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Toys for the holidays are helping to bring furloughed train and engine crews back to work.

The Journal of Commerce reports that the number of containers (atop rail flat cars) carrying imported toys have increased by 20 percent this year compared to 2009.

The busiest ports for inbound toy shipments have been the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California, reports the Journal of Commerce.

More than 90 percent of imported toys originate in China., reports the Journal of Commerce.

The Association of American Railroads reports that through the first 46 weeks of 2010, total intermodal loads (trailers and containers atop rail flat cars) are up 14.8 percent over a similar period in 2009.

We need your attention.

Because your family needs you for the holidays. Because your family needs you for the new year. Because your family wants you home tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that — alive and with all four of your limbs, your two hands and two feet, all 10 of your fingers and all 10 of your toes.

So do we have your attention? Wrong.

It’s not here we want your attention. It’s on the job — every minute of every hour.  We want you focused. We want you to be aware of every situation. We want you to expect the unexpected.

That’s how you go home to your family in one piece.

The weeks ahead are, historically, the most deadly for railroad workers, with more career-ending injuries than any other period of the year.

The Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis (SOFA) working group — representatives from labor, management and the FRA — devotes itself to bringing railroaders home to their families in one piece.

SOFA’s five lifesaving tips can save yours:

  1. Secure all equipment before action is taken
  2. Protect employees against moving equipment
  3. Discuss safety at the beginning of a job or when work changes
  4. Communicate before action is taken
  5. Mentor less experienced employees to perform service safely

The SOFA working group also warns of special switching hazards:

  • Close clearances
  • Shoving movements
  • Unsecured cars
  • Free rolling rail cars
  • Exposure to mainline trains
  • Tripping, slipping or falling
  • Unexpected movement of cars
  • Adverse environmental conditions
  • Equipment defects
  • Motor vehicles or loading devices
  • Drugs and alcohol

In solidarity, and with concern for you and your family, we wish you a SAFE holiday season and urge you not to drift into a mental vacation:

Your UTU SOFA Working Group:

Louisiana State Legislative Director Gary Devall

Minnesota State Legislative Director Phil Qualy

Kansas State Legislative Director Ty Dragoo

An educational website focusing on sleep, sleep disorders and fatigue management is being created in a collaborative effort among the UTU, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the Federal Railroad Administration, sleep medicine experts at Harvard Medical School, and Boston Public Radio station WGBH, which is Public Broadcasting’s largest producer of education  web and television content.

Input from UTU rail members, nationwide, is essential to the project.

UTU members are encouraged to complete an anonymous, online survey that should take no more than 15 minutes.

To respond to the question and complete the survey, click on the following link:

www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BBLHSEXZA

Additional information on the project and its website — Sleep Health for Railroaders — is available by clicking on the following link:

http://sleep.med.harvard.edu/ext/railroaders/

UTU member Larry Daniel Talley (Local 1933, Washington), a conductor on Virginia Railway Express, died Nov. 21 when he lost control of his motorcycle in Montgomery County, Md., reports The Washington Post.
Talley, age 33, began his railroad career in September 2006.

If you are concerned by demands of environmentalists to reduce American coal transportation and American coal use, which will have a negative impact on rail jobs, wages and benefits, you may wish to let your congressional representatives know.

As demands are being made to shut down coal-fired electricity plants in the U.S., and restrict transportation of low-cost and abundant domestic coal, China is sending a fleet of ships to Australia, Canada, Colombia, Indonesia and South Africa to carry back coal for hundreds of new coal-fired electricity plants it is constructing, reports The New York Times.

The bottom line is that as attacks on U.S. coal use escalate, the cost of generating electricity also escalates, and that puts railroad, mining and other U.S. jobs in jeopardy as China reaps the economic rewards. It also makes the U.S. more dependent on expensive foreign oil from unfriendly nations.

Wes Vernon, a former CBS radio reporter, writes in the current issue of Railfan & Railroad magazine that environmental groups are opposing federal approval of a proposed new railroad line that would haul additional low sulfur coal out of the Montana and Wyoming Powder River Basin.

“All over America,” writes Vernon, “environmental groups have mounted major campaigns against building new coal-fired plants and, where possible, to shut down [others].”

Coal currently provides 50 percent of America’s electricity, says Rep. Shelley Capito (R-W. Va.). Railroads deliver 70 percent of America’s coal to meet our demand for electricity — a demand that will continue to grow unless we want to freeze in wintertime as did pioneers 150 years ago; darken our televisions; toss out our computers, cell phones, iPods, iPads, Game Boys, and Kindles; and return to candles to light our way after dark.

