NEWS_ARTICLES.htm

RRB Pays Initial Extended Unemployment
Benefits Authorized by Recovery Act Legislation

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 ARRA authorized the temporary extended benefits to employees who received regular unemployment benefits for days between July 1, 2008, and June 30, 2009. The RRB has been notifying eligible individuals of their new rights to extended benefits as they become eligible and will continue to do so through December 2009.

On June 30, the RRB issued direct deposit payments or checks to all eligible employees who had previously filed unemployment claims that had days denied due to exhaustion of benefits. The RRB also released to each eligible employee a notice of his or her ARRA extended benefit period and any additional claims to be filed now. Employees may file these claims securely online at www.rrb.gov or mail them to the RRB office serving their area.

Railroad workers who previously were not eligible for extended unemployment benefits because they did not have 10 years of service may be eligible for benefits of up to 65 days within an extended period consisting of 7 consecutive 2-week registration periods.

Railroad workers who previously were eligible for extended unemployment benefits of up to 65 days may now be eligible for benefits of up to 130 days within an extended period consisting of 13 consecutive 2-week registration periods.

The ARRA provided an appropriation of $20 million to pay these additional extended unemployment benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. The latest date that an extended benefit period under the ARRA provisions may begin is December 31, 2009, with payments stopping when the $20 million has been expended.

Railroad workers can obtain more information about the ARRA benefits by checking the “RRB Recovery Act Information Page” on the RRB’s website at www.rrb.gov.

Final FMLA Remedy

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 UP by the BRS and 10 other unions.

“We find that qualified grievants are entitled to receive a day’s pay at their then-obtaining straight-time rates for each day that the Carriers improperly required substitution of FMLA leave for scheduled vacation time or accrued but not-yet-scheduled personal leave days,” A three member arbitration panel ruled on June 1. By qualified grievant the panel means an “employee that filed a timely and otherwise procedurally valid claim.”

Previously the arbitration panel had ruled that the Carriers’ policies regarding substitution of paid vacation and/or paid personal leave for FMLA violated the requirements of the National Vacation and/or National Personal Leave Agreements. The Carriers were ordered to immediately discontinue the invalidated provisions of such policies.

The arbitration panel considered the question in a recent hearing: “What is the appropriate remedy for employees who were required to use paid leave for FMLA leave in violation of the National Vacation and/or National Personal Leave Agreements?”

Labor’s position was, if an employee is forced to use paid leave for FMLA leave the employee should receive a day’s pay for each day the vacation or personal leave Agreement was violated.

“Affected employees were denied their contractual right to determine when and how to use their vacation time and personal leave, and employees lost the ability to take time off for family and social events as they had planned,” the arbitration panel wrote in their June 1 decision. “This lost time cannot be recreated.”

If no remedy is specified, it is generally accepted that a basic day’s pay is the remedy for violations of a collective bargaining Agreement violation.

“The payment of a day’s pay is proper for the violation of the rule not as a penalty, but compensatory damages which will deter the Carrier from complete disregard to its obligation,” the panel determined.

“In the present matter, the contractual violation involves a largely intangible infringement upon employee’s rights wherein employees were denied the opportunity to take vacations and personal leave at the times of their own choosing because of the Carriers’ violations. Those leave dates cannot be recovered,” the arbitration panel determined. “Employees were unable to take time off with their families as they had planned for occasions like recreation, family gatherings, social events and children’s school and athletic programs. Those events and opportunities have been lost and cannot be recreated. A day’s pay is at best an unsatisfactory substitute, but, in light of considerable railroad industry practice and in a genuine attempt to put this dispute behind the parties, the remedy sought by the unions is reasonable and appropriate for the violation.”

The unions claimed that a monetary remedy was necessary in order to enforce the Agreements.

“No useful purpose would be served if we were to find that the Agreement was violated and no remedy was offered,” they argued.

Without monetary compensation in the form of the traditional day’s pay remedy, the Agreements at issue could have effectively been enforced. For those employees deprived of their chosen leave times, there simply would be no reason for the Carriers not to commit further violations similar to those found by the Board, without monetary compensation.

“Employees experienced an FMLA-qualifying event — serious illness of their own or a close relative, or birth or adoption of a child — and the Carriers forced these employees to use up their later-scheduled vacation time in conjunction with the FMLA leave to which they were statutorily entitled. Employees could not choose a different time for vacation.”

The Carriers offered other out-of-industry awards in support of their side that employees were not entitled to damages. Labor responded and stated that those awards offered little guidance in deciding the question before the Board.

“Labor relations in the railroad industry are unique in many respects,” the arbitration panel determined. “The out-of-industry awards cited by the Carriers involved FMLA substitution policies and are not on point.”

The Carriers also argued that unpaid leave should be a remedy, but the arbitration panel shot down that line of reasoning.

The initial dispute began in 2004, when the industry was prospering and not having trouble such as layoffs as we are today. Grievants need pay now — not time off without pay.

“Employees were fully employed and often worked substantial amounts of overtime, making even unpaid periods of leave meaningful. But today, times are harder; and business has declined. Now many claimants are just barely employed, and a significant percentage of the workforce is furloughed. Unpaid leave now is a remedy with little value, even for working and furloughed claimants. For claimants who have retired, are on disability, or have been laid-off, unpaid leave is no remedy at all. The Carriers should not be permitted to rely on a changed economic climate to avoid bearing the cost of their contract violations.”

The arbitration panel wrote that the remedy is compensatory — not punitive.

“What grievants lost was a contract right of significant value. Grievants suffered more than ‘mere inconvenience’ when they lost their contract right to chose when to take paid time off. Our purpose is to provide compensation for those losses, not to punish the Carriers for having caused them.”

This remedy, however, does not apply to everyone.

“Grievants who asked for and later did receive unpaid vacation and personal leave for paid leave days that the Carriers who employed them had substituted FMLA leave are not entitled to the remedy ... only for those lost vacation and personal leave days for which they elected to and did receive unpaid leave.”

Eleven Rail Labor Unions were involved in the case. Mike Wolly and Margo Pave, both of Zwerdling, Paul, Kahn, & Wolly, P.C., represented the interests of six of the 11 unions — Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen , Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, American Train Dispatchers Association, National Conference of Firemen and Oilers, and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association.

FRA Calls for Help

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.

As members of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and employees of the railroads, please be on constant alert for the risk and dangers associated with your work. Compliance with all operating rules and Federal regulations must be your first priority. Be mindful that you do not put yourselves in unsafe situations or act in an unsafe manner just to accomplish your work. If you believe that your coworkers are putting you or your team at danger, you have a right to use the railroad's empowerment policies and good faith challenges that are afforded to you by regulation.

Understanding situational awareness at all times throughout your tour of duty should be a top priority. Your daily safety briefings should serve as the cornerstone for the day's work. That time should be spent making sure that everyone has a full understanding of the task at hand, and reinforcing the dangers associated with the work and the actions that are needed to maintain a safe work environment. If a culture exists whereby workers feel they are put in situations where they are making poor decisions for fear of losing their jobs, we must work together to change this culture. The elimination of fatalities, injuries, and accidents depends upon it. As individuals, we have a responsibility to maintain a safe work environment not just for ourselves, but for all those who work with us to help maintain the safety of the Nation's railroads and the communities we serve.

The BRS is dedicated to on track safety protection and awareness, and will continue to work with the Federal Railroad Administration and Rail Labor to find a solution.

National Health and Welfare Plan

The annual rate renewal meeting for the Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan (the "Plan") was held on October 28, 2008, at which time premium rates for 2009 were established. Rail Labor, as a Joint Policyholder, participates in the annual rate-setting meeting on an equal footing with the railroads.

