
According to the criminal complaint, hundreds of Long Island Rail Road retirees falsely filed occupational disability claims that were approved by the Railroad Retirement Board.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, “Employees, in many cases, after claiming to be too disabled to stand, sit, walk or climb stairs, retired to lives of regular golf, tennis, biking and aerobics.”
The physicians charged in the criminal complaint – and a third physician who is now deceased – are alleged to have prepared false medical assessments and illness narratives. The criminal complaint alleges that during a 12-year period ending in 2008, the physicians recommended almost 1,100 Long Island Railroad employees for occupational disability, and were paid as much as $1,200 for each assessment and narrative they prepared, plus they collected fees for what was termed “unnecessary medical treatments.”
The charges are the result of a federal probe following a series of investigative articles published in 2008 by The New York Times.
BNSF reported a 9 percent improvement in profit for the third quarter 2011 versus the third quarter 2010.
The third-quarter operating ratio of 71.7 percent was slightly higher than the 70.8 percent for third-quarter 2010. Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
BNSF, which is privately held by Berkshire Hathway, operates 28,000 route miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces.
Canadian National reported a 19 percent increase in profit for the third quarter 2011 versus the third quarter 2010.
CN said a 4 percent increase in carloadings and a 9 percent increase in revenue, coupled with “rigorous cost control” drove its higher third quarter earnings.
CN’s third quarter 2011 operating ratio of 59.3 percent improved from the 60.7 percent operating ratio during the third quarter 2010. Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
CN is primarily a Canadian railroad. Its U.S. holdings include what were formerly Detroit, Toledo & Ironton; Elgin, Joliet & Eastern; Grand Trunk Western; Illinois Central; and Wisconsin Central.
Canadian Pacific’s third quarter 2011 profit fell by 5 percent versus third quarter 2010.
CP’s third quarter 2011 operating ratio deteriorated to 75.8 percent, more than two percentage points higher than its 73.7 percent operating ratio for the third quarter 2010. Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
Canadian Pacific is primarily a Canadian railroad. Its U.S. holdings include Class I Soo Line and regional railroad Delaware & Hudson.
CSX reported a 12 percent increase in profit for the third quarter 2011 versus the third quarter 2010, much of it the result of higher freight rates as traffic volume slowed.
The railroad said higher fuel surcharges improved its bottom line, offsetting higher costs. CSX said also that its earnings were helped by increased coal exports to China that offset a weakness in domestic coal shipments. Coal accounts for some 33 percent of CSX revenue.
CSX’s third quarter 2011 operating ratio deteriorated to 70.4 percent versus 69.1 percent for the third quarter 2010. Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
CSX operates some 21,000 route miles in 23 states and the District of Columbia.
Kansas City Southern reported a 99 percent improvement in profits for the third quarter 2011 versus third quarter 2010, driven by higher freight rates and a record level of carloadings, boosted through increased production of automobiles in Mexico destined for U.S. markets.
“These achievements are all the more impressive given the operating challenges caused by prolonged flooding in the Midwest, particularly along the Missouri River,” said CEO David Starling. “The flooding resulted in the closure of a primary rail line into Kansas City from mid-June through Labor Day, which significantly disrupted grain and coal traffic.”
KCS’s operating ratio of 66.6 for the third quarter 2011 was a sharp improvement from the 73.5 percent in third quarter 2010. Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
KCS operates some 3,500 route miles in 10 states in the Central and South-Central U.S., as well as Kansas City Southern de Mexico, a primary Mexican rail line.
Norfolk Southern reported a 24 percent increase in third quarter profit versus third quarter 2010, citing increased freight rates and a 23 percent boost in coal hauled for export.
The third quarter produced for NS “all-time records for income from operations and earnings per share, while also establishing third-quarter records for net income and operating ratio,” said NS CEO Wick Moorman.
The NS third quarter 2011 operating ratio of 67.5 was a third-quarter record low and 2.1 percentage points below its third-quarter 2010 operating ratio of 69.6 percent. Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
NS operates some 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia.
Union Pacific reported a 16 percent increase in profits for the third quarter 2011 versus third quarter 2010, citing price increases and fuel surcharges in the face of a sluggish economy, weather-related difficulties in parched Texas and sharply higher fuel prices.
UP’s operating ratio of 69.1 percent for the third quarter 2011 was slightly higher than the record 68.2 percent operating ratio it posted in the third quarter 2010. Operating ratio is a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability. The lower the operating ratio, the more efficient the railroad.
Union Pacific operates some 32,000 route miles in 23 states in the western two-thirds of the U.S.
As BNSF is now privately held, it does not report its earnings.
