Forms for new enrollment have been updated to reflect the new monthly payment rates for the various Plans under Group Policy GA-23111. These new rates are effective June 1, 2010, and are a result of recent renewal negotiations between UnitedHealthcare and the Cooperating Railway Labor Organizations.

Dan Pickett Elected BRS President

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Benefit Rate Increase for Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Benefits

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IMPORTANT HEALTHCARE NOTICE

Social Security Numbers (SSNs) for Covered Dependent(s) Required by Federal Law. Members Must Supply SSNs by Deadline in Order to Retain Dependent(s) Healthcare Coverage.

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NMB Changes Air, Rail Union
Voting Rule

A new rule issued by the National Mediation Board (NMB) means airline and rail workers will now be able to choose whether to join a union under rules that are more fair and more in line with democratic principles.

For decades, the deck has been stacked against workers covered under the Rail Labor Act (RLA) because every worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote. The new NMB rule says that an election’s outcome will be decided by the majority of votes cast, just like every other election, from city council to the presidency.

National Mediation Board — Final Rule

 COBRA Subsidy Has Been Extended Through May 31, 2010

On April 15, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Continuing Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 4851).  This new legislation is an amendment to The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and extends the eligibility period for the 65% Cobra subsidy program from March 31, 2010, to May 31, 2010.

If a person qualifies for the reduced COBRA premium rate, they would be responsible for payment of only 35% of the current COBRA monthly premium for a period of between twelve (12) and fifteen (15) months.

All other provisions of the prior legislation remain the same.

If you have further questions on the COBRA subsidy extension, you may contact UnitedHealthcare at 1-800-842-5252.

Grand Lodge Representative

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen Grand Executive Council is accepting resumés for the purpose of appointing a new Grand Lodge Representative. Due to the pending retirement of two BRS officers, there is a possibility of another representative position in the near future.

Title: Grand Lodge Representative.
Location: Grand Lodge Headquarters in Front Royal, Virginia.
Duties: International President W. Dan Pickett will assign duties, and duties may vary.
Qualifications: Only active BRS members are eligible for appointment to this position. Computer skills (including experience with MS Office suite) are a plus. Union activism is a fundamental quality. The successful candidate will be detail oriented and have strong writing, communications, and organizational skills.

Currently, the role of this position is primarily involved in the preparation of submissions for grievance resolution and other labor/employee related functions.
Interested candidates should email their resumé to wdp@brs.org or mail it to the address below:

W. Dan Pickett — International President
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
917 Shenandoah Shores Road
Front Royal, Va. 22630

FRA Letter on Rules Compliance

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RLBC/NCCC Bargaining Begins

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen initiated national bargaining with the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC) in January 2010. The BRS will be bargaining on a coordinated national basis as part of the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition (RLBC). The RLBC is comprised of six national rail unions, representing more than 70,000 railroad employees, including; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division - IBT, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen - IBT, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Blacksmiths, Iron Ship Builders, Forgers, and Helpers, National Conference of Firemen & Oilers - SEIU, Sheet Metal Workers' International Association.

On December 9, 2010, the RLBC served notice on the rail freight carriers represented by the NCCC, pursuant to Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act. Bargaining began January 13, 2010, in Washington, DC.

We will be updating this information as details become available.

2010 Railroad Retirement Tax Rates
Notice of Annual Rates (2010).pdf 

Coverage for H1N1 Flu Vaccine

Vaccine for the highly contagious H1N1 virus (commonly called “swine flu”) is now being released to the public as supplies become available. The information below will help you decide if you should obtain the vaccine.

H1N1 Article - National Plans NOV2009.pdf

H1N1 Article - GA-23111 NOV2009.pdf

Retirement Made Easy

Retirement is a big step. You’ll be asked to make many important decisions, including many about your benefits. To help, UnitedHealthcare is excited to introduce their Retirement Made Easy Kit for Railroad Employees.

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Motor Vehicle Regulations
for Signal Employees

Teamsters Striking for Lost Healthcare

Workers at SK Hand Tools in Chicago and suburban McCook began an unfair labor practice strike at 5:30am on August 25, 2009, after trying for months to get their health care reinstated. The workers are being forced to either forgo important medical check-ups and treatment or to go into debt putting the bills on their credit cards.
Teamsters Strike Support 

Free Wellness Programs Available!