Renewable energy sources — such as wind farms — are being developed, but are not practical for the near term. And new technology is being developed making coal-burning power plants more environmentally friendly.

Coal, according to the Association of American Railroads, provides 25 percent of the industry’s revenue and one of every five railroad jobs.

Meanwhile, according to The New York Times, China is consuming half of the world’s annual output of six billion tons of coal. In America, according to The New York Times, one environmental group says it has helped to block construction of 139 proposed coal plants in the U.S.

Every SMART Transportation Division freight and passenger rail member needs to know that federal law protects them from employer retaliation — and threats of retaliation — when they report to the carrier or a government agency alleged violations of safety or security laws or regulations, or allegations of fraud, waste or abuse of funds intended for rail safety or security.

Government agencies include federal regulatory or law enforcement agencies, and members of Congress or their staff.

This protection, provided by the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 2007, also extends to employees refusing to work under certain unsafe conditions, or refusing to authorize the use of any safety or security related equipment.

Retaliation, including threats of retaliation, is defined as firing or laying off, blacklisting, demoting, denying overtime or promotion, disciplining, denying benefits, failing to rehire, intimidation, reassignment affecting promotion prospects, or reducing pay or hours.

An employer also is prohibited from disciplining an employee for requesting medical or first-aid treatment, or for following a physician’s orders, a physician’s treatment plan, or medical advice.

This protection is known as “whistle-blower protection,” and the federal law is enforced by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Complaints must be filed with OSHA within 180 days of the alleged employer retaliation.

Relief may include reinstatement with the same seniority and benefits, backpay with interest, compensatory damages (including witness and legal fees), and punitive damages as high as $250,000.

A rail employee may file the complaint directly with OSHA, or may contact a UTU designated legal counsel, general chairperson or state legislative director for assistance.

A listing of designated legal counsel is available here, or may be obtained from local or general committee officers or state legislative directors.

A more detailed OSHA fact sheet may be downloaded and printed here.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says that while the standard monthly Part B premium will rise to $115.40 in 2011, most Medicare beneficiaries will not see an increase in their monthly Part B premiums.

This is because of a hold-harmless provision in current law that will freeze Part B premiums at the amount paid in 2010.

It is those who newly enrolled in Medicare Part B during 2010 who will pay the new $115.40 monthly premium in 2011.

Additionally, those who do not have their Part B premiums withheld from Railroad Retirement or Social Security payments, or those subject to income-related additional premium amounts will pay a higher premium in 2011.

The income-related additional premium threshold is annual adjusted income of $85,000 for individuals and $170,000 for married couples.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates that only about 5 percent of Medicare beneficiaries with Part B will pay higher premiums in 2011 because of their higher annual incomes.

As for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage plans, those premiums vary from plan to plan.

Beginning in 2011, the Affordable Care Act requires Medicare Part D participants, whose modified adjusted gross incomes exceed the $85,000 and $170,000 thresholds, to pay a second premium in addition to the standard Plan D premium.

Medicare beneficiaries affected by the 2011 Part B and D income-related premiums will receive a notice from the Social Security Administration with further details on the higher Part B and Part D premiums they will face.

Los Angeles Metrolink — a 512-mile commuter rail system, which serves the Southern California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernadino and Ventura — is moving to be the first railroad to install and implement a positive train control (PTC) system.

PTC is collision avoidance technology that monitors and controls train movements remotely, can prevent train-to-train collisions, prevent unauthorized train movement into a work zone, halt movement of a train through a switch left in the wrong position, and stop trains exceeding authorized speeds.

Congress has mandated that freight and passenger railroads install PTC on designated lines by Dec. 31, 2015.

To view an animated depiction of how PTC works as a safety overlay system to improve railroad safety, click here.

WASHINGTON – A number of issues important to UTU members and working families is on tap for debate and vote this week as Congress returns for a lame-duck session.

It is called a lame-duck session because House and Senate members who lost their seats in the Nov. 2 election remain in office until Dec. 31.

It is often said that lame-duck sessions are the most difficult for finding compromise — crucial to the democratic process — because those who lost the election are unhappy and know they are going home; while many Republicans want issues to be held over for the new Republican House majority and smaller Democratic Senate majority to consider when 100 new and largely Republican lawmakers take their seats in January.

Here is a summary of the most important issues to UTU members:

  • Although a new — 2011 — federal fiscal year began Oct. 12, Congress has yet to pass a single federal spending bill owing to partisan politics.

