Posts under “Archived News”
Repubs push bill to preserve secret union votes
From Rob Newhouse
WASHINGTON – Congressional Republicans led by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) announced Wednesday that they are sponsoring legislation to protect the right of workers to have a secret ballot when they are deciding whether they want a labor union to represent them, according to CNS News.
The bill is designed to counter the proposed union-backed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)--a bill the Republicans say would destroy the secret ballot system currently used in union organizing.
The Secret Ballot Protection Act was introduced in both the House and Senate in an effort to preempt EFCA, which is expected to be introduced later this year.
The bill would prohibit a union from being recognized based solely on employees signing publicly signing union authorization cards at the public urging of union organizers. It would provide that a union may only be recognized by an employer, following certification by the National Labor Relations Board, if it has won majority support in a secret ballot election conducted by the NLRB.
Critics of EFCA – known as card-check – charge that by requiring the government to certify a union if a majority of workers publicly sign cards in support of unionization, the bill would effectively remove the rights of workers to vote on unionization as they do now-- via secret ballot.
DeMint echoed those criticisms, asking why congressional Democrats, who support EFCA, would want to take workers’ rights away in the middle of a recession.
“Why would we be using these difficult times as an excuse to expand unionization?” the conservative South Carolina Repuiblcan asked at a press conference announcing the GOP’s alternative proposal.
“Why does this Democrat majority, (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid (D-Nev.), want to deny American workers the fundamental right of secret ballots when union bosses are trying to unionize?”
The answer, DeMint offered, was that card-check was simply political payback for unions who helped elect Democratic candidates during the 2008 elections.
“The answer is pretty simple,” DeMint said. “It’s not about fairness to workers. It’s not about getting this economy going again. It’s not about protecting jobs. This is political payback, plain and simple.”
Republicans said they were fearful of workers being pressured to sign union cards by professional organizers. Organizers are used by big labor unions to conduct registration drives at factories or other business locations – with the aim of forming new unions.
The Republicans said they had already heard testimony of workers being harassed and intimidated because they refused to sign the union cards.
“If you use the card-check method, as has been proposed with the Employee Free Choice Act, the expectation is that there will be intimidation,” Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) warned.
“We’ve heard testimony, in the HELP (Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions) subcommittee, of examples of intimidation.” Kline continued. “We had a witness who, in testimony, described tactics used in a card-check campaign at her company in Oregon, that during that card-check drive she and her colleagues were subjected to badgering and immense peer pressure, her quote.”
“She ‘exercised her free choice not to be in a union and her work life became miserable because of it.’ That’s the expectation if you go to card-check,” Kline added.
The House and Senate Republicans also cautioned that allowing unions to form without using elections could force already stressed businesses into un-profitability, something which they said made absolutely no sense at any time, but especially in a recession.
“Why would we take the business model that has virtually destroyed the American auto industry and try to force it onto the entire American economy,” DeMint offered.
“This is the American auto industry business model – to force people to join a union if they’re going to work,” DeMint added. “We see how well that’s worked.”
The Republican members of Congress insisted their initiative was not intended to be an impediment to unionization, arguing that workers should always have the right to unionize, but that they should also have the right to vote on it.
“We are on the side of the worker,” Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon (R-Calif.) said. “The workers, they have all the rights to form a union. If they want to have a union, that’s totally available, we just don’t want to tip the playing field so that they, the workers, lose their rights.”
Posted in Archived News on 03.03.2009 2:20am
2 charged with stealing CSX train
From Rob Newhouse
MIAMI, Fla. -- Police arrested a train enthusiast and his friend, days after the pair took a CSX railroad locomotive for a joy ride, according to an arrest report. Brandon Dowdy, 22, and Alex Johnson-Self, 23, both of Miami, were arrested Tuesday (Feb. 24), after detectives said they found Dowdy's fingerprints on the train stolen out of a Kendall area station late Sunday.
Dowdy told officers that he saw the train and "wanted to look at it," according to the report.
He ended up prying various locks and tampering with switches to move the train, police said, before he abandoned it about seven miles south of where the locomotive was parked.
Dowdy had Johnson-Self, who was with him at the time, drive some blocks away in a truck to pick him up when he left the train, according to the report.
Dowdy was being held in a Miami jail on $45,000 bond Thursday, charged with grand theft, burglary, Interference with railroad track and other equipment, and unauthorized persons interfering with railroads.
Johnson-Self, also charged with grand theft and railroad inference, was released Tuesday on $12,500 bond, a jail spokeswoman said.
Johnson told police Dowdy is a train enthusiast and "simply wanted to take the train for a ride," according to the report.
(The preceding article by Macollvie Jean-François was published February 26, 2009, by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.)
Posted in Archived News on 03.02.2009 11:13pm
Automark complaints?
From Rob Newhouse
From Bob Hill UTU Local Chairman...
I am looking for documentation on any complaints with crew management
with regards to the automark system since it was implimented dealing
with the following:
- computer problems, access unavailable, markup info not posted
- VRU problems
- crew callers complaints
Please forward your complaints to me in writing so that I can address
them with the Carrier.
R J Hill
Local Chairman
UTU 911
email rjhill6854@aol.com
Posted in Archived News on 01.14.2009 11:34am
Update on Dispute
From Rob Newhouse
Today I submitted the following penalty claim for eight hours yard
foreman's rate in addition to all earning for violation
of Article 110 (g) 2, and Article 128 of the 2003 general labor
agreement with reference to moy notice # 80 and sam notice # 90 for
friday, December 26, 2008 and Friday, January 2, 2009 in behalf of the
following twin cities terminal and glenwood yardman.