Reap the benefits of a healthier lifestyle with the Wellness Programs the National Railroad Health Plans have made available to you and your dependents. At no additional cost, you have access to a smoking cessation program and a healthy weight program.
Free Wellness Information

UnitedHealthcare Railroad Retirement

Retirement is a big step. You'll be asked to make many important decisions, including many about your benefits. To help, UnitedHealthcare is excited to introduce enhanced retirement planning support provided by a new service from UnitedHealthcare Railroad Retirement Specialists!
Retirement Information

Supplemental Sickness Benefit Plans
Frequently Asked Questions

The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) began paying temporary extended unemployment benefits on June 30 authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) arbitration panel has issued an award favorable to Rail Labor, this time on the remedy awarded to claimants’ whose paid leave was improperly substituted by FMLA leave.

Certain BRS members may be entitled to receive one day’s pay for each vacation and/or personal leave day they were forced to use instead of FMLA leave.

The remedy is the conclusion to a five-year long battle waged against BNSF, CSXT, NS, and UPS by the BRS and 10 other unions.

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 Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan (The Plan) is 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.

• 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/.

The Plan greatly appreciates your support in providing this information.

The Senate confirmed UTU Illinois State Legislative Director Joseph Szabo to be the 13th administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

An informal oath-of-office ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5, 2009. A more formal swearing-in ceremony will be held at a date to be announced.

The FRA, an agency in the U.S. Department of Transportation, was created to promote and enforce safety throughout the U.S. railroad system, consolidate federal financial support for rail transportation, and support research and development to benefit rail transportation for passengers, railroad employees and the general public.

The change applies only where Aetna is the secondary payer and the primary payer is another plan.

An audit of the National Dental Plan late last year revealed that Aetna was administering the coordination of benefits (COB) provision incorrectly when it was the secondary payer and the primary payer was another plan. As a result, effective January 1, 2009, Aetna began applying the COB provisions as spelled out in the Plan SPD.

Before the error was discovered, Aetna had been paying 100% of its reasonable and customary rate, minus the amount paid by the primary policy. The correct method is for Aetna to pay the difference, if any, between the primary plan’s benefit and what Aetna would have paid if it had been primary. If the Aetna benefit is the same or less than the primary plan’s benefit, Aetna pays nothing, as provided for in the SPD.

This change does not apply where a husband and wife are both covered by the National Dental Plan.

While we have made outstanding progress together in improving the rate of safety-related accidents, injuries, and fatalities over the past decade, 2008 was one of the worst years for employee on-duty fatalities (other than train accident or highway-rail grade crossing fatalities), with 19. If we do not turn back this trend, we will shatter that record; a record that none of us will cherish. With only 3 months behind us in 2009, the industry has already witnessed seven fatalities in both the operating and non-operating crafts. That is why we are asking all rail employees for their help in reversing this trend.

On January 16, 2009, The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a three page letter to Michael Ward, CSX Transportation’s (CSXT) President and Chief Executive. The letter is in reference to the Harassment and Intimidation Investigation Report dated March 2008.

The report is based on an extensive yearlong investigation of CSXT involving more than 70 formal complaints. Findings from the investigation revealed an atmosphere of harassment and intimidation that dissuaded CSXT employees from reporting their injuries and illnesses.

In the January 16 letter, the FRA told Ward that the agency's "comprehensive audit" of CSXT's accident/incident recordkeeping and reporting "revealed a number of regulatory violations, including the failure to report employee injuries." As for harassment and intimidation, the FRA said CSXT "was not acting in compliance" with existing federal regulations and its own promises to reform.

"It is clear that CSXT has failed to adequately address its culture of harassment and intimidation [and] the problems previously addressed have not yet been corrected," said the FRA.

A three-person arbitration panel reached a unanimous decision that the nation’s four largest railroads, which control a large portion of U.S. intercity rail freight traffic, no longer may require employees to substitute paid vacation and/or paid personal leave for unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

The BRS and 11 other rail labor organizations challenged the carriers, who agreed in July to arbitrate the issue.

Under the FMLA, employees may elect to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to deal with a family emergency, or a personal serious health condition.

The arbitration award becomes effective December 16, at which time the carriers must "immediately discontinue" the invalidated provisions of their FMLA policies.

There is also a provision allowing follow-up proceedings to determine a monetary remedy for those who have taken FMLA leave and had to substitute paid vacation or paid personal leave for this time-period.