Instead, Congress has passed temporary extensions of last year’s spending legislation – the current extension expiring Dec. 3.

Failure to pass new spending legislation – or a further extension of last year’s spending bills until at least March 2011 – could result in the complete shutdown of the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, National Mediation Board and National Labor Relations Board.

  • More than two million long-term unemployed Americans face a loss of jobless benefits Dec. 31 if legislation is not passed extending those benefits. Historically, Congress has extended long-term unemployment benefits when the jobless rate is high.
  • Working families face significant increases in their tax bill next year if Congress fails to pass legislation hiking the ceiling on the alternative minimum tax (AMT).

The AMT was enacted decades ago to ensure wealthy Americans, with numerous tax-avoidance schemes, pay some taxes.

When the AMT was originally passed, it was not indexed for inflation. Congress perennially has passed a temporary increase in the income level subject to the AMT, but if it fails to do so, again, during the lame-duck session, 26 million middle-class families could be facing an average of $2,600 in higher taxes when they file federal returns April 15, according to the Associated Press.

  • Working families also will suffer if Congress fails to extend the federal income tax deduction for state and local sales taxes, property taxes and college tuition payments before Dec. 31. Otherwise, they will not be allowable deductions when federal taxes are filed April 15.
  • Retirees will suffer if Congress fails to prevent a Dec. 1 scheduled 23 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements to physicians.

Legislation passed in 1997 provided for formula cuts to such payments; but, each year since, Congress has prevented those cuts from taking effect.

If the lame-duck Congress fails to act, cuts of 23 percent in payments by Medicare to physicians will take place Dec. 1, and another 1.9 percent cut in those payments will take place Jan. 1.

If the cuts are imposed, many physicians say they will stop accepting new Medicare patients.

  • Retirees also will lose if the lame-duck Congress fails to approve a one-time $250 special payment to Social Security and Railroad Retirement beneficiaries who will not receive a cost-of-living (COLA) increase in their benefits in 2011 owing to a freeze on regular benefits payments under a formula tied to consumer inflation.

Calling or e-mailing your congressional lawmakers and urging them to focus on these issues would be beneficial. Click on the following link for information on how to identfiy and contact your lawmakers:

www.contactingthecongress.org

Comparing embryo high-speed rail projects with the birth of the Interstate Highway system more than half-a-century ago, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said last week that the competition America is facing is not between Democrats and Republicans, but “between the United States and countries around the world that have laid tracks for economic growth.”

LaHood was joined at the podium by Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo at a National Mediation Board sponsored conference on passenger railroad labor-management relations. Other co-sponsors of the Philadelphia conference were the Labor Relations Association of Passenger Railroads and rail labor organizations.

In introducing LaHood, National Mediation Board Chairman Harry Hoglander called him “the Obama administration’s champion for high-speed rail, recognizing that our transportation infrastructure is more than roads, runaway, tracks and shipping lanes — it is the lifeline of our economy and the way we lead our lives and pursue our dreams.”

LaHood said the core of the Obama administration’s multi-billion-dollar initiative on high-speed rail systems is the “building of bridges between Americans who need jobs and jobs that need doing — jobs like building a 21st century rail system.”

More than $10.5 billion in federal funds — mostly funded through a congressionally approved economic stimulus package — has been committed by the Obama administration to more than 20 HSR projects nationwide.

“As a consequence,” said LaHood, “we have made a down payment on a national rail system that within 25 years will give the vast majority of Americans the option of traveling from city to city by high-speed intercity passenger rail. Twenty-five years from now, 80 percent of America will be connected with high-speed intercity passenger rail — that’s a lot of jobs and a lot of train sets.”

LaHood said that in conversations with experienced European and Asian rail-equipment manufacturers, who have built high-speed rail systems in other nations, he urged them to “find shuttered plants [in America] and hire American workers and build the train sets in America. We have good workers, and if they need to be retrained, we will provide the money to do that.

“We are at the point in America where we were with the Interstate Highway system [in 1950s],” LaHood said. When President Eisenhower signed legislation to begin the Interstate Highway system, “not all the lines were on the map and we didn’t know where all the money was coming from. Fifty years later, we had a state of the art highway system — and 25 years from now, we will have a state of the art high-speed rail system, second to none in the world.”

Szabo promised that for all high-speed rail projects partially funded with federal dollars, “rigid buy America provisions will apply.” In addition, he said, high-speed rail operators “will be deemed rail carriers under federal law,” placing employees under Railroad Retirement, the Railway Labor Act and the Federal Employers’ Liability Act.