TCT - 12/26/08 Knops, Hane, Newhouse, Burdick, Trudeau,
Kuechenmeister, Standish, Kuck, Deloye, Bercier, Kaufman, Pesta,
Barten, Diersen
Halstead, Houchins.
Glenwood 12/ 26/ 08 Serrin, Blair Gullickson, Bartels, Richard, Mach.
TCT - 1/2/09 Hunger, Loerzel, Harvey, Feilen, Knops, Hane, Newhouse,
Burdick, Trudeau, Kuechenmeister, Standish, Kuck, Deloye, Bercier,
Thorne
Kaufman, Pesta, Roberts, Barten, Diersen, Halstead, Houchins
Glenwood - 1/2/09 Serrin, Blair, Gullickson, Bartels, Richard, Mach
R J Hill
Local Chairman
UTU 911
Posted in Archived News on 01.11.2009 1:31pm
Dispute with Carrier
From Rob Newhouse
There is a dispute on the Carrier's handling of the daily markup for
Friday, December 26,2008 and Friday, January 2, 2009 with regards to
Sam notice #90 and Article 110 (g) of the 2003 General Labor Agreement.
It is the Organizations position pursuant to Article 110 (g) 2. of the
GLA that when any yard service employee who because of there seniority standing, are unable to place themselves on an assignment will revert to the extra board.
For the members unable to mark to an assignment on Friday, December 26 and January 2 I will be filling a penalty claim for 8 hrs for violation
of the referenced agreement.
Any questions contact
R J Hill Local Chairman
UTU 911
Posted in Archived News on 01.02.2009 1:18pm
UTU, BLET seek cell-phone ban fixes
From Rob Newhouse
The UTU and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen filed on Nov. 14 a joint petition for review by the Federal Railroad Administration of the FRA's so-called emergency cell phone order, requesting that the FRA make additional exceptions to the order in the name of safety.
The ban, effective Oct. 27, applies to any electronic device that was not provided to the railroad operating employee by the employing railroad for business purposes. (For more detail, see www.utu.org and click on "FRA cell phone ban" at the bottom right corner.)
The UTU and the BLET are seeking exceptions to the order banning the use of personal electronic devices while deadheading; the use of cameras that can document safety hazards or safety law violations; and the use of electronic calculators and global positioning satellite (GPS) devices that can aid safe train operation.
"It is not our intention to unnecessarily complicate a fairly bright-line rule regarding the use of electronic and electrical devices," UTU International President Mike Futhey and BLET President Ed Rodzwicz jointly in the petition for review. "However, we do believe FRA should seriously consider those atypical situations in which [the emergency order] as currently written could inadvertently result in a diminution of safety, as compared to operating conditions and practices in effect prior to its promulgation."
As for deadheading, the two unions argue that since deadheading crews have fulfilled their safety-related responsibilities -- and in many cases are not on duty -- their use of electronic devices should not be restricted to business purpose use only.
To that end, the unions ask the FRA to rewrite a portion of the emergency order to read: "A railroad operating employee who is deadheading may use a cell phone while within the body of a passenger train or railroad business car, or while inside the cab of a locomotive that is not the lead locomotive of the train on which the employee is deadheading."
As for cameras, the UTU and the BLET argue that the emergency order appears to forbid photographic documentation by a train employee of safety hazards or violations of rail safety laws, regulations, orders or standards, which would actually diminish railroad safety.
The two unions ask for an exemption, which would read:
"An electronic still or video camera may be used to document a safety hazard or a violation of a rail safety law, regulation, order or standard; provided, that (1) the use of a camera in the cab of a moving train may only be by a crew member other than the locomotive engineer, and (2) the use of a camera by a train employee on the ground is permissible only when (a) the employee is not fouling a track, (b) no switching operation is underway, (c) no other safety duties are presently required, and (d) all members of the crew have been briefed that operations are suspended. The use of the photographic function of a cell phone is permitted under these same conditions."
Third, the unions question a section of the emergency order that prohibits the use of electronic devices such (as calculators) to make computations. The UTU and the BLET point out that a number of safety-critical computational functions are required in numerous circumstances if on-board systems fail or are not provided. These include managing correct horsepower per ton, calculating tons per operative brake, dynamic brake and tractive effort compliance, and correcting train length for speed restrictions and clearing track authorities.
A new section regarding exceptions to this portion of the emergency order should be added as follows:
"When mathematical calculations are required for safe train movement (e.g., managing correct horsepower per ton, calculating tons per operative brake, dynamic brake and tractive effort compliance, and correcting train length), it is permissible to perform such calculations by using an electronic calculator, or by using the calculator function of a cell phone or electronic timepiece."
Fourth, the two unions petition the FRA to allow the use of global positioning satellite (GPS) tracking devices in order to gauge the accuracy of locomotive speed indicators, particularly when the designated measured mile lies within a temporary speed restriction of less than 30 miles per hour.
One effect of the emergency order is to preclude the use of a GPS device to calculate the speed of a train that is not equipped with a speed indicator because the train will not exceed 20 mph. Another is that the accuracy of a speed indicator determined within a slow order of 30 mph or less cannot be correlated with its accuracy at speed above 30 mph. Maintaining proper train speed is both safety-critical and demanded of a locomotive engineer.
The UTU and BLET ask the FRA to consider an exception to the emergency order for GPS devices, requesting that GPS tracking devices be allowed to verify the accuracy of the speed indicator in a controlling locomotive.
Posted in Archived News on 12.01.2008 1:04am
Lesson: From now on what goes into the toilet stays in the toilet.
From Rob Newhouse
PARIS - A man caused a two-hour train delay when he got his arm stuck down a toilet while trying to retrieve his cell phone, the World Entertainment News Network reports.