The monthly premium rate for the medical portion of the Plan increased a very modest 2.1% to $1,061.46. The Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment premium decreased 10% to $12.30, while the Dental Plan rate increased by 23.3% to $55.98. The Vision Plan rate remained the same at $10.00.

Employee cost-sharing amounts were set by the 2007 National Agreements at 15% of the premium rates for the above four components of your insurance coverage (Medical, Life, Dental and Vision). The total amount of the four components for 2009 is $1,139.74, which is an increase of $31.40, or 2.8% over 2008. The 2009 cost-sharing amount is thus 15% of $1,139.74, or $170.96, an increase of $4.71 over the current amount of $166.25.

The extremely favorable trend in the medical premium for 2009 is in large part due to the removal of almost 20,000 ineligible dependents from the Plan rolls through the recent eligibility audit, at a savings of about $30 million for 2009. In addition, medical claims are predicted to increase at a rate far lower than the national average of all insurance plans in 2009, due to the implementation of several significant plan improvements such as Nurse Line, Custom Care Coordination, Disease Management, Integrated Behavioral Health, and Wellness Programs (Healthy Weight and Smoking Cessation). All of the foregoing changes are designed to improve the health and medical treatment of participants, and thereby reduce the frequency and severity of illness.

The increase in cost-sharing contributions to $170.96 effective January 1, 2009, is far lower than the $192 we predicted during 2007 ratification.

Benefit Improvements

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen is pleased to announce that members covered by the 2007 National Freight Agreements will soon have a significant health insurance benefit improvement. Effective November 1, 2008, office visit co-pays for Nurse Practitioners, Physician’s Assistants, Physical Therapists and Chiropractors will be lowered from $35 to $20. In addition, a new supplemental discount program will soon be applied to charges for out-of-network services that should result in considerable participant savings.

Co-pays under the 2007 Agreements were set at $35 for specialists as one of the several inseparable Plan design changes that facilitated the unprecedented expansion of Managed Care to almost all geographical areas of the country. As a result of the MMCP expansion, virtually all members covered by the National Freight Agreements can now enjoy the lower out-of-pocket costs and unlimited lifetime cap of Managed Care as opposed to the 85/15 co-insurance arrangement of the Comprehensive benefit with its $1 million cap and annual deductibles.

Notwithstanding the tremendous advantages of the MMCP expansion, the placement of co-pays for Nurse Practitioners, Physician’s Assistants, Physical Therapists and Chiropractors in the higher “specialist” provider category had substantial impact on some members and was a benefit change we fought hard to avoid. Ultimately, we were unable to achieve the lower $20 co-pays we sought, and the agreement sent to you for ratification in 2007 reflected the $35 co-pays.

However, by steadfastly pursuing the issue with the Carriers through our status as Joint Policyholders, we were able to achieve a reduction in co-pays through jointly agreed upon administrative action during the moratorium period between contracts. Likewise, the implementation of the new supplemental discount program was also the result of administrative action by the Joint Plan Committee.

Benefit improvements between contracts are extremely rare, and we are both pleased and proud to have achieved these important goals.

New Department of Transportation Urine Specimen Collection Guidelines

Effective August 25, 2008 — The Department of Transportation (DOT) Urine Specimen Collection Guidelines have been updated to reflect changes to the collection process.

DOT Urine Collection Guidelines (.pdf)

DOT Urine Collection Guidelines (.doc)

Whistleblower Protection for Railroad Employees

Employees working for railroad carriers are protected from retaliation for reporting certain safety or security violations to their employers or the government.

OSHA Fact Sheet — Whistleblower Protection (.pdf)

Rail Safety Bill Passes House and Senate

WASHINGTON — The House and the Senate have passed the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the most sweeping railroad safety bill since the mid-1970s.

Chief among the bill’s provisions is a mandate for railroads to install positive train control (PTC), a reduction in limbo time, a prohibition on carriers interfering with medical treatment of injured employees, and changes to the hours-of-service law. The hours-of-service law will now require minimum uninterrupted rest periods and require railroad contractors to comply with hours-of-service law provisions.

In addition, the bill emphasizes that the primary mission of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is to ensure that safety is its highest priority. It also provides incentives for railroads to install electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes and switch position indicators.

The bill also creates a new high-level position within the agency of chief safety officer, adds 200 additional rail safety inspectors, and instructs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop a long-term strategy for improving rail safety. The bill must include an annual plan for reducing the number and rates of rail accidents, injuries and fatalities.

Following are the major provisions of the rail safety bill:

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 to establish a program requiring certification of conductors with a requirement for minimum training standards within 18 months of enactment of this legislation.

Positive Train Control: Requires all Class I railroads and intercity passenger and commuter railroads to implement a PTC system by December 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 PTC 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, 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. 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.

The provision that required the last hour of time spent returning from the final trouble call to be considered "off duty time" has been eliminated.

The hours-of-service, duty hours, and rest periods of signal employees shall be governed exclusively by the new rules. Signal employees operating motor vehicles shall not be subject to any hours-of-service rules, duty hours, or rest period rules that normally apply to operators of CDL-required vehicles.

Employers will be prohibited from disrupting an employee's rest by communicating with the signal employee during his or her minimum off-duty period of 10 consecutive hours.

The emergency provision that allows signal employees to remain on duty an additional four hours in an emergency situation. The amended language in the bill specifically prohibits the performance of "routine" work under the emergency provision.

Locomotive Cab Safety: Requires the FRA to complete a study on the impact of safety when personal electronic devices are in use 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.

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 crew members 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, 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 that the FRA 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 the railroads to develop a state grade crossing action plan. The action plan will identify 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 that the FRA provide the public with an annual summary 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 support 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 for the local jurisdictions in which the tunnels are located. This includes updates whenever a repair or rehabilitation projects alters the methods of ingress and egress into and out of the tunnels.

AFL-CIO Votes to Endorse Senator Barack Obama

Calling Senator Barack Obama a champion for working families, the top leaders of AFL-CIO unions voted without opposition to endorse him for president of the United States, thrusting the labor federation’s largest ever grassroots mobilization effort into high gear.

“In so many ways ― on jobs, health care, gas prices and the war in Iraq ― our country is headed in the wrong direction,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said. “Barack Obama has proven from his days as an organizer, to his time in the Senate and his historic run for the presidency, that he’s leading the fight to turn around America. He’s a champion for working families who knows what it’s going to take to create an economy that works for everyone, not just Big Oil, Big Pharma, the insurance companies, the giant mortgage lenders, speculators and the very wealthy. We’re proud to stand with Senator Obama to help our nation chart a course that will improve life for generations of working people and our children.”

In its endorsement statement, the AFL-CIO General Board cited Obama’s strong support of working families on issues such as health care reform, fair trade that will lift up workers here and around the world, retirement security and the freedom to form unions and bargain for middle-class living standards. Obama has a 98 percent voting record on working families’ issues, compared to just 16 percent for Senator John McCain.

“Senator Barack Obama has secured the nomination of his party in a campaign that has energized millions of Americans and spoken to the hopes and dreams of people from every corner of our nation,” read the AFL-CIO General Board’s statement to endorse Obama. “His leadership can re-engage disenfranchised Americans and bring our country together.” The General Board, which includes presidents of all 56 unions in the federation as well as Executive Council members and representatives of state and local federations, trade departments and constituency groups, votes by per capita membership.

“Senator Obama has advocated a change of direction for our nation that mirrors the priorities of the labor movement,” the statement continued.

The endorsement is not only a stamp of approval; it marks the beginning of a huge, united political mobilization among working class voters. The AFL-CIO will focus on mobilizing more than 13 million union voters ― including union members, families of members, retirees and members of the AFL-CIO community affiliate Working America ― in 24 priority states, working to elect U.S. senators and representatives, as well as state and local candidates. The AFL-CIO also launched a new website that provides extensive information on Obama’s background, record and positions (www.MeetObama08.com).

