Football season is long over. The New York Jets never made it to the Super Bowl. National Football League players are locked out by their owners. The upcoming football season could be in jeopardy.
And how about Norfolk Southern conductor and former Jets defensive back Keith Fitzhugh, who last fall turned down a Jets’ offer to return to the team in favor or being a conductor?
“I’m so happy,” Fitzhugh, age 24, recently told The Associated Press. “It turned out just right for me.”
When we previously visited with Fitzhugh last fall, he had spurned the Jets’ offer and was in conductor training. Many called his decision to stay with NS “crazy.”
Job security and a steady income were and are more important to Fitzhugh, especially in an economy where jobs are scarce and good benefits even more scarce.
Indeed, some of his former – and now locked-out – NFL teammates, have asked Fitzhugh if they could get him a similar job on Norfolk Southern, reported the Associated Press. “They’re, like, ‘Hey, Keith, if this doesn’t work out for me …’ and I just tell them, ‘Just go ahead and apply, just like I did,'” he told the Associated Press.
“No big-name guys,” Fitzhugh told the Associated Press, “but guys who are straddling that line like I was. When they hear about what I do, it’s kind of exciting to them, too, because you turn into a kid all over again. You’re riding a train that has 4,000 or 5,000 horsepower and you really can get into the thrill of it. It’s a fun job, man.”
Fitzhugh is now a full-time conductor and member of UTU Local 511 in Atlanta, and most often working a run between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn. He resides in Hampton, Ga.
Could Fitzhugh eventually return to the NFL? He told the Associated Press that NS officials promised him a leave of absence if another opportunity presented itself. “I’m still young and I keep my body in shape,” he told the Associated Press. “I don’t know if the opportunity will ever come with this lockout, but I can’t say yay or nay. You never know who might call me and give me an opportunity.”
“For me, having job security is important,” Fitzhugh told the UTU News last fall when he made the decision to stay with NS. “I was released three times [twice by the Jets, once by the Baltimore Ravens]. There is no job security [in the National Football League]. Why risk losing a good job with Norfolk Southern? I have buddies with two degrees who can’t find a job.
“Working for Norfolk Southern is one of the best prestigious jobs you can have,” Fitzhugh told the UTU News last fall. “I have to look out for what’s best for me and my family. I think riding on a locomotive is one of the coolest things.”
Fitzhugh
Author: paul
GILA BEND, Ariz. — A westbound Union Pacific freight train hit a U.S. Border Patrol SUV here May 12 as two Border Patrol agents, reportedly chasing suspected undocumented immigrants, suddenly entered an unmarked private crossing in their unmarked SUV as the train approached.
Both Border Patrol agents were killed in the collision, which occurred about 80 miles from the Mexican border.
News reports say the train’s crew members saw the SUV driving parallel to the tracks “when the unmarked SUV suddenly turned south into the crossing.” The engineer reportedly blew his horn prior to the crash, trying to get the SUV driver’s attention.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department said the three-locomotive, 75-car UP train, enroute to Yuma, was traveling about 62 mph when it struck the SUV, pushing it about one-mile down the tracks.
News reports say sheriff’s deputies later arrested a group of eight suspected undocumented immigrants traveling on foot near the scene of the accident. They reportedly were carrying 315 pounds of marijuana.
VICTORIA, Texas — UTU member and Valley Transit bus operator Guadalupe Ruiz escaped injury May 12 when his bus was sideswiped by a pickup truck near here. Ruiz is a member of UTU Local 1670, Laredo, Texas.
The Associated Press reports that one of the bus passengers was killed and 21 other riders injured in the accident.
The Associated Press reports that bus was sent crashing into a light pole after being sideswiped. The bus was traveling from Houston to McAllen, Texas, on U.S. 77.
Witnesses told the Associated Press that Ruiz didn’t have time to react when the pickup sideswiped the right side of the bus. The pickup truck driver, who was not injured, was issued a citation for failing to yield the right-of-way at an intersection. Other charges may be brought against the pickup truck driver said the Victoria County district attorney’s office.
By International President Mike Futhey
I was asked if our Collective Bargaining Defense Fund, the UTU PAC and our recently inaugurated direct-contact-with-members outreach can stop the assault on labor by conservative extremists.
In union there is strength, and when members of all labor unions engage in political solidarity, the result is millions of union members and their families working toward a common goal of electing more labor-friendly lawmakers.
Consider what has been accomplished recently in Ohio and Wisconsin.
Demonstrations in Ohio resulted in hundreds of thousands of voters — union and non-union — signing petitions to force a November ballot referendum on legislation signed into law by the governor revoking public-employee collective bargaining rights. The referendum will allow voters to determine in November whether the law should be invalidated.