By BONNIE MORR Alternate Vice President, Bus Department
As some in Congress seek to slash spending on public transit – the only affordable means for millions of Americans going to and from work – ridership is soaring.
The American Public Transit Association says more than five billion trips were taken via public transit during the first six months of 2011 – up sharply from the same period a year earlier. In fact, transit ridership is at its highest level in more than half-a-century as Americans continue to abandon the expensive automobile commute in favor of convenient and more affordable public transit.
Public transit is also shown by researchers to be a beneficial to local economies. In many communities without effective public transit options, small business has difficulty in recruiting workers for service jobs as many cannot afford automobiles to take them to and from work.
The American Public Transit Association says that for each $1 billion invested in public transportation, 36,000 jobs are supported and created.
A study released by the University of Wisconsin found that cuts to bus service in Milwaukee made 40,000 jobs at 1,700 employers inaccessible by public transit. And, concluded the study, proposed new cuts in public transit budgets would put 13,000 jobs out of the reach of workers not owning automobiles.
“The very people perhaps most in need of jobs would face another barrier to getting a job,” concluded the study. “That’s no way to rebuild an economy.”
The UTU continues to deliver to Congress the message that public transit is an essential service deserving of full funding support. I encourage members to email and phone their congressional representative with the same positive message.
Budget cuts also are adversely affecting public transit workers, and our UTU organizers are seeing a surge of interest among the unorganized to be represented by a strong labor union such as the UTU.
With demand for public transit soaring in the midst of layoffs, drivers are being asked to work more overtime, limiting their ability to obtain sufficient rest between shifts and spend quality time with their families.
We will continue to reach out to the unorganized. Over the past 43 months, the UTU has organized 24 separate properties.
(For more than six decades, Bill Lucy has been a labor-union foot soldier. In 1968, as an officer of AFSCME Local 1733 in Memphis, Tenn., he collaborated with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the sanitation workers’ strike, during which Dr. King was assassinated. In August, Bill Lucy spoke to delegates at the UTU’s quadrennial convention in Hollywood, Fla. Following is a summary of his remarks.)
The UTU, through its Collective Bargaining Defense Fund, has demonstrated a solid commitment to trade union principles and solidarity. President Futhey recognizes there is a daily crisis in the lives of working families as they struggle to put bread on their tables, clothes on their backs and a roof over their heads.
The crazy governors of Ohio and Wisconsin have seen the solidarity of the UTU as it works to preserve collective bargaining rights and quality health care. The UTU may be small compared to some other unions, but it’s right in the middle of the fight – and that’s where you should always be.
The crazy lawmakers who would strip workers of their democratic right to have a union now know you will fight until hell freezes over, and then skate across the ice to continue the fight to protect those rights. You have that reputation, and you can be proud.
A question was raised on CNN whether poor people are responsible for our nation’s economic condition. That’s an incredible question to ask after we bailed out Wall Street, bailed out the banks and bailed out corporations.
The poor can’t pay and the rich won’t pay, and who does that leave? Look across the room at each other and you spot those who are going to bring this nation out of the difficulty it is in. The fact is that it is always the working men and women on whom the weight falls to clean up the mess politicians create.
Working families are victims of the lunacy that has overtaken the political extremists who want to take away our democratic rights to determine our bargaining representatives.
There is currently an unrestrained effort to end workers’ rights to have a voice in the workplace. It is the collective bargaining process that gives us fairness and justice in the workplace, and we will fight for it every step of the way. I reject the notion that if God meant for you to be well off, he would have made you that way.
We as workers must come together to fight back against the forces that seek to turn back the clock to weaken unions and cheapen the cost of labor.
WASHINGTON – Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator Karen Rae is departing the agency Nov. 3 to rejoin the New York State government as deputy secretary of transportation in the office of New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Rae has been the number two to Administrator Joseph Szabo since March 2009. No successor, who will require Senate confirmation, has been nominated.
Before her appointment as deputy FRA administrator, Rae was deputy commissioner of policy and planning for the New York DOT.
Amtrak General Chairperson Dirk Sampson (GO 769), issued the following update on wage, benefits and work rules negotiations with Amtrak:
“In continuing contract talks with Amtrak, we are striving to obtain an equitable agreement for our members.
“We recently sent a letter to Amtrak President Joseph Boardman and Amtrak Vice President of Labor Relations Charles Woodcock outlining our position.
“Certification pay and the interpretation of single days continue to be the obstacles holding us up. I remain confident that with the efforts of our UTU negotiating team, we will be able to obtain an agreement that will be beneficial to the Amtrak members.”
Negotiating with Sampson is Amtrak General Chairperson Bill Beebe (GO 663), assisted by International Vice President John Previsich.