The 26-year-old was traveling on a train in France when he dropped his cell phone into the toilet bowl and got his arm sucked in and stuck.
The high speed TGV train, traveling from La Rochelle to Paris, had to stop while fireman cut through the train's pipework.
The man was rescued and carried away with the toilet attached to his arm, a witness says.
(This item was distributed Oct. 29, 2008, by the World Entertainment News Network.)
October 29, 2008
Posted in Archived News on 11.02.2008 1:08am
Exclusivity letter from Jim Nelson
From Rob Newhouse
September 19, 2008
Ms. Cathryn S. Frankenberg
AVP-Labor Relations & Human Resources-US
Canadian Pacific Railway
501 Marquette Ave So – Suite 1000
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Reference: Train Service Employees Representation
Dear Ms. Cathryn Frankenberg:
It has been brought to this Office’s attention that certain Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) local representatives have been asserting that they have the right to represent Canadian Pacific (CP) train service employees on matters concerning grievances, discipline hearings and the related claims handling pertinent thereto. Contrary to the BLET’s assertion, the United Transportation Union (UTU) has the exclusive right to represent train service employees at all levels of the grievance, claims and discipline handling for the past fifty (50) years. See the Article 9 section (b) (f) (h) and Articles 25 & 35 of the General Labor Agreement, we quote there from:
“GENERAL LABOR AGREEMENT”
ARTICLE 9
(b) The proper officer of the Company will hear any reasonable complaint made by an individual employee, or any complaint made by the authorized committee of the United Transportation Union representing same, provided due notice shall be given the Company in writing of the subject of complaint, and a special appointment made as to time and place same shall be considered.
(f) Employees shall have the right to be present and represented at investigations with one or more duly accredited representatives of the United Transportation Union, who shall have the right to hear all oral and read all written testimony, and to bring out any facts in connection with the case. Only one of such representatives shall have the right to interrogate witnesses.
(h) True and correct stenographic records will be taken at all investigations held under this Article and a complete transcript of all proceedings in all cases shall be given to the representative upon request. The General Chairman of the United Transportation Union may have his own stenographer at any investigation if he so desires. In the event a question arises concerning the transcript of testimony, that taken by the Company's stenographer will be official transcript.
ARTICLE 25 - REPRESENTATION PRIVILEGES
(a) The right to make and interpret contracts, rules, rates of pay, and agreements for employees shall be vested in the regularly authorized Committee representing the United Transportation Union.
(b) The right of any member of the United Transportation Union to have the regularly authorized Committee of that Union represent him in the handling of his grievances, in accordance with the law of the Union, and the recognized interpretation of the General Committee making the agreement involved, is conceded.
Further support for the UTU’s position regarding its exclusive representation of train service employees can be found in UTU Article 35 section (d) (g) (h) paragraph 2 & 3, we quote the pertinent parts there from:
ARTICLE 35 -TIME LIMIT ON CLAIMS
(d) Any claim disallowed by the designated Company officer that is to be appealed must be appealed in writing by the UTU General Chairman to the Assistant Vice President-Labor Relations and Human Resources - US within one hundred and eighty (180) days from the date of designated Company officer's decision; otherwise the claim will be barred, but this shall not be considered as a precedent or waiver of the contentions of the United Transportation Union as to other similar claims.
(g) The UTU General Chairman may amend claims to conform with his understanding of the rules pertinent to the issue, provided such amended claims have been initiated and appealed in accordance with the time limits hereinabove set forth
(h) 2. Discipline cases that involve claims for lost earnings shall be presented in writing by the UTU General Chairman to the designated Company office (with copy to the Assistant Vice President-Labor Relations and Human Resources - US) within ninety (90) days from the date of the notice of discipline's otherwise the case will be barred, but this shall not be considered as a precedent or waiver of the contentions of the United Transportation Union as to other similar cases.
(h) 3. Decision of the designated Company officer in connection with discipline cases that involve claims for, lost earnings shall be final and binding unless within one (1) year from the date of said officer's decision following conference such request is disposed of on the property or proceedings for the final disposition of the request are instituted by the UTU General Chairman, and the designated Company officer is so notified.
Additional support for this Office’s exclusive representation of train service employees can be found in the findings in an analogous court decision. See Case OOC 7549 T.V. Ryan et. al. and BLE vs. UTU and UP, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. Also see National Railroad Adjustment Board – First Division Award 26515.
Consequently, as I am sure that you are aware, the BLET Committees, whether at the local or general levels of handling, lack jurisdiction over train service employees matters and lack an agreement to represent them in any fashion Plus, CP has a legal obligation under the Railway Labor Act, as amended (RLA) to “meet and treat” in the “usual manner” with only the duly accredited UTU representatives. We quote one of the applicable RLA provisions:
GENERAL DUTIES
Second. All disputes between a carrier and its or their employees shall be considered, and , is possible, decided with all expedition, in conference between representatives designated and authorized so to confer, respectively, by the carrier or carriers and by the employees thereof interested in the dispute.
With the above thoughts in mind, UTU must insist that CP comply with the unambiguous terms of the aforementioned UTU agreements and the RLA, and cease and desist handling any trainmen related issues, whether grievances, claims, and discipline (including the BLET representing trainmen at hearings) with the BLET. Any trainmen’s claims which are being handled by an organization other than UTU are procedurally defective and barred.