Support the Jobs of CSX Rail Employees

The Children's Investment Fund Management — better known as TCI is currently in a proxy fight with CSX, with the winner taking five positions on the CSX Board of Directors.

TCI owns a 4.4% of CSX, while fellow hedge fund 3G Capital Partners, which is backing TCI, owns 4.27%. The two also control an additional 11.8% through swaps.

The CSX Board of Directors will be mailing a white ballot to BRS members who own CSX stock, recommending election of their candidates. TCI will also be sending out a ballot, this one blue, which seeks to add five specially selected candidates with questionable motives to the Board.

The candidates on TCI’s Blue Ballot can list things such as; resignation from a UK board amid allegations of conflict of interest; abysmal safety record of a railroad just a fraction of CSX’s size; no U.S. public board experience; a decline in performance; leading a company into bankruptcy and careers characterized by buyouts and leverage; to their resumes.

The BRS urges union shareholders receiving ballots to vote in favor of CSX’s choice for Board of Directors with the white ballot and not to be fooled by TCI’s propaganda. Past actions of the hedge fund have certainly proven not to be in the best interest of the employees. With TCI’s history with ABN Amro, a Dutch bank with worldwide locations, ultimately the investors were the ones that profited when the bank was broken up, while over 500 ABN Amro employees lost their jobs.

The BRS supports CSX management in this fight against TCI. We hope BRS stock holding members vote to support the jobs of CSX rail employees and are not mislead by TCI’s misinformation.

FBI Warns of Phishing Scam Related to Economic Stimulus Checks

The Federal Bureau of Investigation warns consumers of recently reported spam e-mail purportedly from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which is actually an attempt to steal consumer information. The e-mail advises the recipient that direct deposit is the fastest and easiest way to receive their economic stimulus tax rebate. The message contains a hyperlink to a fraudulent form which requests the recipient's personally identifiable information, including bank account information. To convince consumers to reply, the e-mail warns that a failure to complete the form in a timely manner will delay the issuance of the rebate check.

One example of this IRS spam e-mail message is as follows:

"Over 130 million Americans will receive refunds as part of President Bush's program to jumpstart the economy.

Our records indicate that you are qualified to receive the 2008 Economic Stimulus Refund.

The fastest and easiest way to receive your refund is by direct deposit to your checking/savings account.

Please follow the link and fill out the form and submit before May 10th, 2008 to ensure that your refund will be processed as soon as possible.

Submitting your form on May 10th, 2008 or later means that your refund will be delayed due to the volume of requests we anticipate for the Economic Stimulus Refund.

To access Economic Stimulus refund, please click here."

"Various forms of online fraud continue to proliferate on the internet and people should take the appropriate precautions to protect themselves," said Special Agent Richard J. Kolko, FBI National Press Office.

Please be cautious of unsolicited e-mails. It is recommended not to open e-mails from unknown senders because they often contain viruses or other malicious software. It is also recommended to avoid clicking links in e-mails received from unknown senders as this is a popular method of directing victims to phishing websites.

If you have received an e-mail similar to this, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.ic3.gov. More information on scams is also available on www.fbi.gov and www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com.

Central Florida Commuter Rail Project Derailed

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen in cooperation with a coalition of supporters defeated legislation in Florida. This legislation would have allowed CSX to; sell track to the state of Florida, subcontract out signal and other rail labor work, continue to collect revenues and run freight on the line with an adjusted schedule, and avoid liability for accidents, even if caused by CSX. This deal involved close to a billion dollars of taxpayer money from the State of Florida and the US government.

“The BRS has always supported commuter and high speed rail, but not at the expense of safety and highly-skilled railroad union worker jobs,” said BRS International President W. Dan Pickett.

The legislative campaign was coordinated by Lori K. Weems — Attorney/Lobbyist of the law firm Prieguez and Weems, LLC. An extraordinary effort to secure this verdict was made by, Gus DeMott — General Chairman, John Gage — Local Chairman (South Florida), Rich Edelman — Attorney (BRS special counsel), W. Dan Pickett — International BRS President, Floyd Mason — International Vice President and staff. Our coalition included the Florida state AFL-CIO, The Florida Building and Construction Trades, The Florida Justice Association (an advocacy group for FELA and trial lawyers), Florida Jobs with Justice (a union advocacy group) and a majority of Democrats and Republicans in the Florida Senate as well as many representatives from both parties in the Florida House.

We are making national organizations like TTD/Rail, ARLA (FELA attorneys), the RRB, and the US Congress aware of this issue. The BRS is confident that the expansion of commuter rail can proceed without the need for eliminating Signalmen and rail labor jobs.

The BRS looks forward to working with CSX in the future to resolve these issues while supporting rail expansion without job loss.

Railroad Safety Bill

House Version (.pdf)

Senate Version (.pdf)

Comparison of House and Senate Version (.pdf)

FRA Train Accident Investigation Reports
Now Publicly Available Online

To increase public awareness about the causes of specific train accidents and to reduce the need for individuals to submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is for the first time making its investigation reports of major train accidents and other incidents available online, FRA Administrator Joseph H. Boardman announced today.

"There’s no reason that anyone who’s interested shouldn’t be able to find out the probable cause of a train accident," said Boardman, explaining that formal FRA accident investigation reports generally focus on high-consequence train-to-train collisions, derailments, certain highway-rail grade crossing collisions, and all railroad employee fatalities.

Amtrak Agreement Ratified

March 10, 2008 — Signalmen employed on the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) ratified a new contract by greater than a 5-to-1 margin. On January 18, 2008, the General Chairmen approved the Agreement to send out for ratification, and ballots were sent to BRS members on February 8, 2008. The agreement’s terms mirror the recommendations of Presidential Emergency Board 242, which was created to recommend a solution to the eight-year contract dispute.

Terms of the new agreement include wage increases of about 35.2 percent over the life of the agreement, which is January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009. Retroactive pay varies, but in general the retroactive wages should exceed $13,000 for each employee even after retroactive health and welfare contributions are fulfilled. The payments will be made in two installments — 40% within sixty days of ratification, and the remaining 60% on or before the one-year anniversary of the first payment.

The agreement provides that if Amtrak does not receive sufficient funding and revenue to pay the second retroactive payment by the one-year anniversary, it will notify the unions. After such notice, if no agreement is reached within sixty days, the unions will be free to strike.

Employee health and welfare contributions will be set at 15% of Amtrak’s insurance costs for medical, dental, vision, life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage. Based on that formula, the employee monthly contribution is set at $166.25 per month.

“I am pleased to announce that after a long difficult struggle, our Brothers and Sisters on Amtrak have finally won the battle. Although this is good news, this does not mean the fight is over. Amtrak’s future will require a funding-level adequate and reasonable enough to support all the needs of Amtrak and its workers.” — Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen International President W. Dan Pickett.

BRS Voting on Tentative Agreement

Amtrak workers are now voting on their first agreement in 8 years “President Pickett urges members to vote yes on the tentative agreement". The agreement was directly derived from PEB 242's recommendations.

Estimated Amtrak Retroactive Wage Analysis

BRS Amtrak Tentative Agreement with Summary

Tentative Agreement Reached

January 18, 2008 — The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and the unions named in PEB 242 have signed a tentative agreement with the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak).

Press Release — BRS Amtrak Tentative Agreement

Joint Coalition Press Release

The Wait is Over — PEB 242

January 3, 2008 — Presidential Emergency Board 242’s report concerning the dispute involving The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, seven other rail unions and Amtrak has been released.

