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A ray of sunshine for working families is emerging from otherwise bleak economic news: Many Americans are going back to work.

The Labor Department reports that 151,000 jobs were added during October, following four successive months of job losses.

On the nation’s railroads, thousands of train and engine (T&E) workers are being recalled to work.

Union Pacific Chairman Jim Young told Wall Street analysts in late October that UP had put some 1,100 furloughed workers back to work during the third quarter 2010, and that all furloughed UP workers would be back on the job in coming months. Young said he expects UP to be hiring additional employees in 2011.

At Norfolk Southern, according to the Journal of Commerce, all furloughed T&E workers have returned to their jobs, and NS will be hiring an addtional 1,550 T&E workers this year — and may hire an additional 1,800 in 2011, albeit many replacing those who will retire.

Although train and engine jobs on the nation’s Class I railroads had been cut by some 20 percent between June 2007 and June 2009, there has been a steady increase in T&E jobs in 2010, especially over the past few months, according to U.S. Surface Transportation Board data as reported to the agency by the railroads.

In June 2007, the nation’s Class I railroads employed 69,298 workers in train and engine jobs.

By June 2009, the number of T&E jobs on Class I railroads had declined to 55,434 — a decline of some 20 percent in T&E jobs from the June 2007 level.

Beginning this past June, however, the number of T&E jobs began rising significantly, climbing back to 61,444 in September, or only about 11 percent below the June 2007 level of T&E employment, according to STB data.

The STB has not yet reported October T&E employment, which is expected to show another rise.

With rail traffic strong and expected to remain so, there is confidence that the number of T&E jobs will continue rising on all railroads during the fourth quarter.

Another strong ray of sunshine is found in an observation by the British-based Economist magazine in its Oct. 30 issue:

“America has far more going for it than its current mood suggests. It is still the most innovative economy on earth, the place where the world’s greatest universities meet the world’s deepest pockets. Its demography is favorable, with a high birth rate and limitless space into which to expand.

“It has a flexible and hard-working labor force. Its ultra-low bond yields are a sign that the world’s investors still think it is a good long-term bet. The most enterprising individuals on earth still clamor to come to America.”

BNSF has appointed Greg Fox as executive vice president, operations, succeeding Carl Ice, who has been promoted to president and chief operating officer.

Fox will be responsible for engineering; mechanical; transportation; safety training and operations support; and resource protection, said BNSF in a press release.

Since May 2007, Fox was vice president of transportation at BNSF, and previously was vice president of engineering and vice president of technology services.

He joined BNSF predecessor Burlington Northern in 1984 as a management trainee, and later was a trainmaster, terminal trainmaster and terminal superintendent.

Fox earned an undergraduate degree in finance and transportation management from the University of Colorado.

It was a boomer of a third quarter for major railroad profits.

Blockbuster earnings were reported by Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific as railroads exercised market pricing power and enjoyed robust increases in freight shipments.

  • Canadian National reported its third quarter profit rose by 21 percent, and its operating ratio declined from almost 63 percent in the third quarter 2009 to 60.7 percent for the third quarter 2010. Operating ratio is the railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue, and is considered by economists as a basic measure of carrier profitability. 
  • Canadian Pacific reported that while its third quarter profit declined owing to an extraordinary one-time real-estate sales gain the previous year’s third quarter, its operating ratio improved from more than 76 percent in third quarter 2009 to 73.7 for the third quarter 2010.
  • CSX reported its third quarter profit climbed by 43 percent, and its operating ratio improved from 73.9 in the third quarter 2009 to 69.1 for the third quarter 2010.
  • Kansas City Southern reported its third quarter profit doubled, and its operating ratio improved from 78.3 percent in the third quarter 2009 to 73.5 percent for the third quarter 2010.
  • Norfolk Southern reported its third quarter profit increased by 47 percent, and its operating ratio improved from 72.8 percent in the third quarter 2009 to 69.6 percent for the third quarter 2010.
  • Union Pacific reported its third quarter profit soared by 51 percent — its most profitable quarter ever — and its operating ratio improved from 73.8 percent in the third quarter 2009 to 68.2 percent for the third quarter 2010.

As BNSF is now privately held, it no longer reports detailed quarterly financial data, but the Journal of Commerce, citing a BNSF filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reported that BNSF’s third quarter profits soared 44.7 percent over the third quarter 2009. An operating ratio was not reported.

Meanwhile, the Railway Supply Institute reported that railroads are significantly increasing orders for new freight cars; while the Association of American Railroads reported that rail freight traffic for 2010 through early November is running 7.3 percent higher than for the same period in 2009.

Voters in California have approved a ballot proposition preventing the state or local governments from borrowing or redirecting to other budget projects any fuel tax or local property tax funds earmarked for transportation projects such as rail and transit.

The California ballot proposition, which was approved by more than 60 percent of voters, is in reaction to the recent shifting of transportation-earmarked funds to redevelopment projects and to close budget gaps.

Although UTU members participating in the Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan and the National Railway Carriers and United Transportation Union Health and Welfare Plan (NRC/UTU) have received notices that they must provide Social Security and Medicare Health Insurance Claim numbers for dependents, many have failed to do so.

If the required information is not provided as directed, the dependents will be dropped from health care coverage on Jan. 31, 2011.

 
 

By International President Mike Futhey

What do the Nov. 2 congressional election results mean for UTU members and their families?