On a similar, but not analogous matter, the BLET and UTU have a longstanding contractual agreement and practice with CP regarding engine service employees. The UTU or the BLET can handle locomotive engineers, fireman and hostlers grievances, claims and discipline cases, but only under the contractual interpretation of respective committee holding the contract for that craft. We quote the pertinent language in Article 48 of the February 1, 1975 General Labor Agreement:
“The right of any engineer, fireman or hostler to have the regu¬larly constituted committee of his organization represent him in the handling of his grievances, under the recognized interpretation placed upon the schedule involved by the officials of the Company and the general committee making same, is conceded; provided, that when a member of either organization has a grievance which the local committee of his organization is unable to adjust with the local officers of the Company, the matter shall be handled by the two general chairmen, who shall work jointly in handling such grievance to its final conclusion.
NOTE - This rule constitutes an agreement as between the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the United Transportation Union (former Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen), for the purpose of determining the representation privilege of each organization, with no intent to prejudice the right of the officers of the Railroad Company to interpret the rules enumerated in this schedule.”
The BLET and CP lack the authority to alter or amend Article 48 without UTU’s concurrence. The UTU is not agreeable to amending Article 48. Thus, the UTU by agreement and almost one hundred (100) years of past practice and agreement support must be permitted to continue handling the grievances, claims and discipline of engineers. Also see the July 1, 1913 Chicago Joint Agreement between the relevant parties for further support for this position.
In closing, the BLET lacks an agreement provision such as Article 48 to handle the grievances, claims and discipline of train service employees. Based on that fact alone, the exclusivity that UTU asserts for representing train service employees is bequeathed to the us by nature of our longstanding Agreements, and the BLET‘s lack thereof.
Sincerely,
James H. Nelson
UTU General Chairman, G.C.A.
Posted in Archived News on 10.19.2008 1:46am
RAIL SAFETY BILL NEARS PASSAGE
From Rob Newhouse
WASHINGTON -- The House has passed, and the Senate is poised to pass -- as early as Sept. 25 -- the most sweeping railroad safety bill since the mid-1970s. It is named the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
Chief among the bill’s provisions are conductor certification and minimum conductor training requirements, a mandate for railroads to install positive train control (PTC).
Also, a reduction in limbo time, a prohibition on carriers interfering with medical treatment of injured employees, and changes to the hours of service law by requiring minimum uninterrupted rest periods, including at least two days off following each six-day work week.
In addition, the bill emphasizes that the primary mission of the Federal Railroad Administration is to ensure that safety is its highest priority.
The bill also creates a new high-level position within the agency of chief safety officer, adds 200 additional rail safety inspectors, and instructs DOT to develop a long-term strategy for improving rail safety, which must include an annual plan for reducing the number and rates of rail accidents, injuries and fatalities.
"Some conservatives in the Senate still are attempting to block this legislation," said UTU International President Mike Futhey, "but a strong bi-partisan majority led by labor-friendly lawmakers are pushing very hard to overcome any remaining resistance.
"Our National Legislative Office, in cooperation with others in rail labor and the AFL-CIO, has put forth remarkable effort to move this legislation forward against strong counter-pressure from the carriers. Legislative homeruns for labor, such as this success, are ultimately traceable to the UTU PAC’s support of labor friendly candidates and a strong labor-friendly Democratic majority in Congress.
"Not since the mid-1970s has there been a more worker-friendly bill passed by Congress," Futhey said. "A 1994 reauthorization of the FRA had minimal worker-safety improvements, and every bill since then has been stopped dead in its tracks by the railroads and their conservative friends in Congress."
Following are the major provisions of the rail safety bill, expected to be passed into law by week’s end:
Training: Establishes minimum training standards for railroad workers; requires certification of conductors; and a study on certification of other classes and crafts of employees, including carmen and signal employees.
With regard to conductor certification, the FRA is instructed that within 18 months of enactment of this legislation, it is to establish a program requiring certification of conductors with a requirement for minimum training standards.
Positive Train Control: Requires all Class I railroads and intercity passenger and commuter railroads to implement a positive train control system by Dec. 31, 2015, on all main-line track where intercity passenger railroads and commuter railroads operate and where toxic-by-inhalation hazardous materials are transported. It also includes a grant program for the deployment of various positive train control technologies, electronically controlled pneumatic brakes, rail integrity inspection and warning systems, switch position indicators, remote control power switch technologies, track integrity circuit technology, and other technologies.
Hours of Service Reform: Provides signal and train crews with additional rest; prohibits them from working in excess of 12 hours; extends hours-of-service standards to railroad contractors; limits limbo time; and requires railroads to develop fatigue management plans through a mandatory risk reduction program.
Specifically, the hours of service law is amended to require at least 10 consecutive uninterrupted hours off duty following 12 hours on duty. (There is a three-year exception for passenger train employees, during which time their hours of service limitations will be studied by the FRA.)
Also, no freight railroad employee covered by the hours of service law may be called to work unless they have had at least 10 uninterrupted hours off during the prior 24 hour period. And following each six days of work, a covered employee must be given 48 hours of uninterrupted time off at their home terminal. If the carrier requires that employee to work a 7th day – even if it is to return them to their home terminal – then the uninterrupted time off at the home terminal must be at least 72 hours.
As to limbo time, no employee covered by the hours-of-service law may be placed in limbo time after they have been on duty, waited for deadhead transportation or been in any other mandatory service for more than a total of 276 hours in any month. And total limbo time per month is restricted to no more than 40 hours – reduced to 30 hours on the first anniversary of the bill’s becoming law. During the third year following enactment of the law, the FRA may reduce limbo time further.
Locomotive Cab Safety: Requires the FRA to complete a study on the safety impact of the use of personal electronic devices by safety-related railroad employees during the performance of their duties. The study will also look at other elements of the locomotive cab environment that could harm the employee’s health and safety. Based upon the results of the study, DOT may establish regulations on the use of personal electronic devices in the locomotive cab. (Sources told the UTU that an FRA study already is underway, and an emergency order banning electronic devices – except for company business, and only when two crewmembers are in the cab -- could be issued as soon as next week.)
