Author: paul

By Retired UTU GS&T Dan Johnson

We frequently hear from frustrated members, “Why don’t we simply go on strike, shut the railroad down, and be done with it?”

I, too, have shared these feelings witnessing excessive discipline, outrageous demands of arrogant managers, and carrier negotiators focusing only on their year-end bonus. But the fact is, it’s against the law to simply “shut ‘em down.”

Before labor or management may engage in strikes or lockouts, each must satisfy numerous steps spelled out by the Railway Labor Act (RLA). In most disputes – defined as differences over application or interpretation of contracts – the RLA requires final and binding arbitration.

In the few disputes that can lead to a strike or lockout — involving collective bargaining over contract amendments affecting wages, benefits and working conditions — the Supreme Court held that the RLA purposely creates “interminable” delay designed to encourage both sides to reach a mutually-acceptable solution and keep the trains running.

Among the lengthy steps is open-ended mediation by the National Mediation Board, and recommendations for settlement by a White House appointed presidential emergency board (PEB).

Railroads are deemed so essential to national defense and a healthy economy that even in the few instances where all intermediate steps fail, and a strike or lockout is permitted, Congress usually inserts itself and passes a back-to-work law imposing settlement demands generally mirroring PEB recommendations.

We, in rail labor, have learned from bitter experience that our membership is better served by a voluntary settlement — even if we don’t get all we want — than having a third party, with no real-world knowledge of our industry, cram a settlement down our throats.

Finally, if we ignore the law and “shut ‘em down” anyway, we face fines and civil judgments that could bankrupt the union and result in jail terms for those involved in the shutdown.

(Dan Johnson served as UTU GS&T from 2001 until his retirement in 2007. He hired on as a Southern Pacific trainman, Tucson Division, in 1966. He held elective positions of vice local chairperson, local chairperson and legislative representative for Local 807, Tucson, and was Arizona State Legislative Board chairperson from 1975-1983.

Brother Johnson was vice general chairperson and general chairperson for Southern Pacific/Union Pacific Western Lines from 1981-1997; and an International vice president from 1997 to his election as GS&T in 2001.

He earned an undergraduate degree in government and history from the University of Arizona in 1969, and did graduate studies there in 1969 and 1970.)

A month after the UTU filed a lawsuit in federal court to block a railroad demand to bargain over “staffing and consolidation,” the carriers have withdrawn that demand from their Railway Labor Act Section 6 notices.

In a letter to UTU International President Mike Futhey, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents most major railroads in national contract negotiations, said it “will withdraw, without prejudice, the proposal set forth in the paragraph entitled ‘Staffing and Consolidation'” in exchange for the UTU dismissing, “without prejudice,” its lawsuit.

“These undertakings,” said the NCCC, “are made in connection with each party’s desire to facilitate pursuit of a successful resolution of the 2010 bargaining round without further litigation and are without prejudice to their respective positions.”

The UTU interpreted the demand regarding “Staffing and Consolidation” as a renewed attempt by the carriers to seek one-person crew operations. A federal court had ruled in March 2006 — during the previous round of national negotiations — that the UTU had no obligation to bargain nationally over a carrier demand to eliminate conductor and brakemen positions on all through-freight trains.

The UTU position– then, and now — is that existing agreements relating to minimum train crew size are negotiated on a railroad-by-railroad basis through UTU general committees of adjustment, and any attempt by the carriers to change those agreements must be handled at the general committee level and not in so-called national handling where the major railroads coordinate their bargaining through the NCCC.

The agreement by the NCCC to withdraw its “Staffing and Consolidation” demand — in exchange for the UTU withdrawing its court action — followed a meeting between Futhey and the NCCC’s chief negotiator, Ken Gradia, on Dec. 8.

Said the NCCC in its letter to Futhey withdrawing the demand, “During our Dec. 8, 2009, initial conference on our respective Section 6 proposals for the 2010 bargaining round, we had a candid discussion about the parties’ respective concerns and goals.

“In the course of that exchange, we affirmed our shared conviction that voluntary agreements are always in the parties’ best interests and our joint desire to facilitate and encourage the exploration of opportunities for mutually beneficial solutions to each side’s needs without restraint. In particular, we discussed the benefits to both parties of eliminating potential impediments to successful negotiations where feasible,” said the NCCC.