In Wisconsin, demonstrations resulted in drives to recall anti-labor senators who voted to revoke public-employee collective bargaining rights in that state. This summer, a special election will give Wisconsin voters opportunity to change the make-up of the Senate.
UTU members and retirees in Ohio and Wisconsin have been receiving direct mail pieces and/or a recorded phone message from me and their state legislative director informing them of what they can do to make a difference in their state. Other AFL-CIO unions are engaged in similar efforts.
Our objective is to keep our members and their families fully informed on political issues so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box. We also are engaged in voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives.
Ohio members are being informed where they can sign petitions to put that state’s union-busting legislation to a direct-democracy test at the ballot box.
Wisconsin members and retirees are being advised which senators voted with labor and which senators voted to revoke collective-bargaining rights, so that when the special election is held this summer, they can make informed voting choices.
Similar efforts will be expanded to other states in advance of the 2012 congressional and White House elections.
Coordinating the UTU effort is our political consultant, Dean Mitchell, who has more than 20 years experience directing political campaigns on behalf of labor-friendly candidates. Dean’s father was president of an American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees local.
Polling data validates that labor families vote at a higher percentage than the public as a whole, meaning our votes can make a difference when we work in solidarity on behalf of labor friendly measures and candidates.
Keeping our members and their families informed on political issues — through direct mail, recorded phone messages, the UTU News and the UTU website — will continue.
We have drawn a line in the sand from which we cannot retreat. We can and will make a difference. We will not go away. We will not forget.
WASHINGTON — An extensive overhaul of air-carrier crew training has been proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“This is a major effort to strengthen the performance of pilots, flight attendants and dispatchers through better training,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt.
The proposed new training standards and procedures will be formalized in a final rule following a public comment period on the proposed changes.
In releasing the wide-ranging proposed changes, which stretch 671 printed pages, the FAA said, “flight crews would have to demonstrate, not just learn, critical skills in real-world training scenarios. Pilots would be required to train as a complete flight crew, coordinate their actions through Crew Resource Management, and fly scenarios based on actual events.”
Additionally, said the FAA, training would be required “to teach pilots how to recognize and recover from stalls and aircraft upsets,” and require “remedial training for pilots with performance deficiencies such as failing a proficiency test or check, or unsatisfactory performance during flight training or a simulator course.”
Flight attendants would be required to complete hands-on emergency drills every 12 months, and the proposal would standardize the training and experience requirements for certain dispatchers and instructors.
Click below to read the FAA 671-page notice in the Federal Register:
Amtrak provides eligible active and retired UTU/SMART TD members with passes which can be used to get free or reduced-rate travel aboard the passenger railroad.
UTU/SMART TD membership alone does not make the employee or retiree eligible for these travel privileges, and many restrictions apply.
To get an Amtrak pass, the employee or retiree must fill out an application form (referred to “NRPC Form 90”) that is supplied by his or her home railroad. When the form is completed, it should be returned to the railroad. The railroad then certifies the information supplied by the employee or retiree and forwards the application to Amtrak, which reviews the information and, if the member or retiree is eligible, issues an Amtrak Rail Travel Privilege Card.
Level of privileges is determined by employment dates and rail affiliation.
Questions regarding eligibility for passes should be directed to the member’s or retiree’s home railroad, not the UTU/SMART TD or Amtrak’s Travel Service Office.
Passes have no expiration date, and are good for the duration of the employee’s rail career. Upon retiring, however, the member should apply for a retirees’ pass by completing a new Form 90.
Also note that pink-colored Rail Travel Privilege Cards have no expiration date.
Update: July 1, 2015
Effective July 1, 2015, Amtrak will no longer provide pass privileges to Union Pacific Railroad (freight railroad) pass riders hired between May 1, 1971, and April 27, 1981. UP employees can read more details about pass eligibility by clicking on the link below.
Click here to read more from Union Pacific.
Please note that each carrier has their own rules specific to them and members should contact their employer for Amtrak Pass eligibility requirements.
Info for retirees from BNSF and its predecessor railroads:
Retirees wishing to apply for an Amtrak privileges should call 817-352-4983 to request an application by mail, then complete the application, and mail it to the address provided.
Upon approval, Amtrak will send the travel card to the address provided within four to six weeks.
Other questions? Please call 800-USA-RAIL (800-872-7245).
Additional details about pass eligibility for retirees of BNSF and its predecessor railroads is available on the BNSF website.
MIAMI – By a four-to-one margin, UTU-member train and engine workers employed by Veolia Transportation — operator of South Florida Tri-Rail — have approved a new agreement. The UTU represents both sides of the cab on Tri-Rail.
The agreement includes pay increases retroactive to July 1, 2010, an increase in certification pay for engineers, certification-pay parity for conductors, overtime pay for employees assigned to training classes or examinations on rest days, improvement in bereavement leave, restrictions on the use of videos for purposes of discipline, a cap on health care insurance contributions, and the addition of a vision plan.