Medical Attention: Prohibits railroads from denying, delaying, or interfering with the medical or first aid treatment of injured workers, and from disciplining those workers that request treatment. Also requires railroads to arrange for immediate transport of injured workers to the nearest appropriate hospital.
Emergency Escape Breathing Apparatus: Requires emergency breathing apparatus for all crewmembers on freight trains carrying hazardous materials that would pose an inhalation hazard in the event of unintentional release.
Track Inspection Time: Requires the FRA to study track inspection procedures, including time intervals between inspection, repair priorities and methods, the speed of track inspection vehicles, and the territories inspectors must cover.
Toll-Free Number to Report Grade Crossing Problems: Requires railroads to establish and maintain a toll-free telephone number for reporting malfunctions of grade crossing signals, gates, and other devices and disabled vehicles blocking railroad tracks.
Sight Distance: Requires the FRA to develop model legislation to encourage states to adopt and enforce laws regarding overgrown vegetation, standing railroad equipment, and other obstructions at grade crossings, which can obstruct the view of approaching pedestrians and vehicles.
Accident and Incident Reporting: Requires the FRA to conduct periodic audits of railroads to ensure they are reporting all accidents and incidents to the National Accident Database.
National Crossing Inventory: Requires railroads to report information, including information about warning devices and signage, on grade crossings to enable the FRA to maintain an accurate inventory of such crossings.
State Action Plan: Requires DOT to identify, on an annual basis, the top 10 states that have had the most grade crossing collisions, and to work with them to develop a state grade-crossing action plan that identifies specific solutions for improving safety at grade crossings.
Emergency Grade Crossing Improvements: Establishes a grant program to provide emergency grade-crossing safety improvements at locations where there has been a grade crossing collision involving a school bus or multiple injuries or fatalities.
Penalties for violations: Increases civil penalties for certain rail safety violations from $10,000 to $25,000. The minimum civil penalty remains $500. For grossly negligent violations or a pattern of repeated violations, the maximum civil penalty is increased from $20,000 under current law to not more than $100,000. The bill also increases the maximum penalty for failing to file an accident or incident report from $500 to $2,500.
Enforcement Transparency: Requires the FRA to provide an annual summary to the public of all railroad enforcement actions taken by DOT.
Railroad Radio Monitoring: Authorizes the FRA to monitor certain railroad radio communications for the purpose of correcting safety problems and mitigating the likelihood of accidents or incidents.
Inspector Staffing: Increases the number of federal rail safety inspectors and supporting staff by 200.
Bridge Safety: Requires the FRA to issue regulations requiring each track owner to develop and maintain an accurate inventory of its railroad bridges; determine, and update as appropriate, the safe capacity of each bridge; maintain the original design documents of each bridge, if available, and a documentation of all repairs, modifications, and inspections of each bridge; enforce a written procedure that will ensure that its bridges are not loaded beyond their capacities; conduct regular comprehensive inspections of each bridge; and designate qualified bridge inspectors or maintenance personnel to authorize the operation of trains on bridges following repairs, damage, or indication of potential structural problems.
Solid Waste Processing Rail Facilities: Requires state governments protect their citizens against environmental hazards, such as noxious fumes or leaks into groundwater, which could result from operation of a waste processing facility by a railroad.
Tunnel Information: Requires railroads to maintain certain information related to structural inspections and maintenance activities for tunnels, and requires railroads to provide periodic briefings to the government of the local jurisdictions in which the tunnels are located, including updates whenever a repair or rehabilitation projects alters the methods of ingress and egress into and out of the tunnels.
Posted in Archived News on 09.28.2008 11:26pm
2008 ELECTION OF LOCAL OFFICERS
From Rob Newhouse
UNITED TRANSPORTATION UNION NOTICE
ATTENTION: MEMBERS OF UTU LOCAL 911
2008 ELECTION OF
LOCAL OFFICERS
Under the provisions of article 57 of the UTU Constitution, elections of Local officers- President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Board of Trustees – will be held by all UTU Locals in November 2008.
Nominations to fill the above offices will be conducted at the regular meeting of Local 911 to be held October 12008 at 7:30 pm at Obb’s, 1347 Burns Ave, St Paul, MN 55106
Nominations may be made from the floor at the nomination meeting. Nominations do not require a second.
Where nominations are made by nominating petition, at least five (5) members eligible to vote shall sign the petition. Petitions must be delivered to the Local Secretary prior to the nomination meeting or presented at the meeting.
Posted in Archived News on 09.22.2008 10:05pm
National Agreement Ratified
From Rob Newhouse
By overwhelming margins within each craft, members of the United Transportation Union have ratified a new national rail agreement covering wages, rules and working conditions.
The ratified agreement is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2005, and remains in force through Dec. 31, 2009.
"In the face of recurring news reports of overall wage declines in American industry, tens of thousands of American job losses, and reductions in health-care benefits and pensions for millions of workers, UTU members covered by this agreement gain a 17 percent wage hike, retroactive pay, no change in work rules, an increase in the meal allowance, and a cap on health care contributions with no reduction in health-care benefits," said UTU International President Mike Futhey.
Effective Jan. 1, 2010, new-hires will gain health-care coverage in just 30 days rather than the previous 120 days.
"The ratified agreement also provides for arbitration to settle the dispute over entry rates tied to training, and with arbitrators we will have a hand in choosing," Futhey said. The arbitration process will begin within 30 days under terms of the ratified agreement.
