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WASHINGTON — U.S. House of Representatives Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California, the third-ranking House Republican, told McClatchey Newspapers March 8 that California should not be the recipient of additional federal funds for construction of a high-speed rail line.

Other California officials are seeking the $2.4 billion in federal high-speed rail funds previously allocated to Florida for a high-speed rail line. Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott earlier rejected those funds.

Many California officials are anxious to construct a $40 billion, 220-mph high-speed rail line stretching 800 miles linking San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. California previously received an initial federal grant of $2.3 billion toward its high-speed rail project.

“In today’s world, is that the best place to put the money? The answer is no,” McCarthy told McClatchy Newspapers. “I don’t think it’s a smart investment. Look at where California is [financially]. They don’t have enough money to build it now.”

 The Hill newspaper reports that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has not yet indicated where Florida’s money would be redirected. Officials in other states also are anxious to attract the $2.3 billion rejected by Florida.

Shortline holding company Watco is seeking regulatory approval to acquire 43.6 miles of track from Norfolk Southern in Alabama between Maplesville and Autauga Creek, and 10.1 miles of track between Autauga Creek and Montgomery for creation of a new shortline railroad.

The new shortline would be named Autauga Northern Railroad.

Watco currently controls 22 shortline railroads in 18 states.

A BLET special representative was charged by the U.S. Justice Department March 8 in a continuing investigation into alleged corruption involving bribery.

Thomas E. Miller, 64, of Dunlap, Tenn., was charged in a “criminal information” with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in federally funded programs, according to Steven M Dettelbach, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

The “criminal information” filed by Dettelbach charges that Miller, while serving as a special representative of the BLET, “took bribes from an attorney seeking to represent injured union members.”

Said Dettelbach in a press release:

“The information charges that Robert L “Pete” McKinney, 59, a Houston plaintiff’s personal injury attorney specializing in representing injured railroad workers, paid the bribes to Miller and Edward W Rodzwicz, [former] national president of the BLET. Labor union corruption will not be tolerated and should be a thing of the past,” Dettelbach said.

In January, Dettelbach charged McKinney with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in federally funded programs. Dettelbach alleged at the time that “McKinney delivered large cash payments” to a BLET official then identified as “Official No. 1.” Dettelbach alleged that Rodzwicz and BLET Official No. 1 “would then split the cash payments.”

 Rodzwicz, formerly of Avon, Ohio, is currently in federal prison for his role in an unrelated crime.

A “criminal information” is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt, Dettelbach said. “A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Said James Vanderberg, special agent in charge for the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Labor Department:

“Today’s action highlights the efforts of the Office Inspector General to identify and bring to justice a union official who allegedly solicited and accepted bribes from an attorney seeking access to the union. The union official’s actions represent a betrayal of the trust placed in him by the union members.

“As national president, Rodzwicz had authority over the designation status of designated legal counsel attorneys.

“From in or about June 2006, and continuing until in or about October 2009, Miller conspired with McKinney and Rodzwicz to unjustly enrich himself and Edward W Rodzwicz by receiving cash bribes in exchange for placing McKinney on the designated legal counsel list for BLET workers and to have BLET workers directed to his firm, according to the information. The conspirators referred to these payments as ‘campaign contributions’ in an effort to conceal the true nature of the payments.”

As right-wing extremist lawmakers in Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin continue their drive to push through anti-union legislation, a status-quo remains this week.

But what is moving forward is a public revolt against the union busters.

Almost $1 million in political donations from across the United States have been made to campaigns to unseat the extremists in Wisconsin — $435,000 to MoveOn.org, and $530,000 to “Stop the Republican War on Working Families.”

And in Ohio,where House Minority Leader Armond Budish, a Democrat, launched a fund-raising campaign to unseat the extremists there — “$5 Against SB 5” (the union-busting measure that passed the Ohio Senate last week) — more than $5,000 was donated in just a few hours after the launch. The Ohio House is preparing to hold hearings on SB 5.

Rather than engage in meaningful dialogue with Wisconsin Senate Democrats over legislation to revoke collective bargaining rights there, The New York Times reports that Senate Republican leader Scott Fitzgerald reverted to name calling, saying trying to negotiate with the Democrats is like “negotiating with Jell-O.”