PEB 242's Report

PRLBC Press Release

BRS Press Release

Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) 242 — Day 1

Opening arguments were held today before PEB 242. The PEB was established by President Bush to address the contract dispute between Amtrak and eight rail labor unions: The National Mediation Board (NMB) released the unions on November 1, 2007, from the mediation after the NMB was unable to get Amtrak and the unions to come to terms following eight years of fruitless negotiations.

The White House established the PEB to avoid a service disruption that could potentially paralyze the passenger rail system. The unions before the PEB represent about 40% of Amtrak’s unionized workforce.

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes — a division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
Joint Council of Carmen, comprised of the Transportation Communications International Union/Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division and the Transport Workers Union of America
American Train Dispatchers Association
National Conference of Firemen & Oilers/Service Employees International Union
Transportation Communications International Union — American Railway and Airline Supervisors Association

The hearing began at 9:00 a.m. with Amtrak’s opening statement, which was followed by an opening statement from the labor unions' spokesperson Joseph Guerrieri, a highly respected Washington, D.C. attorney.

The opening statements were followed by Amtrak testimony.

Amtrak’s case seems to center around the fact that the company is a publicly funded private corporation and the PEB report would likely establish a “pattern” that would extend beyond the unions that are before the PEB to the other labor unions that cover the other 60% of Amtrak’s unionized workers. They also claimed that any mandate that comes from the Board’s report must be funded by Congress or it could push the company into financial ruin.

Speaking on today’s testimony, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen International President and Chairman of the Passenger Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition, W. Dan Pickett, stated, “It appears that Amtrak wants to make up any deficit in their operating costs on the backs of the workers. In fact, that is what they have done for the last eight years.”

Amtrak will finish up their initial testimony on Wednesday and the union representatives will get their chance to prove to the Board that Amtrak employees deserve at a minimum a contract patterned after the two national agreements that the Class 1 railroads agreed to during this round of bargaining with Amtrak.

The unions in PEB 242 have rejected Amtrak’s offer of an agreement that was previously rejected by the members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

President Pickett added, “A rejected agreement does not create a pattern as Amtrak would like the Presidential Emergency Board to buy into. That agreement robs our members of back pay that they should be entitled to after eight years of getting the run around and gives away decades of work rules that we have bargained for over the years.”

Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) 242 — Day 2

Amtrak lead off with testimony from William Crosbie, Amtrak’s Chief Operating Officer. Crosbie testified that Amtrak’s operation differs greatly from the freight railroads and stated that the Northeast Corridor (NEC) is North America’s most complex corridor. The bulk of the traffic and work is concentrated in that area. He explained to the Board that the tight spacing of trains and the huge number of commuters that depend on Amtrak complicates the railroad’s ability to get work accomplished during daylight hours. Amtrak moves 10 million passengers annually and that number grows each year. He stated that Amtrak is committed to providing value to their customers and part of reaching that goal will require work rule changes by the labor unions.

Crosbie was followed by Alex Kummant, Amtrak President and CEO. Kummant reaffirmed previous testimony that Amtrak desires work rule reforms and could not afford the retroactive wages as described in the unions' proposal. He went on to say that Amtrak’s biggest difficulty is getting Congress to provide funding, and he would not agree to any agreement that he felt the company could not afford.

Next the union received their chance to speak to the Board members. Leading off was Transportation Communications Union International Vice President Joel Parker. Parker testified that Amtrak workers deserved retroactive wages based on the freight railroads’ pattern, as has been the history, because anything less would reward Amtrak for dragging these negotiations out over eight years. He explained Amtrak ridership and revenues are at record highs, and worker productivity has increased dramatically. He told the Board that Amtrak workers should not be penalized for the passenger rail carrier’s refusal to negotiate by zeroing out the back pay that these workers are due. From day one, Amtrak announced that it would not make an agreement unless the unions agreed to a long list of major rule concessions. Parker stated that any work rule changes must be negotiated on a quid quo pro basis, and Amtrak’s take-it or leave-it bargaining strategy must be summarily rejected by the unions.

The unions' next witness was Financial Economic Advisor Thomas Roth. Mr. Roth has extensive experience and is considered an expert witness in labor negotiations. He disputed Amtrak’s claims that the unions' proposal is unreasonable. He asked the Board to reject Amtrak’s comparison model that they presented in their testimony the day before. Amtrak had indicated that the passenger rail system was similar to the airline industry. Roth explained to the Board that if a comparison must be drawn, it should be with workers that do identical work, such as those in the commuter rail industry. Through detailed documentation, Roth showed compelling evidence that Amtrak workers are under-compensated when compared to their counterparts on commuter lines, particularly in the NEC.

The unions offered testimony on Amtrak’s health and welfare plan and presented proposals to keep the plans on parity with the same plan as provided to the Class 1 railroad workers. Amtrak was once part of that plan and exited that plan years ago through an arbitrated settlement. The unions claimed that Amtrak’s proposal “cherry picks” parts of the most recent freight railroads’ national agreement, while ignoring those changes that are beneficial to the workers.

Speaking on work rules, W. Dan Pickett, International President for the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and Chairman of the Passenger Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition, testified before the Board that his union (BRS) has always negotiated with Amtrak when approached on subjects such as subcontracting, rest days, and starting time flexibility. He went on to say that many of the flexibility adjustments that the BRS negotiated for Amtrak’s benefit in previous rounds go underutilized or ignored. He advised the Board that wide-sweeping work rule concessions are simply unreasonable and unnecessary.

Pickett’s testimony was followed by two more witnesses speaking on behalf of the unions, George Francisco, President of the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers, and Don Griffin, representing the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes , a division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Both presented testimony reinforcing the unions' case.

When President Pickett was asked how he thought the hearing went today he stated, “We won today; I don’t know what the Board members thought, but in my opinion we won this round. But it’s not important what I think. It is important what the Board thinks.” Adding, “I was pleased with our showing; there is no doubt in my mind who the reasonable party is here.”

The PEB will reconvene at 9:00 a.m. on December 13, 2007.

Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) 242 — Day 3

Today (December, 13, 2007), the unions concluded their presentation before the Emergency Board, and rebuttals and closings arguments followed from both sides. The general feeling in the room, at least from the unions' side, is that the unions presented a more compelling case than Amtrak. However, Amtrak continued to claim that their offer was fair, even calling the compensation package “rich.” Amtrak’s President and CEO, Alex Kummant testified yesterday that he would never sign an agreement with the unions that the passenger rail carrier could not afford to pay for.

The unions’ attorney Roland P. Wilder, Jr. of the law firm Baptiste & Wilder located in Washington, D.C., presented the unions’ closing arguments. Wilder summarized the testimony presented to the Board members, stating that any resolution that does not meet the pattern established by the freight carriers, rewards Amtrak for dragging their feet for the past eight years. In fact, the wage increases that were not implemented during the term amounted to a loan from Amtrak’s employees. He told the Board that its time for Amtrak to pay up. He also covered the details of work rule concessions demanded by Amtrak, general wage increases, and the health & welfare issues that are still outstanding.

Not once did Amtrak state that the union members were undeserving of the retroactive wages; they simply maintained that they could not afford to compensate the employees with retroactive wage increases. The total cost of the retroactive wages could be as much as $150 million if such a pattern expands to the rest of the unions. The final settlement in this round is expected to set the pattern for Amtrak’s other unionized workers not represented in this PEB.

W. Dan Pickett is the International President for the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and Chairman of the Passenger Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition. Pickett, speaking on the presentation that the unions gave to the Emergency Board stated, “Our team presented an excellent case before this panel. Our arguments were strong and the Board members seemed genuinely interested in our plight. We anticipate that this Board will be fair and unbiased with their recommendations.”