"Additionally," said Futhey, "the UTU was the only union to gain continuation of a COLA, beginning in 2010 while a new agreement is being negotiated. The COLA put some $7 more per day in members' pockets while we were at the negotiating table this round.
"We also retained, undisturbed, our locally negotiated crew-consist agreements, and the carriers retreated from their attack on the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA)," Futhey said.
Voting closed at midnight, June 9, and the American Arbitration Association, which conducted and tabulated the telephone balloting, reported that 18,076 votes were cast, with 15,313, or 85 percent, voting in favor of the agreement. Some 45,000 ballots were mailed, meaning 40 percent of those eligible to vote cast ballots.
The tentative agreement sent out for ratification was reached Jan. 23, following more than 38 months of negotiations with the National Carriers' Conference Committee, which represents BNSF, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and numerous smaller carriers party to the agreement.
UTU District 1 general chairpersons voted unanimously in February to recommend a "yes" vote.
Futhey credited the negotiating committee with pursuing a positive and cooperative interest-based bargaining approach with the carriers when stalled negotiations were resumed in January -- "and the carriers responded with a positive and cooperative attitude, leading to the tentative agreement," Futhey said.
A reconstituted negotiating committee, which sat down again with the carriers in January, included Futhey, Assistant President Arty Martin, International Vice Presidents John Babler, J.R. "Jim" Cumby and Robert Kerley, National Legislative Director James Brunkenhoefer, and General Chairpersons John Lesniewski and Delbert Strunk.
Prior to voting, the UTU International officers conducted dozens of meetings nationwide to explain the agreement and provide members opportunity to ask questions "to ensure members were fully informed as to all provisions of the contract prior to their casting a ballot," Futhey said.
The tentative agreement also was posted in its entirety on the UTU Web site prior to its being mailed, along with agreed upon questions and answers jointly written by UTU negotiators and the carriers.
The ratified agreement covers conductors, brakemen, engineers, firemen, hostlers, switchmen and yardmen. Yardmasters voted separately on an agreement similar in most respects to the national agreement covering all other crafts represented by the UTU.
Members will receive retroactive pay from the carriers within 60 days.
This was only the second national rail agreement ratified by members in the 39-year history of the UTU. The 2002 national rail agreement was ratified by all crafts, with 76 percent of those voting in 2002 favoring the agreement.
Following is the breakdown of voting by craft, as reported by the American Arbitration Association after voting closed at midnight, June 9:
CRAFT Yes No
Conductors 8,704 1,447
Yardmen 3,402 684
Brakemen 1,211 183
Engineers 1,040 228
Firemen/Hostlers 326 77
Yardmasters 630 144
Posted in Archived News on 06.11.2008 2:39am
Rising coal prices should boost CP Rail earnings
From Rob Newhouse
Expect Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. to benefit from the rise in coal prices starting in fiscal 2009, says Canaccord Adams analyst Tom O. Varesh, Market Call reports.
He told clients in a note that CP's coal revenue per carload will increase by 40 percent next year, resulting in a bump to overall 2009 earnings from $5.32 to $6.07 per share.
Mr. Varesh's 2008 EPS, meanwhile, falls from $4.52 to $4.39, due to increasing WTI prices and crack spreads.
The analyst increased his price target from $80 to $91 he left his "buy" recommendation unchanged.
(This item was posted on the Market Watch Web site June 4, 2008.)
Posted in Archived News on 06.07.2008 10:58pm
Mayo Clinic says CP documents confirm fears
From Rob Newhouse
Nonpublic, sealed data made available to Mayo Clinic attorneys in the federal government's review of Canadian Pacific's bid to buy the DM&E validates Mayo's concerns regarding future hazardous materials shipment traffic through Rochester, the clinic told the Post-Bulletin.
Mayo's position is spelled out in a 22-page brief filed this week with the federal Surface Transportation Board. The board is scheduled to decide later this year whether Canadian Pacific may finalize its $1.48-billion purchase offer for the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad, which has tracks through Rochester.
Two Mayo Clinic attorneys were permitted to view the nonpublic data, part of Canadian Pacific's filing to the federal Surface Transportation Board, under terms of a nondisclosure requirement. Under the requirement, Mayo is allowed to make conclusions from the data, but cannot share the factual information of the data.
The conclusion? "In short, Mayo Clinic's safety concerns have been directly on target throughout this proceeding," the brief says.
According to Mayo, the confidential data shows that more hazardous material -- specifically ethanol -- would be transported through Rochester than Canadian Pacific and DM&E previously have said.
Mayo Clinic's concern is that a train derailment from DM&E's line near the downtown campus would set off a catastrophe threatening thousands of workers and patients.
The shipments would start after the Rochester portion of DM&E's line is upgraded in 2009, according to Mayo Clinic.
Canadian Pacific spokesman Mark Seland said that ethanol technically is not categorized as a hazardous material. He said the discrepancies between the confidential data, which dates from February, and the earlier statements, from last October, are attributable to the fact that plans for two new Upper Midwest ethanol plants came out in that interim. "We have had to update our forecast and routings of ethanol on several different occasions," Seland said.
Also in its briefing, Mayo contends that the now-higher projections for ethanol traffic, and other factors, mean the STB should give fresh consideration to granting Rochester additional protections.
The relationship between Mayo and CP began last fall on a hopeful note that the parties could voluntarily negotiate terms agreeable to both sides. Neither party would say that the Mayo Clinic filing this week affected the relationship.
Seland said the railroad has provided Mayo with an individual briefing the day before or day of each of its STB filings. He was aware of no other party along the line receiving that courtesy, he said.