To keep current on this round of national handling, click on the “National Rail Contract” link at www.utu.org.

The UTU International is conducting a Treasurers’ Workshop and BNSF Railway Direct Receipts of Dues training session Jan. 19, 2010, in Kansas City, Mo.

All BNSF locals are being converted to the direct receipts billing system with the February 2010 billing, and local treasurers of all BNSF locals are encouraged to attend.

Due to advances in technology, the UTU has developed a new tool for local treasurers called the “Treasurer’s Web Application,” powered by the International’s iLINK system. TWA has been designed to provide treasurers with the ability to download reports from the International using Internet-based technology.

Those interested in attending the session should contact the office of the general secretary and treasurer for further details. Call (216) 228-9400, or e-mail Executive Assistant Nancy Miller at n_miller@utu.org. The deadline to register is Dec. 21.

The workshop is offered at no cost to local treasurers, but locals are responsible for the travel, hotel and meal expenses. The expenses connected with your attendance may be reimbursable, if pre-approved at a local meeting, as an allowable expense of the local.

The workshop will be held at the Drury Inn & Suites, 7900 N.W. Tiffany Springs Parkway in Kansas City, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees who are interested in overnight accommodations at the hotel should contact the hotel at (816) 880-9700. The UTU room rate is $65 and participants should provide the UTU group number 2076386 to obtain the UTU corporate rate.

Training sessions will be conducted by UTU International auditors.

Space is limited and registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is recommended that those attending make their hotel reservations at the time of registration.

Be sure to bring your notebook computer.

By UTU International President Mike Futhey

The AFL-CIO convention that elected new leadership and placed the UTU on its ruling Executive Council is the beginning of a powerful cooperative atmosphere that will be good for organized labor and, in particular, for the UTU membership.

Two comments of newly elected AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka are especially inspiring.

In his acceptance speech, Rich issued a tough warning that intra-union raiding would not be tolerated, and that raiding by organizations outside the AFL-CIO would be met with a forceful response by the 51 AFL-CIO labor organizations that represent almost 12 million working families.

Rich also pledged to make the labor movement appeal to a new generation of workers whom he said currently perceive unions as “only a grainy, faded picture from another time. We need,” he said, “a unionism that makes sense to the next generation – young women and men who either don’t have the money to go to college or are almost penniless by the time they come out.”

This thinking parallels what we are seeking to achieve within the UTU, and I am heartened that this approach has caused, in recent months, many hundreds of previously unorganized workers to choose the UTU as their bargaining agent.

The UTU continues to gain new members in the airline, bus and rail industries – working men and women who understand not only that in union there is strength, but that the UTU has a proven track record of negotiating world-class agreements and then enforcing those agreements.

Our cherished craft autonomy, beginning at the local level, permits every member an important say in crafting labor agreements.

Our craft autonomy begins with the individual member, who has the right and responsibility to document carrier violations of his or her agreement and be assured that every level of the organization – from local officer to general committee of adjustment to state legislative boards to the International is ready, willing, anxious and able to assist.

No member of the UTU stands alone. Our resources are substantial, and when we include the resources of our UTU PAC and the strength of the AFL-CIO, we match, and often exceed, the strength of the carriers.

A highlight of the AFL-CIO convention was the appearance of President Obama, who opened his speech by saying, “You know, the White House is pretty nice, but there is nothing like being back in the House of Labor.”

President Obama also said that among “the fundamental reasons I ran for president was to stand up for hardworking families; to ease the struggles, lift the hopes, and make possible the dreams of middle class Americans.”

Together, we can and will continue to improve the quality of life for the working men and women who say, “Union, yes!” I am proud to be playing a part on your behalf.

By UTU International President Mike Futhey

We accept that managing employees isn’t a popularity contest. But it need not be an unpopularity contest.

I share with each of you the concern over ratcheted-up harassment, intimidation and excessive discipline. There is no more economic sense to make out of this than there is common sense.

I was recently told of an incident where an experienced conductor’s work was interrupted no fewer than 18 times over a six-hour period to quiz him on operating rules. Such unjustifiable scrutiny contributes to an unsafe workplace, as the results are used to punish rather than to educate.