UTU International Vice President John Previsich assisted with negotiations. He congratulated the negotiating team, which included General Chairperson Roger Lenfest (Amtrak, GO 769), Local 30 (Jacksonville) Chairperson Andy D’Egidio and Vice Local Chairperson Steven Klemm for “an excellent job of bringing the membership’s wishes to the negotiating table.
“Because of their efforts, the negotiating team was successful in securing the excellent pay increases, certification pay and positive changes to the contract that the members desired,” Previsich said.
South Florida Tri-Rail operates over 71 miles for former CSX track linking West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, and is owned by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.
In January, employees of Tri-Rail’s operations center voted to be represented by the UTU.
WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has published a final rule — effective for drivers in 60 days — amending the commercial driver’s license (CDL) knowledge and skills testing standards, and establishing new minimum federal standards for states to issue the commercial learner’s permit (CLP).
The final rule requires that a CLP holder meet virtually the same requirements as those for a CDL holder, meaning that a driver holding a CLP will be subject to the same driver disqualification penalties that apply to a CDL holder.
The final rule requires:
- Successful completion of the knowledge test — currently a prerequisite for the CDL — prior to issuance of a CLP.
- States to use FMCSA pre-approved driver and examiner reference materials, state testing questions and exercises, and state testing methodologies.
- A prohibition on the use of foreign language interpreters in the administration of the knowledge and skills tests to reduce the potential for fraud.
- Each driver applicant obtain a CLP and hold it for a minimum of 14 days before applying for a CDL.
- A minimum age of 18 for issuance of a CLP.
- The CLP be a separate document from the CDL, and that it be tamperproof and include the same information as the CDL.
- Bus operator CLP endorsements be limited to a restricted passenger endorsement and/or a school bus endorsement. Also, states must use standardized endorsement and restriction codes on CDLs.
- That states, prior to issuing a CLP, perform a check of the driver’s previous driving record to ensure the driver is not subject to the sanctions based on previous motor vehicle violations. If the state discovers the driver is subject to such sanctions, it must refuse to issue a CLP to the driver.
- States verify the applicant’s Social Security number with the Social Security Administration.
- Limited initial and renewal periods for CLPs and CDLs.
- Motor carriers to prohibit using a driver who does not hold a current and appropriate CLP or CDL.
Click here to read the final rule published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s vision for high-speed rail along the Northeast Corridor gained a significant boost May 9 when the Federal Railroad Administration redistributed to Amtrak $795 million of some $2 billion in high-speed rail grants previously rejected by Florida.
Portions of that grant money also were distributed to 15 states that have plans for high-speed and higher-speed rail.
The funds come from unobligated amounts appropriated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which has not been affected by recent congressional budget cuts. That law, intended to stimulate the economy at the depth of the current recession, provided some $10 billion for rail projects. Some $6 billion of that $10 billion has now been distributed.
Some of the funds directed to Amtrak May 9 are earmarked for 24 miles of Northeast Corridor track in central New Jersey — between New Brunswick and Morrisville — to be upgraded to handle 160-mph train operations. The current top speed over that segment is 135 mph via Amtrak’s Acela trains.
The Northeast Corridor connects Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
Midwest states will receive $404 million to upgrade tracks between Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis for 110-mph passenger-train operations. Work already has begun — as part of a joint project among Union Pacific, Amtrak and the FRA — to upgrade tracks between Chicago and St. Louis to 110 mph for passenger-trains.
California will receive $300 million toward initial construction in the Central Valley of a planned high-speed line linking Sacramento, the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego.
Following is a breakdown of the grant allocations:
Northeast Corridor
- $450 million to Amtrak to improve NEC track, and power, signal and catenary systems in one of the corridor’s most heavily traveled areas, creating a 24-mile segment of track that can handle 160 mph train operations.
- $295 million to New York to build new routes that enable Amtrak trains to bypass the Harold Interlocking in Queens on Long Island — one of the country’s busiest passenger-rail junctions.
- $25 million to Rhode Island to design and construct an additional 1.5 miles of third track in Kingston, enabling trains operating at speeds up to 150 mph to pass other trains on a high-volume section of the corridor.
- $22 million to Maryland to conduct engineering and environmental work to replace the century-old Susquehanna River Bridge.
- $3 million to Rhode Island to conduct preliminary engineering and environmental work to renovate the Providence Station.
Northeast Region
- $58 million to New York to upgrade tracks, stations and signals along the Empire Corridor, including replacing the Schenectady Station and constructing a fourth station track at the Albany-Rensselaer Station.
- $40 million to Pennsylvania to rebuild an interlocking near Harrisburg on the Keystone Corridor.
- $30 million to Connecticut to build double-track segments between New Haven and Springfield.