Fitzgerald also questioned the Democrats’ “grasp of reality.” Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is reported to have said a request by Senate Democrats to hold discussions is “ridiculous.”

As a result, reports The New York Times, “little progress toward compromise has emerged” in Wisconsin.

In Indiana, most of the state’s House Democrats remain out of state to block union-busting legislation. “We will stay out as long as it takes,” said Democratic Rep. Terry Goodin, according to the Indianapolis Star. “The principles we are fighting for here are the very principles that our party is founded upon: Working families, public schools and Hoosier children.”

The UTU is coordinating with the AFL-CIO for what is described as “a major rally” of labor leaders, rank and file union members and concerned citizens. More information will be posted at www.utu.org as plans develop.

Donald F. “Monk” Markgraf, a former UTU general chairperson on Chicago & North Western Railway (now part of Union Pacific) died March 3 at age 81.

A native of Antigo, Wis., Markgraf hired on at C&NW as a switchman in Milwaukee, and initially was a member of UTU predecessor Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.

He later became a member of UTU Local 322 and was elected its chairperson in 1960. In 1983, he was elected vice general chairperson of GO 225, and general chairperson in 1983. Markgraf retired in 1991.

Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Betty, a son and daughter, and two grandchildren. The family requests that memorials in Markgraf’s name be made to the Ronald McDonald House.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has agreed to a request by railroads to scale back the number of rail route miles over which positive train control (PTC) must be implemented before January 2016.

Railroads asserted that since the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 was passed ordering the PTC installation, followed by an FRA order mandating its implementation on 73,000 miles of track carrying hazmat and passengers, rerouting of hazmat trains has reduced the affected trackage.

New traffic patterns for shipping toxic chemicals means some 10,000 miles of track used to move the chemicals in 2008 are no longer expected to transport those products by 2016, said the railroads.

The FRA will institute a new rulemaking proposing to reduce the number of route miles by the 10,000-mile figure, which railroads say will save them hundreds of millions of dollars in installation costs.

An FRA spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal, “This settlement is consistent with the president’s recently issued Executive Order 13563 requiring agencies to review their significant rules and ensure that the safety benefits derived justify the costs imposed.”

PTC is a collision-avoidance overlay system for locomotives, using global positioning satellites and computer software.

WASHINGTON — Late Friday, March 4, U.S. District Court Judge John Bates issued several rulings regarding the pending cases regarding the UTU and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association — SMWIA v. UTU and Murphy et al. v. SMWIA.

Initially, Judge Bates granted the motion to consolidate the cases before him.

He also ruled that the claims regarding whether the merger ever took place, as well as other merger related claims, should go before an arbitrator to decide, and that he could make no ruling on those issues.

With regard to the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) Title I and Title V claims concerning the validity of the merger, Judge Bates found that those were not within the arbitrator’s jurisdiction and would remain with him.

However, he ruled that he will hold those claims in abeyance pending the outcome of the arbitration.

Judge Bates also granted the individual UTU members’ motion to intervene with regard to the LMRDA claims.

As matters develop, further information will be posted at www.utu.org.