Mayo spokesman Chris Gade also said the parties "maintain conversation and dialogue."
(This item appeared May 22, 2008, in the Post-Bulletin.)
Posted in Archived News on 05.24.2008 12:03pm
Bear eating spilled grain killed by CP train
From Rob Newhouse
A black bear has been struck and killed by a Canadian Pacific Railway train, marking the first bear death of the year in Yoho National Park, the Banff Crag and Canyon reports.
Upon investigating the scene, Parks Canada wardens found a large adult male black bear dead on site with signs of grain on the tracks and foraging activity in the ballast.
A field necropsy was conducted the following day and examination of the stomach content revealed that the bear had been eating grain.
“Our company is certainly doing everything we can realistically to reduce any contact with bears. Is every kernel of grain picked up? That’s a promise that we can’t make,” said Breanne Feigel, CPR spokesperson.
CPR operates a grain vacuum truck from spring season through summer and fall. Seasonal operation of that program began in the first week of April. The bear mortality occurred on April 22 at 5:30 p.m. west of Field, B.C.
The vacuum truck operates five-days a week and will also go out on call if there is a target area that needs attention, Feigel stated.
Bill Hunt, resource conservation manager for North Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks, explained that when grain kernels are wet or frozen it is difficult to make a significant difference in the amount found on the tracks.
“It’s not as effective at this time of year,” Hunt said.
Bears that are currently awake are attracted to the tracks in search of food, as few other options exist due to the late spring.
Small amounts of grain that slide under the railway supports are a concern because they ferment and attract hungry animals.
According to Jim Pissot, executive director of Defenders of Wildlife, there have been four black bears struck and killed by CPR trains in Banff and Yoho National Parks since June of 2006.
He also said that CPR trains are also been responsible for killing seven grizzly bears, three of them reproducing females, since 2000 in the same area.
“The year is off to a bad start and it’s only the beginning. I think the railway has yet to figure out how to clean up the extraordinary mess that is left after the high shipping season,” said Pissot, adding CPR’s busy shipping season is between October and March.
“Fortunately, bears are denned up for most of that time, but there is a narrow window between the end of that period and the emergence of bears.”
Canadian Pacific Railway announced in May 2007 that it plans to fix 6,300 government-owned train cars over the next five years, a project that is expected to cost $20 million.
As of April 30, just shy of 1,600 cars have been completed, according to Feigel.
“There’s a whole bunch of factors that involve a bear choosing to walk along the tracks, or to walk through Banff or Lake Louise. We really are one of the stakeholders,” Feigel said.
“Its really unfortunate and sad in this situation that this case involved a bear contacting the train. Certainly we don’t want to see this happening.”
Posted in Archived News on 05.24.2008 2:45am
RRB schedules informational conferences
From Rob Newhouse
Every year the Railroad Retirement Board holds a series of informational conferences across the country.
All informational conference registrations begin at 8 a.m., with the programs beginning promptly at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 12:30 p.m.
For more information see www.rrb.gov or call (312) 751-7139
Friday, May 2: Kansas City, Missouri, Embassy Suites Kansas City Airport, 7640 Tiffany Springs Parkway
Friday, May 2, Altoona, Pennsylvania, Ramada Conference Center, 1 Sheraton Drive
Friday, May 9, Lakewood, Col., Holiday Inn Lakewood, 7390 West Hampden Avenue
Friday, May 9, Smyrna, Ga., Holiday Inn Express, Vinings/Smyrna, 1200 Winchester Parkway
Friday, May 16, Independence, Ohio, Holiday Inn, 6001 Rockside Road (I-77 and Rockside)
Friday, May 16, Washington, D.C. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers International Office, 900 7th Street, N.W.
Friday, May 30, Little Rock, Ark., Hilton Hotel, 925 South University, Ballroom A-D
Friday, May 30, Buffalo, N.Y., Holiday Inn Express, 601 Dingens Street
Friday, June 6, Billings, Mont. Wingate Hotel, 1801 Majestic Lane
Friday, June 6, Mansfield, Mass. Holiday Inn, 31 Hampshire Street
Friday, June 13, Salt Lake City, Utah, Quality Inn Airport, 1659 West North Temple
Friday, June 13, Tinley Park, Ill., Holiday Inn Select and Convention Center, 18501 South Harlem Ave.
Friday, June 20, Duluth, Minn., Radisson Hotel Duluth Harborview, 505 W Superior St.
Posted in Archived News on 04.30.2008 11:38am
Your help needed on safety bill
From Rob Newhouse
The Senate is poised to vote on a crucial rail safety bill, and your phone calls and e-mails to your U.S. senators can and will help the effort.
Ask your two senators to support Senate Bill No. 1889, the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act, which could face a vote on the Senate floor before week's end.
As with a separate bill that previously was passed by the House, the Senate safety bill would increase minimum rest periods for train crews and reduce the limbo time imposed on train crews for which there is no compensation. It also would require railroads to develop safety-risk reduction programs, and expand mandatory employee safety training.
Please telephone and e-mail your two U.S. senators and politely urge them to support S. 1889, the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act.
To find the telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of your senators, go to the UTU home page at www.utu.org, look to the left in the red-tile box and left-click on "Washington Updates."
Then scroll down and left-click on "Contacting the Congress." Then left-click on your state and the names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of your two senators will be displayed.
If you want to telephone your senator, the main telephone number is (877) 668-3864 or (877) 668-3866; you will be re-directed to your individual senators from there.
April 29, 2008
Posted in Archived News on 04.29.2008 11:08pm
Canadian Pacific forecasting great year!