- $20.8 million to Maine and Massachusetts to construct a 10.4-mile section of double track between Wilmington and Andover, Mass., improving service along Amtrak’s Downeaster route.
- $1.4 million to New York to conduct preliminary engineering and environmental reviews for a new Rochester intermodal station along the Empire Corridor.
Regional Equipment Pools
- $268.2 million to Midwest states to purchase 48 high-performance passenger cars and seven quick-acceleration locomotives for eight corridors in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Missouri.
- $68 million to California to acquire 15 high-performance passenger cars and four “uick-acceleration locomotives for the Pacific Surfliner, San Joaquin and Capitol corridors.
Midwestern Region
- $196.5 million to Michigan to rehabilitate track and signal systems between Kalamazoo and Dearborn, bringing train speeds up to 110 mph along a 235-mile section of track.
- $186.3 million to Illinois to construct track along the Chicago-St. Louis corridor between Dwight and Joliet to accommodate 110 mph trains.
- $13.5 million to Missouri to advance design work to replace the Merchant’s Bridge over the Mississippi River along the Chicago-St. Louis corridor.
- $5 million to Minnesota to complete engineering and environmental work to establish the Northern Lights Express, which would connect Minneapolis and Duluth with 110 mph trains.
- $2.8 million to Michigan to conduct an engineering and environmental analysis to construct a new station in Ann Arbor.
Southern Region
- $15 million to Texas to conduct engineering and environmental work to develop a high-speed rail corridor linking Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston.
- $4 million to North Carolina to conduct an environmental analysis of the Richmond-Raleigh section of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corirdor.
California and the Northwest Region
- $300 million to the California High Speed Rail Authority to extend construction on the Central Valley corridor by another 20 miles, from Fresno to the Wye junction, which will provide a connection to San Jose to the west and Merced to the north.
- $15 million to Washington state to construct a Port of Vancouver grade separation, which will eliminate a congested intersection and bottleneck between freight and passenger tracks.
- $1.5 million for analysis of overnight parking tracks for passenger trains on the southern end of the Pacific Northwest Corridor at the Port of Vancouver, adding new capacity for increased passenger and freight-rail service.
- $15 million to eliminate a congested intersection and bottleneck between freight and passenger tracks along the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor at Eugene, Ore., by elevating one set of tracks over the other.
Norfolk Southern conductor Larry McVay, 43, caught a bad break Jan. 3 when he lost his right arm and right leg in a horrendous switching accident near Lafayette, Ind.
His brothers and sisters in UTU Local 768 and UTU NS General Committee of Adjustment 687 — and others who read and heard about the accident — know, but by the grace of God, it could have happened to them. They were also deeply moved by a previous tragedy that befell McVay and his wife, Lisa: the 2008 death of their daughter in an automobile accident.
Within days of the Jan. 3 switching accident, a benefit fund was established for the McVay family of Dalton City, Ill.
His brothers and sisters in Local 768 and NS General Committee 687 didn’t stop there.
Recently, Local 768 member Craig Wilson opened the tavern he owns in Decatur, Ill., for a silent auction to encourage further donations to the McVay benefit fund.
Dubbed Larry-palooza, it was a lollapalooza of an event, organized by NS General Committee 687 Senior Vice General Chairperson Dan Calhoun, who coordinated donations of more than 100 items — from local businesses, friends, coworkers, other UTU members and UTU designated legal counsel — for the auction.
There were few dry eyes when fellow conductor Jacob Baines — one of Local 768’s newest members — was recognized as a hero and warmly thanked by McVay and his wife, who were in attendance.
Had it not been for Baines’ prompt actions at the time of the accident — when Baines was serving as a conductor trainee — it is said that McVay would not have survived. Baines was promoted to conductor shortly after the accident.
“In today’s world of so much negative news, this event surely reiterates the good of human nature and the value of UTU brotherhood,” said NS General Committee 687 Chairperson Jason Boswell.
Donations are still being accepted, and may be sent to the Larry McVay Benefit Fund c/o Land of Lincoln Credit Union, 2890 N. Oakland Ave., Decatur, IL 62526. More information may be obtained from the credit union by calling (217) 875-1300.
Those with PayPal accounts may also make contributions through the PayPal website by sending funds to the email address: benefitlarry@yahoo.com
Pictured below: Injured NS conductor and Local 768 member Larry McVay, surrounded by some of his caring brothers.
From left, with McVay, are Local 768 member Craig Wilson, at whose tavern the silent auction was held; Local 768 conductor Jason Baines, credited with helping to save McVay’s life; UTU International Vice President Delbert Strunk; NS General Committee 687 Senior Vice General Chairperson Mark McKee; NS General Committee 687 Senior Vice General Chairperson Dan Calhoun, who organized the silent auction; and NS General Committee 687 Chairperson Jason Boswell.