Consider these facts that are not always obvious:

  • While it is true that organized labor has more friends among Democrats, many of the Republicans elected Nov. 2 are friends of working families, and they received UTU PAC support and were on our voting recommendations list.
  • The UTU is a bipartisan union, historically and consistently looking beyond party labels to reward each and every friend of working families.
  • Among our Republican friends, for example, are Rep. Don Young of Alaska, and Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. Republican Sen. Hatch is one of the strongest congressional defenders of the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), while Republican Rep. Young has been one of the UTU’s most ardent supporters in the House of Representatives.
  • One of the most important congressional committees to UTU members — airline, bus and rail — is the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, where most legislation affecting the transportation industries originates. Among Transportation & Infrastructure Committee members, more than 66 percent — Democrats and Republicans — who were endorsed by the UTU won re-election Nov. 2.
  • In all congressional races Nov. 2, more than 60 percent of UTU endorsed candidates won election or re-election. Imagine if you could win a poker hand more than 60 percent of the time, or hit safely six of 10 times at bat as a major league ballplayer.
  • Despite the change in party control in the House of Representatives, UTU recommended candidates are still a majority, meaning the UTU National Legislative Office can continue to work successfully on issues that matter to our members — job security, safety, health care and retirement benefits, as well as adequate public funding for Amtrak and public transit.
  • Key regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, National Mediation Board, and National Labor Relations Board, will continue to have labor-friendly majority control.
  • The UTU’s GOTV — “get out the vote” — effort this election year resulted in thousands of UTU members and families, who were not previously registered or hadn’t voted in the previous (2006) non-presidential election, registering to vote and casting ballots in congressional races.
  • In states where early voting is permitted, preliminary polling by GOTV shows that as many as 20 percent of UTU members and spouses who cast an early ballot had not voted in the 2006 non-presidential election. This proved important in close races.
  • On behalf of the UTU, GOTV — in partnership with UTU state legislative directors and the UTU Auxiliary — made more than 210,000 unique member contacts in 28 states via the postal service, e-mail and telephone calls, urging UTU members and their families to register to vote and to vote in this election.
  • By encouraging a higher percentage of UTU members to register to vote and to vote, we demonstrate to candidates the power of UTU endorsements — and, especially, that in close races, a UTU endorsement has great value to a candidate.
  • Candidates remember their friends in the same manner organized labor remembers its friends.
  • As the proverb says, “It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes a difference.” What the UTU PAC and GOTV demonstrate to candidates of all political stripes is that the UTU is a friend worth having.
  • The UTU has always had a great legislative program, but what we have accomplished this election through GOTV sets a new standard and benchmark to measure future advances.
  • When the new Congress is seated in 2011, we will be working closely with our old and new friends to continue advancing the UTU legislative agenda on behalf of our members.

NEW YORK — UTU represented Staten Island Railway (SIR) has a new vice president and chief officer, Stephone Montgomery, who succeeds John Gaul, reports railwayage.com.

Montgomery is a 27-year veteran of New York’s Metropolitan Transit Administration (MTA), the parent of SIR. The SIR’s 265 employees serve some 25,000 passengers daily at 22 stations over a 14.3 mile route.

Montgomery most recently was an MTA subway general manager, and previously was a car cleaner, locomotive engineer and then official with another MTA subsidiary, the Long Island Rail Road.

WASHINGTON — Railroads will be required by the Federal Railroad Administration to provide respirators for train and engine workers hauling hazardous materials.

The Rail Safety Improvement Act mandated that the FRA impose such a requirement through a rulemaking, which is in its final stages toward implementation.

However, the effective date could still be two years away under a draft FRA proposal that may be finalized as early as late December.

Inhalation injuries have caused two crew deaths and more than 660 injuries over the past decade, the FRA said.

The FRA proposes that the respirators be capable of protecting train and engine workers for at least 15 minutes following a release of hazmat, giving them time to escape the cab and move to safety.

The FRA proposes that Class I railroads comply with the requirement within two years of final publication of the rule, and smaller railroads would be required to comply within 30 months.

The UTU, in commenting to the FRA on the proposed rule, urged that the respirators be permanently mounted in the cab rather than railroads issuing them to train and engine service workers. The UTU said train and engine crews already carry a lot of equipment, and a permanent mounting would ensure availability of the respirators in the event of a hazmat release.

Diabetes is a lifelong disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. It can affect your heart, kidneys and eyes, and is the number one cause for amputation and blindness. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in every 10 Americans now suffers from diabetes, and as many as one in every three Americans could have diabetes by midcentury. Many Americans are not even aware they have diabetes.

November is National Diabetes month, a designation intended to raise the awareness of this disease and its serious complications.

UnitedHealthcare offers an online video series to help educate viewers about the disease and what can be done to manage it.

To view the three-part UnitedHealthcare videos, log on to:

www.diabetes.uhc4health.com

UnitedHealthcare also offers — free of charge to railroad members — additional resources and coaching as to proper nutrition and exercise to help manage diabetes. To reach a UnitedHealthcare nurse, call toll free, (888) 315-7524.

Those not covered under a UnitedHealthcare plan should contact their health care plan administrator for additional information.

Also providing information is the website of the American Diabetes Association at:

www.diabetes.org

Here are additional resources:

* Request a free copy of, “Top Five Ways to Stop Diabetes and Get Healthy Right Now” and/or “What Can I Eat,” by calling toll-free, (800) DIABETES.

* Go to www.stopdiabetes.com and click on, “Get tips to survive the holidays and other celebrations in the New Year” and other printable information articles.

* Go to www.facebook.com/AmericanDiabetesAssociation

* Twitter www.twitter.com/AmDiabetesAssn

Union Pacific has announced the following assignments to superintendent-transportation services positions, effective Nov. 15:
 
Lance Hardisty will become superintendent-transportation services, El Paso, Texas, moving from a similar position in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Rod Doerr will become superintendent-transportation services, St. Paul, Minn. He has held management posts in mechanical maintenance, terminal operations and transportation services.
 
Mike Brazytis will become superintendent-transportation services, San Antonio, Texas. He is moving from the post of superintendent of the Harriman Dispatching Center in Omaha.