When employees in safety-sensitive positions are put in a position where their primary focus at work is defending themselves, their ability to do their jobs efficiently and safely is jeopardized. That is not in the offending carrier’s best interest, certainly not in the customers’ best interest, and absolutely not in the best interests of operating efficiently and safely.

We are putting a coalition together with other labor organizations to stop this unwarranted activity. First, we want to hear from you. On the UTU’s home page, at www.utu.org,  there is a link to contact information for each of the International’s senior officers.

Please, tell us the problems, with examples and details. Help us to teach the carriers we are going to represent our members and are not going to be silent while our members continue to be harassed, intimidated and excessively disciplined to the point of putting their limbs and lives in jeopardy. These members cannot focus on doing their jobs efficiently and safely.

No member should constantly have to look over their shoulder.

As the carriers’ attempt at tortured interpretations and applications of our agreements, we will fight them in the courts in Fort Worth, we will fight them on the properties from Jacksonville to Norfolk to Omaha, and we will not go quietly into the night. We will stand and fight.

Our message to the carriers is simple: We want our members properly trained, and then we expect the carries to leave us alone and let us do our work efficiently and safely.

On behalf of our members, we will — in the words of former President Al Chesser — “stand and fight with fire in the belly for what is right.”

A new federal law requires railroad workers to provide the Social Security numbers of their dependents.

The Medicare secondary payer statute and regulations contain a series of rules for determining whether Medicare is the primary payer for a person who has both Medicare and other health coverage.

In order to satisfy these regulations, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency responsible for administering health-related programs, has implemented new reporting requirements.

Consequently, the national railroad carriers, the UTU Health and Welfare Plan and the Railway Employees National Health and Welfare Plan (“The Plan”) are participating in an all-out effort to obtain Social Security numbers (SSNs) for all covered dependents (wives, husbands and children) in order to achieve compliance with these new reporting requirements.

In addition, the Medicare Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) will also be required for any dependent eligible for Medicare.

In order to get this initiative underway, Railroad Enrollment Services will begin mailing information to those members identified with missing dependent SSNs and/or HICNs.

The members identified with missing dependent information should provide this information through a special direct mailing in early June.

Outlined below is a brief summary that will be included in the instructions you will receive from Railroad Enrollment Services:

• If The Plan records do not show a SSN for any given dependent, you will be asked to provide all nine digits of the number. For information on how to obtain a Social Security number for a newborn child or newly adopted child, visit http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10120.html.
• If any dependent is Medicare eligible, Railroad Enrollment Services will ask you to provide all digits and/or characters of the HICN, which is on the front of the red, white and blue Medicare health insurance card under the words “Medicare claim number.”
• By July 15, 2009, the Social Security number reporting form must be signed, dated and returned to Railroad Enrollment Services at the address provided in the mailing.

Please be assured that when Railroad Enrollment Services transmits the SSNs and/or HICNs to CMS, they will maintain all physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your personal information.

For additional information regarding the new CMS federal law pertaining to this requirement, visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MandatoryInsRep/.

By Vic Baffoni

Vice President, Bus Dept.

Thank you to all who attended regional meeting workshops in Denver and Nashville, and those who made presentations. By the comments received, the workshops were a great success.

Our bus workshops had the largest attendance in many years, and we are working on improving them even more for the 2009 regional meetings in San Francisco and New Orleans.

On the legislative front, our national legislative office has achieved two significant successes.

First, our UTU PAC-supported lobbying helped to convince the U.S. DOT to postpone a proposed new rule requiring direct-observation drug and alcohol testing.

Second, our legislative efforts are behind legislation to halt the Bush administration’s green light for operators of Mexican trucks and buses to send their vehicles and drivers across our border and onto U.S. highways, with few restrictions. We haven’t achieved total victory, but we are making progress on our members’ behalf.

In San Rafael, Calif., Local 1741 concluded negotiations that won a three-year contract that rewards school bus drivers with increases each year of 6.1 percent, 6.2 percent, and 6.8 percent. Some operators will realize as much as a 26-percent raise through a change in the number of years’ seniority required to reach top scale. Many thanks to Pamela Williams, Lois Correa, Gary Romero, Paul Stein and Jim Charas for their hard work and perseverance.

Finally, vote your job on Election Day. VOTE OBAMA-BIDEN.