The unions and Amtrak are free to negotiate a settlement while the Board is preparing their report, which is due before the end of the year, to President Bush, and the unions indicated that they would continue talks with Amtrak in an effort to reach a voluntary settlement. President Pickett stated, “We are still far apart on many issues, but this is as close as we have been in eight years to bringing closure to our members employed on Amtrak; we will continue talks with Amtrak as long as we are making progress.”

If the unions and Amtrak do not come to terms, it is anticipated that Congress will intervene on the issue early next year.

Amtrak News — Railway Labor Act Steps

National collective bargaining between rail labor and management is governed by a specific federal law, the Railway Labor Act of 1926. The RLA and its amendments spell out the process of bargaining that eventually leads to each new contract. Negotiations can take months or years because of the many steps (some of which have time limits, while others do not) available to both parties. This flowchart illustrates why it can take so long to reach a new agreement on rates of pay and work rules.

Step 1	Notice is served under Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act by either party.
Step 2	Reply required within 10 days sets time/date of initial conference, which must be held within 30 days.
Step 3	Negotiations begin. No time limit.
Step 4	Agreement reached through negotiations, if not, go to Step 5.
Step 5	Within 10 days after conferences end, either party may request NMB mediation, or NMB may proffer mediation.
Step 6	If mediation not requested or proffered within 10 days, strike, lockout, or promulgation of new rules.
Step 7	Agreement reached through mediation, if not, go to Step 8. There is no time limit on mediation; the NMB has the discretion to hold the parties in mediation indefinitely.
Step 8	NMB proffer of binding arbitration is offered by NMB or requested.
Step 9	Agreement reached through accepting binding arbitration. If not, go to Step 10.
Step 10	Self help strike, lockout — 30 days after NMB notifies both parties that proffer of arbitration was refused.
Step 11	NMB may notify President that it believes dispute will interrupt interstate commerce.
Step 12	President may appoint an emergency board if he/she agrees with Step 11.
Step 13	Presidential Emergency Board reports to President within 30 days.
Step 14	Voluntary agreement reached based on Emergency Board report, if not, go to Step 15.
Step 15	Indefinite strike or lockout permitted 30 days after report issued. Agreement may be reached.
Step 16	If no agreement, settlement can be legislated by Congress.

The BRS and seven other rail unions are moving forward in step 12. As expected, a Presidential Emergency Board was appointed by President Bush to hear the dispute, which temporarily bars the unions and Amtrak from implementing any self-help measures (e.g., lockout or strike). The rail unions and Amtrak will begin presenting their case before the Board on Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

President Bush Orders Amtrak PEB

November 28, 2007 — President Bush ordered a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) today to investigate and report on the contract dispute between Amtrak’s union-represented employees and Amtrak. The labor unions named in the executive order are:

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes — a division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
Joint Council of Carmen, comprised of the Transportation Communications International Union/Brotherhood Railway Carmen Division and the Transport Workers Union of America
American Train Dispatchers Association
National Conference of Firemen & Oilers/Service Employees International Union
Transportation Communications International Union — American Railway and Airline Supervisors Association

The five-member PEB will be established on December 1, 2007, and the members have yet to be named. The PEB will report to President Bush by December 31, 2007, unless the parties agree to an extension. The report is a non-binding recommendation for resolving the dispute and can be rejected by either party. Following the PEB’s report to the President, there is a 30-day cooling off period before the unions are free to exercise their right to self-help.

The National Mediation Board (NMB) advised the White House that a service disruption could substantially interrupt interstate commerce and deprive sections of the country of essential transportation service. As such, the President established the PEB to block the unions from striking while the dispute is being heard by the PEB.

The NMB recently released the parties from mediation following eight years of stalling by Amtrak. At least four of the unions offered to go to arbitration to settle the dispute, but Amtrak negotiators rejected that offer. Retroactive wages and work rules are the main issues that remain unresolved.

"We have tried unsuccessfully to come to an agreement with Amtrak," reported Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen International President W. Dan Pickett. "It is a shame that it has come to this. Our members have been in negotiations for eight years and now it appears that a third party will decide their future. This is not surprising, as it has become impossible to get Amtrak to the table. In fact, at the last four meetings we attended at the NMB offices this month, Amtrak officials refused to even enter the room to talk to us even though they were only 30 feet down the hall."

Because rail service is critical to our nation, Amtrak workers are forbidden by law from going on strike until multiple steps have been fulfilled as set forth in the Railway Labor Act. Had President Bush failed to establish the PEB, the unions could have walked out on December 1.

The labor organizations are free to continue talks with Amtrak to reach an agreement at any time, but neither party can utilize self-help measures until the cooling off periods have expired. If the process goes the distance and the parties are unable to resolve their differences, Congress may step in and impose an agreement on the parties through legislation.

The Countdown Begins

For eight years Amtrak has failed to negotiate in good faith, and the National Mediation Board has rewarded Amtrak's bad behavior and stalling by not releasing Amtrak workers to seek self help — that is, until now.

Effective November 1, 2007, The National Mediation Board formally released the member unions of the PRLBC and Amtrak from mediated negotiations. This in turn starts the clock ticking on a 30-day cooling off period as allowed under the Railway Labor Act. During this time frame both parties are barred from taking self-help action and are encouraged to negotiate to reach a settlement. The President may appoint a Presidential Emergency Board to hear the dispute at any time.

In the likely event that President Bush does appoint a PEB, the Board would make recommendations to the President based on the facts presented by both sides in the hearings. If both parties reject the PEB’s proposal, Congress may intervene and legislatively mandate a settlement based on the PEB's recommendations. This would essentially mean that a contract would be legislated by Congress and no strike or membership ratification would occur. The congressional agreement would be final and binding.

If a PEB is not appointed, Amtrak and the affected unions, including the BRS, will be able to seek self-help after the 30-day cooling-off period.

Eight years without a new contract and Amtrak’s unwillingness to move forward with a proposal ultimately brought four unions together to create the Passenger Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition (PRLBC). Those unions are: The American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA), the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes/IBT (BMWED), The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), and the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers, SEIU (NCFO).

In forming a coalition, the four unions agreed to bargain collectively with Amtrak. The agreement establishing the Passenger Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition blocked any of the four member unions from reaching an individual agreement with Amtrak. This was done by requiring approval of the other Coalition unions before any agreement was submitted to each union’s membership for ratification.

Amtrak’s chief negotiator filed suit on the four unions that comprise the PRLBC. The intent of the lawsuit is to delay the negotiations once again. The members of the PRLBC have agreed to negotiate with the carrier on an individual basis during the 30-day cooling-off period.

Amtrak is asking the federal court for a declaratory judgment on the legality of the unions’ coalition, in particular, the terms that prevent a single union from reaching agreement absent consent from the other member unions.

Stalling seems to be the name of the game with Amtrak negotiators. In fact, at the last 3-day meeting at the NMB offices in Washington, DC, Amtrak representatives refused to even walk down the hall to meet with any of the four unions: ATDA, BMWED, BRS, or the NCFO. They did however, submit proposals that would have gutted the unions' works rules; the most offensive of which would allow them to give away the unions’ work to the lowest bidder. When the unions asked for Amtrak to sit down at the table to discuss their proposal, Amtrak refused.

BRS International President stated, "We have been trying to meet with Amtrak for meaningful and productive negotiations for eight years; so far, we have been ignored by Amtrak. We will continue to take ‘the high road’ — for now. A strike or an imposed agreement benefits neither party. It’s time for Amtrak to quit playing politics and come to the table."

Without some movement from Amtrak, the next stop most likely will to be a Presidential Emergency Board.

Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on the
Nurses’ Strike at Appalachian Regional Hospitals

The 10 million members of the AFL-CIO stand firmly with the more than 800 striking nurses at nine Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) hospitals who are seeking stronger patient care protections. The nurses – members of the United American Nurses in Kentucky and West Virginia – are standing up for the communities they serve even as ARH tries to crush their spirit through intimidation and threats.

Patient care must be any hospital’s primary concern. By forcing its front-line care providers to be understaffed and overworked, ARH is recklessly putting its patients at risk. The nurses at ARH deserve respect and decent working conditions that include fair pay and benefits as well as manageable hours. It is absolutely unacceptable that ARH is putting communities at risk by refusing to listen to nurses’ concerns about staffing and other patient care issues.

The ARH nurses have shown their commitment to their patients time and time again. They are putting their jobs on the line in support of safe staffing levels. It is time for ARH to show its nurses they are committed to doing everything in their power to improve patient care at their hospitals, which includes negotiating a fair contract and addressing the nurses’ urgent concerns about patient care.

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s
Life in the Open Returns for Season Three

Alaska Caribou and Kenai River Salmon episode launch another season of the
#1 rated weekend series on VERSUS

WASHINGTON —It’s open season for sportsmen as TRCP’s Life in the Open returns to VERSUS for season three starting Friday, October 5^th at 7p.m. (ET) with a caribou hunt on Alaska’s public lands followed by a fishing trip for pink and silver salmon on Alaska’s Kenai River.

The series will air this season every Friday at 7p.m. (ET) with encore airings each Sunday morning at 10:30am Eastern.

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, TRCP’s Life in the Open explores today’s pressing fish and wildlife conservation issues while taking viewers to some of the best public and private hunting and fishing destinations accessible to hardworking American sportsmen, including some of T.R.’s old hunting grounds and the lands and waters that inspired him.

Beautiful production by Orion Multimedia has contributed to a fantastic audience response to TRCP’s Life in the Open, which ended its second season as the highest rated weekend field sports series on the VERSUS Network. Season three promises to be just as thrilling as viewers join host Ken Barrett for big game stalking in even bigger country, knockdown, drag-out fish fighting with Oregon’s giant sturgeon and a “run and gun” for New Mexico quail, the hot-footed missiles of the southwest.

With adventures featuring Boston Harbor stripers, Missouri whitetail, Alaska caribou and black bear, Iowa turkey, Colorado elk, Africa wildebeest and awe-inspiring scenery throughout, there is something for every sportsman or –woman.

“TRCP’s Life in the Open is unique among hunting and fishing shows. It focuses on accessibility and conservation issues while maintaining the real trophy, T.R.’s legacy and the lands and waters that form the basis of our hunting and fishing traditions,” says Barrett.

“Again and again, viewers tell us they enjoy TRCP’s Life in the Open because it portrays the true hunting and fishing experience where the fish and game are not always monsters and the weather is sometimes uncooperative,” said TRCP President and CEO George Cooper. “While TRCP’s Life in the Open occasionally takes viewers to exotic places, the majority of locations featured are public lands and waters available to the average hunter and angler. Viewers can even re-create the expeditions for themselves with the help of Ken Barrett’s trip Fast Facts on the TRCP website.”

“What’s rare about TRCP’s Life in the Open is that it’s not all just casting and blasting,” said Tim Zink, TRCP communications director, “it delves into the real-world issues for fish and wildlife that surround the adventure. We also place a careful focus on the habitat conservation challenges, both historical and contemporary, that confront the landscapes on which our show is set.”

TRCP’s Life in the Open is made possible by the generous support of many of America’s leading trade unions and contractor associations, including the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, National Electrical Contractors Association, Sheet Metal Workers International Association, International Association of Fire Fighters, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry, Mechanical Contractors Association of America and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers.

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is a coalition of leading hunting, fishing and conservation organizations, trade unions and individual partners working together to guarantee access to places to hunt and fish, conserve fish and wildlife habitat, and increase funding for conservation.

New Train Braking Systems on the Horizon

Since the inception of automatic air brakes by George Westinghouse in the 1870s, brake signal propagation has been limited by the nature of air and the speed of sound. Other adjustments have sought to alleviate this deficiency, but have left the basic system unaltered. As early as 1990, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) has investigated more advanced braking concepts for freight railroads, including ECP brake systems, which promise to radically improve brake propagation by using electrical transmissions of the braking signal through the train while still using air pressure in the cylinder to apply the force of the brake shoe.

During the past 15 years, ECP brake technology has progressed rapidly and has been field tested and used on various railroads. The new technology has proven to improve train braking distance by 30% to 70%.

Advanced brake technology will enable locomotive engineers to significantly improve train control and allow trains to safely travel longer distances between required brake tests under new proposed federal rules, announced U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters.

“Trains with better brakes mean safer railroad operations and improved rail freight service,” said Secretary Peters, explaining that Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brakes provide improved train control through simultaneous and graduated application and release of the brakes on all rail cars, a significant safety improvement over conventional air brake systems.

In addition, Secretary Peters noted that the proposed rule would permit a train to travel up to 3,500 miles—more than double the current maximum distance—between routine brake tests. With ECP brakes, many long-haul trains can travel directly to their destinations without stopping because the technology performs continual self-diagnostic ‘healthchecks,’ she said.

“The safety benefits of ECP brakes are obvious and they make good business sense as well,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman.

Boardman said that, under the proposal, an intermodal container train equipped with ECP brakes originating from West Coast ports could operate all the way to Chicago without stopping for a routine brake test, as it must do now. Similarly, many ECP brake-equipped coal trains could make quicker deliveries from western coalfields to eastern and southern power plants because stopping for the routine brake test would be unnecessary.

He added that ECP brakes can help avert some train derailments caused by sudden emergency brake applications, prevent runaway trains caused by loss of brake air pressure, shorten train stopping distances up to 60 percent under certain circumstances, and improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions through better train handling. He further noted that the first ECP brake-equipped train operating under an approved waiver is expected to make its initial revenue service run in September.

BLET Members Turn Down Amtrak Contract

Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) soundly rejected a tentative agreement reached in June. The BLET represents locomotive engineers who operate the national passenger railroad's trains throughout Amtrak’s 21,000-mile, 46-state route. Amtrak and the BLET reached the tentative agreement last June that would have covered 1,300 locomotive engineers.

The BLET is a division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and represents more than 59,000 employees in the United States. The BLET and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes both joined the Teamsters in 2004.

About 10,000 Amtrak workers, including the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, are working on their eighth year without a contract and another 5,000 have been without a new agreement since the end of 2004. Under the Railway Labor Act, contracts do not expire but continue in effect until changed.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen continues to try to hammer out a long-overdue agreement with Amtrak as members of the Passenger Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition. The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen is one of four unions joined in the coalition: The PRLBC consists of the American Train Dispatchers Association, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes/IBT, the BRS, and the International Conference of Firemen and Oilers, SEIU.

AFL-CIO Declares '08 Elections a Mandate
for High Quality Health Care for All by '09

At its annual Labor Day briefing today, the AFL-CIO announced an historic new drive that puts the full force of 10 million AFL-CIO members and 3 million retirees behind winning secure, high quality health care for all by 2009.
“In America, no one should go without health care,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.
“Health care is the top domestic issue for our members and for all Americans, and the AFL-CIO is making the 2008 elections a mandate on fixing our broken system,” Sweeney said. “We will hold candidates at every level responsible for supporting comprehensive, progressive national health care reform, and we will elect a president and a Congress prepared to turn their campaign promises into reality.”
The announcement came the day after the Census Bureau announced that the number of uninsured rose to 47 million, and is up 22 percent since 2000.