LOS ANGELES — A Thursday morning in February started like most for bus operator and UTU Local 1564 member Darwin Dawson — making fruit and vegetable protein shakes for fellow Division 18 workers as part of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s health and wellness program.
By afternoon, Dawson was standing on the set of the Jimmy Kimmel Live show in Hollywood, collecting $650 in cash from host Kimmel — and it had nothing to do with buses or fruit and vegetable protein shakes (the latter a southern California thing, so don’t ask).
So let’s back up and sit a spell for this yarn, as Dawson is one fascinating fellow.
It begins in the garage of Dawson’s home in Redondo Beach, which he converted to a private sports bar for his friends and family. On display everywhere were old leather football helmets, antique cleats, brightly colored neon beer signs, five television screens — a memorabilia laden man-cave if ever there was one.
And, somehow, there was room for Dawson also to restore vintage Chevy pick-up trucks — the source of cash to keep those friends and family in beer and pretzels during Angels, Clippers, Dodgers and Rams ballgames.
Somehow, some hard-to-find ’49 Caddy parts found their way into the garage — the source of a barter that would lead to the Kimmel show. But let’s not get ahead of this story.
Some years back, in exchange for hard-to-find ’49 Caddy chrome bumper and other parts, Dawson acquired a 100-pound, 6’7″ fiberglass statue of basketball legend Michael Jordan, which fit oh so well in the home sports bar a/k/a Dawson’s garage.
Man-caves can change, and when Dawson decided it was time to redecorate — from a sports bar motif to an auto/bus motif — the Jordan statue become surplus. So Dawson put it up for sale at $650 on Craigslist.
Then came the call from producers of the Kimmel show. Kimmel wanted the statue as a gift to present Jordan on his birthday.
So, with help from Dawson’s 12-year-old son, into a Dawson-restored ’68 Chevy pick-up went the 100-pound statue, and down the road went Dawson and his son to the Jimmy Kimmel Live set in nearby Hollywood — a building but 100 yards from the route of the LACMTA bus Dawson drives.
In his driver’s uniform — at Kimmel’s request — Dawson gained his few minutes of national fame, selling the statue to Kimmel not for the $600 Kimmel offered, but the $650 Dawson insisted on receiving.
Hey, he’s a UTU brother, and UTU brothers and sisters don’t let even the Jimmy Kimmels of the world get the better in negotiations.
Basketball fans may notice something amiss in the photo. Yes, Jordan’s jersey shows #32, not the #23 Jordan wore with the Chicago Bulls.
Kimmel noticed that discrepancy, and Dawson had the answer. The statue was never “authorized” by Jordan — as were the legendary Nike Air Jordan shoes — but was created in the Philippines, perhaps by a dyslectic sculptor of knock-offs.
While insomniac Americans watched Dawson on Kimmel’s late night show, Dawson was sound asleep. He begins his day with the LACMTA at 4 a.m.
 

Late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel, right, pays UTU member Darwin Dawson for the Michael Jordan statue seen in the background.

PHOENIX — The UTU’s Arizona State Legislation Board and UTU members participated in a lobbying day at the Arizona state capitol here to protest the attack in numerous states on collective-bargaining rights, the right to join a union and payroll deduction of union PAC contributions.
The Day of Action was held in conjunction with other AFL-CIO unions, and was termed “the most successful lobby day” in Arizona labor history, said UTU State Legislative Director Greg Hynes. Dozens of UTU members participated alongside hundreds of brothers and sisters from other labor organizations
“All our members who attended either met with state lawmakers or delivered packets to their offices,” Hynes said. The lawmakers were urged to vote against 20 separate anti-union bills being considered by the Arizona legislature.
The union brothers and sisters intend to continue their lobbying campaign in person and through Internet websites. Additionally, each union member participating filled out 10 postcards to be mailed to fellow union members.
A highlight of the day was the signing of a solidarity banner to be sent to Wisconsin public employees, who are the target of legislation in that state to revoke their collective-bargaining rights.
All UTU members paid their own way, Hynes said, sending a loud voice of protest to Arizona lawmakers and those in other states who are mounting an attack on labor that, according to public polls, is not supported by a majority of Americans.
 

UTU members participating in the Day of Protest in Phoenix this week include, from left, Assistant State Legislative Director David Shearer (UTU Local 807), State Legislative Director Greg Hynes and Local 807 Vice Local Chaiperson Dan Torres.

WASHINGTON — Railroads soon will be required by the Federal Railroad Administration to establish toll-free telephone numbers to allow the public to report malfunctioning highway-rail grade-crossing warning signals, disabled vehicles blocking crossings and other unsafe conditions at crossings.

The rule is required by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and will go into effect following a 60-day public comment period.

Under the proposed rule, once the railroad receives a call about an unsafe situation, train dispatchers and crews in the area would be notified immediately of the unsafe condition in an effort to avoid an accident.

The proposal to establish emergency notification systems would require railroads to post a toll-free telephone number and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Crossing Inventory identification number at every highway-rail crossing and explicitly authorized pathway grade-crossing.

Currently, major Class I freight railroads and major passenger railroads have some type of system in place by which they receive notification of unsafe conditions at grade crossings.

However, said the FRA, not all smaller railroads have such a system in place. Based on National Crossing Inventory data, the proposed rule would affect 211,401 highway-rail and pathway grade-crossings on 594 railroads.