From Rob Newhouse
CN and CPR yet to board U.S. rail rally
Canada's two largest railways are forecasting another year of stellar profit, but the freight carriers have yet to excite investors because of lingering concerns over growth prospects and the perception that U.S. railroads are a better bet, the Toronto Globe and Mail reports.
Of the two Canadian carriers, analysts say Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. is the stock to choose if investors are looking for a play on "bulk commodities" such as grain, fertilizer and coal.
Canadian National Railway Co. would benefit more than CPR if the U.S. economy rebounds because CN has greater exposure to moving extra lumber, should the U.S. housing sector bounce back, analysts say. CN would also thrive if there are increased consumer imports from Asia because it has tracks at the Port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia.
The key investment question is whether CN and CPR are poised to participate in the rally of railway shares south of the border. Analysts respond that the two Canadian stocks are likely to continue trading at a discount to the U.S. railways, and uncertainty over growth prospects could spell further weakness in CN and CPR shares before there's a sustained rally.
Montreal-based CN and Calgary-based CPR have U.S. expansion plans, but they are far from becoming reality. CN said this week that it could take until next spring before it finds out whether the U.S. Surface Transportation Board will approve its acquisition of Elgin Joliet & Eastern Railway Co.
CPR expects that the regulatory board will issue a ruling by Sept. 30 on whether to approve the railway's purchase of another U.S. regional carrier, Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp.
CN and CPR reported this week that wintry blasts in Canada disrupted shipments, contributing to weaker-than-expected profit in the first quarter and prompting a cut to profit growth estimates for 2008. Higher diesel prices and the stronger Canadian dollar also hurt.
Despite the first-quarter setbacks, CN and CPR have proven to be resilient amid the U.S. economic slowdown, both saying that they remain on track to set another record for annual profit.
But in a tale of two countries, CN and CPR shares haven't kept pace with the sharp increases in stock prices enjoyed by U.S. carriers, said National Bank Financial Inc. analyst David Newman.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., Norfolk Southern Corp., Union Pacific Corp. and CSX Corp. have maintained a strong measure of "pricing power," having the ability to charge premium freight rates even in the face of lower volumes of shipments in some cases, Mr. Newman said.
Shares in the four major U.S. railways began a three-month rally on Jan. 10, when U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke vowed to cut interest rates in an effort to halt an economic slump. The American rail rally started to lose steam this week, with the selloff continuing yesterday, but even so, the four U.S. carriers have watched their shares climb an average of 28 percent since Jan. 10. By contrast, CN has risen 16 percent and CPR has increased 10 percent.
Besides the currency woes and wicked Canadian winter, another explanation for the lagging stock prices of the Canadian carriers is that they don't have as many opportunities as their U.S. rivals to renegotiate higher freight rates for expiring contracts, Mr. Newman said.
RBC Dominion Securities Inc. notes that the Dow Jones transport index, which includes the four major U.S. railways, has been showing strength. For some observers, the index is a leading indicator that a broad-based market rally is around the corner.
This week, however, the index has retreated along with U.S. railway stocks. Yesterday was a dreary day for North America's Big Six railways as their stock prices all fell.
"Investors will jump on the rails far before the broader economy recovers," Mr. Newman said. "But I think trading in the railways will be choppy. Buy on weakness in the rails."
(This item appeared April 24, 2008, in the Globe and Mail.)
April 24, 2008
Posted in Archived News on 04.25.2008 12:35am
Tentative National Agreement link
From Rob Newhouse
Copy and paste this link into your web browser to learn about the UTU national agreement.
http://www.utu.org/worksite/ContractNeg/negotiations0208.htm
Posted in Archived News on 04.04.2008 5:20am
FRA civil penalties to hold individuals responsible for mistakes in operating rules... UTU disagrees
From Rob Newhouse
Be careful out there and read on... ( from utu.org )
FRA asked to reconsider civil penalties
The UTU and other rail labor organizations have asked the Federal Railroad Administration to reconsider its intended April 14 imposition of civil penalties against railroad employees proven guilty of violations of certain operating rules.
These civil penalties are part of an FRA final rulemaking that establishes individual liability for failure to properly position switches and derails, not protecting the point on shoving movements, and not leaving cars in the clear of adjacent tracks and cross-overs. The rulemaking also permits the FRA to conduct operational tests without a carrier officer present.
The final rule also allows the required Switch Position Awareness Form to be discontinued.
A joint labor-management working group that participated in drafting this new rule could not reach consensus on all provisions contained in the final rule
The FRA rulemaking grew out of a Jan. 5, 2005, fatal accident on Norfolk Southern in Graniteville, S.C., involving the release of chlorine gas, and a similar accident on BNSF on Jan. 8, 2005.
In the Graniteville accident, the National Transportation Safety Board subsequently placed blame for the accident on a train crew's failure to reline a switch for mainline operations.
The labor organizations' request for reconsideration itemizes reasons that the civil penalties are not good public policy for improved railroad safety; and includes an alternative form of analysis of existing FRA data in support of reconsideration.
Alternate National Legislative Director James Stem, who represents the UTU on many safety issues before the FRA, said, "Railroad employees that understand how to work by the existing operating rules will see no change from the application of this new regulation. All three of these issues are just basic common sense railroading.
"However, the imposition of civil penalties would encourage an employee not to report the need for immediate corrective action in an attempt to evade accountability," Stem said.
In addition to the UTU, rail labor organizations filing this joint petition for reconsideration include the American Train Dispatchers Association, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, and the Brotherhood Railway Carmen Division (Transportation Communications Union).
The joint petition was signed by the presidents of each of the organizations, including UTU International President Mike Futhey.
Posted in Archived News on 04.04.2008 3:49am