Sweeney said the labor federation and its 55 affiliates will continue efforts to “change our nation’s economic course and guarantee the freedom of workers to form and join unions.”
“We must have a strategy to create and keep good jobs in our country. For too long, our trade policies have encouraged companies to ship jobs overseas. We will hold every presidential candidate accountable for how they will stop the flow of American jobs out of our country and protect workers’ rights around the world.
“We will continue to build support for the Employee Free Choice Act, which will make it easier for workers to form and join unions by making it harder for employers to trample their rights.” And, he said, union members are preparing “to change the direction of our country in 2008” with “the largest political mobilization in the history of our movement.”

Sweeney said that while the AFL-CIO is not endorsing a specific health care approach at this time, any proposal that gets labor’s support will have to control costs, cover everyone in the country, provide preventive care, preserve the right of patients to choose their own doctors, require the government to police greed and incompetence, lower employer costs and require them as well as government and individuals to “share fairly” in the cost. He said a health care solution also needs “to step up government’s involvement in making sure retirees aren’t the victims when corporations struggle with legacy costs, including finding early retirement solutions.”

“We can solve our health care problem in a uniquely American way. We need to create a new system that builds on what’s best about American health care – the right to choose your own doctors, and keep the best quality care where it exists -- while drawing from what works in other countries,” he said.

According to Sweeney, the “first big push” of the AFL-CIO campaign will take place in September, when union members will “hold George Bush responsible” for his failure to support the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Congress recently agreed to continue coverage for nearly 7 million children and to provide health insurance for the first time to up to 5 million more. Bush has said he will veto the legislation.
Sweeney pledged to build an army of a million union activists to organize for changing the nation’s broken health care system. “Working America -- our community organization for people who don’t have a union on the job -- is knocking on more than 3500 doors a night talking to people about children’s health care funding,” Sweeney said, adding that the AFL-CIO will continue to support state level health care initiatives as it has done in California.

Sweeney and Heather Booth, who will direct the AFL-CIO campaign, said other elements of the AFL-CIO health care reform campaign include:
Education of union members and their families about the necessity for federal action to preserve health care benefits;
      • Recruiting employers to support health care reform;
      • Linking national health care reform to reform work at the state level;
     • Shareholder activism around health care.

"America's broken health care system has failed me and millions like me,” Jean Tome, a retail worker in Ohio said at today’s announcement. "Even though I have job, I still can't afford to pay for health care. In the richest country in the world, it's simply wrong that so many hard-working people go without getting their basic needs met.""We think of a nurse sitting at a bedside and working with the families to feel comforted and safe. Today, that duty is compressed into nanoseconds because there is simply not the time," said Mary Florio, a nurse from Connecticut and AFSCME member. "The healthcare system does not allow me to be the nurse I want to be."

In addition to offering details about the AFL-CIO health care campaign, Sweeney talked about the State of America for working families.
“This Labor Day finds America not working the way it should for working people,” he said. “Housing foreclosures are rising, but wages are not. We’re losing good jobs and gaining household debt. Our bridges and roads and schools are crumbling. So are working families’ pensions.
“ Health care costs are pushing people to the edge, and now 47 million Americans have no health care coverage. Working people have been robbed of their freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life. Our nation’s middle class is shrinking.”

“Today, on the two-year anniversary of Katrina, we are reminded of all that has been lost in America – and of the unprecedented indifference shown working families by the current occupant of the White House.”

Where’s My Back Pay?

The recently ratified National Agreement entitles most BRS members to retroactive wages. There has been some confusion on when that back pay is due.

According to the Agreement the carriers have 60 days from the date of the Agreement to fulfill their retroactive wage obligation. The National Agreement became effective on July 1, 2007. This makes the due date August 30, 2007. (Remember that July 1 is day zero.)

Members on direct deposit should have the money in their bank no later than midnight on the due date. If you have not received your retroactive wages by then please contact Grand Lodge.

New UTU Leadership Team

August 16, 2007

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Malcolm B. (Mike) Futhey Jr., Arty Martin and Kim Thompson have been elected to lead the United Transportation Union into its recently ratified merger creating the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) Workers.

Futhey was elected president, Martin was elected assistant president, and Thompson was elected general secretary and treasurer (GS&T).

They were elected by more than 560 delegates, representing UTU locals, during UTU’s 10th quadrennial convention here at the Westin Diplomat Resort.

UTU and SMWIA Merger Approved

August 8, 2007

United Transportation Union (UTU) members have ratified a merger with the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association (SMWIA), establishing the 230,000-member International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) Workers.

The merger, previously ratified by the SMWIA, becomes effective January 1.

The more than 71 percent of UTU-member ballots in favor of the merger reflected the agreement’s overwhelming support among UTU International officers, UTU general chairpersons and UTU state legislative directors. The UTU Board of Directors called SMART "the right merger at the right time."

FRA Supports PTC Research
(Washington, DC) The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a $4,465,000 grant to the Railroad Research Foundation to continue development and testing of wireless communications devices and systems for use with Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) technology. CBTC is a form of Positive Train Control (PTC) that can automatically control train movements and speed to enhance safety when the locomotive engineer fails to take appropriate action. In addition to advancing technical developments, a primary aim of this grant funding is to design and build a Universal Onboard Platform that will allow a locomotive to easily switch between different PTC operating systems, or to another onboard signaling system, when it travels from one railroad network to another.

Breakthrough in National Freight Railroad Negotiations—
Tentative Agreements Reached between NCCC and Union Coalition of TCU, IAM, IBEW and TWU

July 17, 2007 — A coalition of four unions — TCU, the International Association of Machinists, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Transport Workers Union — today reached tentative national agreements with management’s negotiating group, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee.

The unions represent 36,000 members on more than 30 railroads covered by the tentative agreements, including Burlington Northern Santa Fe, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific.

The agreements cover four major crafts — Carmen, Clerks, Electricians, and Machinists.

The details of the new agreements will be sent to involved members for their review and a ratification vote in the next several weeks. No details will be released to the public until the ratification process has begun.

This round of contract talks began in November 2004 when Section Six notices under the Railway Labor Act were served by both the unions and management.

UTU Members to Vote on SMWIA Merger!

A merger endorsed by the AFL-CIO would bring together the United Transportation Union (UTU) and Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA) to form the 230,000-member International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART).

The SMWIA was founded as a rail union in 1888, and for almost 120 years the SMWIA has represented rail workers. SMWIA General President Mike Sullivan is also president of the Eugene V. Debs Foundation.

The UTU board of directors voted unanimously June 11 to put the merger before the UTU membership for ratification. If ratified, the merger would become effective Jan. 1, 2008. Ballots will be mailed to United Transportation Union members on July 17. Voting will be by telephone, and the deadline for casting a ballot is August 7.

In a joint statement following its vote, the UTU board said, "This is the right merger at the right time. We have examined the merger document carefully, questioned SMWIA officials extensively and discussed the merger and its implications at length. We are of the unanimous opinion that the SMWIA is a good fit for the UTU and we enthusiastically recommend a 'yes' vote by members."

Kaiser Permanente and Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions Establish Kaiser Permanente Healthcare Institute at National Labor College

Oakland, CA, headquartered Kaiser Permanente, America’s largest integrated health plan, and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, are jointly donating $450,000 to the National Labor College (NLC) in Silver Spring, Maryland to fund the Kaiser Permanente Healthcare Institute, a program dedicated to educating labor leaders and union members on health care issues. It is thought to be the first such grant from a major health care provider to an institution serving the labor community.

Arthur M. Southam, MD, Kaiser Permanente Executive Vice President of Health Plan Operations, described the establishment of the Institute as historically fitting. “Kaiser Permanente has a long-standing commitment to providing coordinated, quality health care to workers and their families, a mission that has been sustained by our solid relationship with the labor community. The creation of the Kaiser Permanente Healthcare Institute in collaboration with the National Labor College will promote understanding of the challenges facing our current health care system and provide labor leaders and other students with the knowledge and skills for driving the effort to make affordable, quality health care available to every American.”

John August, Executive Director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions said, “In this time of health care reform debate, among the topics that get lost is the question of how care will be delivered. No organization knows more about delivering high-quality health care than Kaiser Permanente, and that knowledge will be a critical element in the education of National Labor College students for many, many years.”

Ten years ago, Kaiser Permanente entered into a unique labor-management partnership that now involves more than 120,000 union, management and physician employees. The partnership is credited with creating a workforce that is focused on enhancing quality of care and service, improving frontline performance and making Kaiser Permanente a better place to work. According to company and college spokespersons, the grant to the NLC grew out of discussions between leaders of the partnership.

The Kaiser Permanente Healthcare Institute at the NLC (KPHI/NLC) will include courses focusing on health care bargaining and issues affecting the health care industry in the global economy. College officials will make the courses available individually, but they are also considering plans to create a curriculum that can lead to a certificate in health care. In addition, the KPHI/NLC will sponsor conferences on key issues in health care drawing in expert speakers. The first is being planned for this October.

“Workers today face a complex and fast-paced health care industry, insurance options that frequently change with the market, and a growing need to understand the health care industry when they sit at the bargaining table,” said Susan J. Schurman, President of the National Labor College. “Thanks to Kaiser’s support, we are delighted to be able to offer this important curriculum to our students.”

Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a not-for-profit group practice program headquartered in Oakland, California. Kaiser Permanente serves more than 8.7 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Today it encompasses the not-for-profit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Permanente Medical Groups. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente includes approximately 156,000 technical, administrative, and clerical employees and caregivers, and 13,000 physicians representing all specialties.

Kaiser Permanente’s unique Labor Management Partnership — the largest and most comprehensive partnership of its kind — was formed in 1997. Since then, the Labor Management Partnership has launched hundreds of initiatives, from workplace safety improvements to large-scale organizational change, achieving measurable improvement in patient and employee satisfaction, quality and service scores, financial results, and operational efficiency. For more information, visit http://www.lmpartnership.org

The National Labor College is the only accredited college in the world exclusively dedicated to educating union members, leaders, activists and staff. Originally founded by the AFL-CIO in 1969 as the George Meany Center for Labor Studies, the center became the NLC in 1997 offering upper level degree completion programs for union members seeking to finish their college education. The NLC offers a unique combination of fully online courses along with partially online programs with a low-residence on-campus component that allow full-time workers with families maximum flexibility to schedule study time. The college is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an independent, regional accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Hundreds Gather at Amtrak Headquarters to Rally for New Contract

In a showing of support and solidarity, hundreds of union members, their families and several legislators joined Amtrak employees for a demonstration outside Amtrak’s headquarters on May 17 to express frustration over the railroad’s refusal to negotiate a new contract with its employees. Amtrak workers are now in their eighth year without a new contract or general wage increase.

“The time has come for these hard working men and women to stop their sacrifice and be fairly compensated for their skill, hard work and dedication,” BRS International President W. Dan Pickett told the crowd. “The time has come for Amtrak’s Board and the National Mediation Board to reverse this road to nowhere and do what is fair and right.”

Several legislators also spoke to the crowd, including Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), and Congressmen Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD).

“We have to say to our Republican colleagues, ‘Get your hands off Amtrak,’” said Rep. Cummings. “You, the workers who keep the railroad running, have been deprived of what you are rightfully due. We are doing everything in our power to preserve Amtrak.”

Participating in the rally were the Transportation Trades Department (TTD), the Transportation Communications Union (TCU), the United Transportation Union (UTU), the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE), the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLET), the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS).

Rail Labor Supports the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007

Rail labor is united in support of the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007, a bill that would provide sweeping reforms to railroad safety regulations and vastly improve the quality of life for all railroad workers.

The bill, H.R.2095, was introduced May 1 by Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, following lengthy consultation with supportive rail unions.

Among the bill's many provisions are:

A restructuring of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), placing greater emphasis on its safety role and increasing substantially the number of qualified inspectors.
Elimination of limbo time for operating crews
Creation of fatigue management programs, a guarantee of 10 hours of undisturbed rest, and a guarantee of one 24-hour off-duty period every seven days.
Strengthened whistleblower protections (and a worker may refuse to authorize the use of equipment the employee reasonable believes to be unsafe or hazardous to operate or work with).
Implementation of positive train control.
Vast improvement in safety for operations in dark territory.
Establishment of training standards for all rail workers.
Certification of train conductors
A study of locomotive cab ergonomics
A requirement for emergency breathing apparatus in all locomotive cabs.
New regulations that would put an end to the harassment and intimidation of rail workers who report personal injuries.

The BRS is proud to be a part of this effort," stated International President W. Dan Pickett. "The changes proposed by Chairman Oberstar are long overdue, and the BRS with rail labor will work to see the changes become a reality."

Among other rail unions in support of this rail safety measure are the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWE), the United Transportation Union (UTU), and the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA).

The bill would redesignate the FRA as the Federal Railroad Safety Administration (FRSA), whose goal would be to reduce accidents, injuries and fatalities, and with safety as its "highest priority." The FRSA administrator would be required to have "professional experience in railroad safety, hazardous materials safety, or other transportation safety." The FRSA would also be required to double the number of safety inspectors from 400 to 800 by December 31, 2011.

Limbo time, the practice of abandoning train crews on locomotives after their on-duty time has expired, would be eliminated under changes to the Hours of Service Act. Under the new law, time spent in deadhead transportation to a duty assignment, time spent waiting for deadhead transportation, and time spent in deadhead transportation from a duty assignment to the place of final release would be considered time on duty, thus eliminating limbo time.

Additional direct relief from fatigue would come in two forms. First, operating and signal employees would be entitled to a minimum of 10 hours undisturbed rest, regardless of the length of the duty tour. Railroads would be prohibited from communicating with their workers during their rest time. Second, they would have to have one period of at least 24 consecutive hours off duty every seven days.

Railroads would also be required to file a fatigue management plan with the Department of Transportation every two years. The bill would require input from rail labor into the plans, which would contain educational programs to help rail workers counter fatigue.

The legislation would significantly strengthen existing whistleblower protections to rail workers who report unsafe or hazardous conditions. A worker may refuse to authorize the use of equipment that the employee reasonably believes to be unsafe or hazardous to operate or work with, and this bill would protect those who do so.

Class 1 railroads would have 12 months after enactment of the legislation to submit concrete plans for the implementation of positive train control. The technology would be used to assist train crews with safety, and not as a means to reduce crew size.

The bill would also require railroads to install warning devices in non-signaled territory that would warn train crews of misaligned switches, thereby addressing the greatest risks of dark territory operations.

The secretary of transportation would be required to establish minimum training standards for each craft of rail employees under the new law. The bill would require railroads to qualify or otherwise document the proficiency of their employees in each craft regarding their knowledge of, and ability to comply with, federal railroad safety laws and regulations and railroad carrier rules. Each railroad would also establish its own training and qualification program, which would be submitted to the FRSA for approval.

The secretary of transportation would also be required to prescribe regulations and issue orders to establish a program requiring the certification of train conductors. In prescribing such regulations, the secretary would require that conductors on passenger trains be trained in security, first aid and emergency preparedness.

The secretary of transportation would also establish regulations that require railroads to provide emergency escape breathing apparatus for all crewmembers on freight trains carrying hazardous materials that pose an inhalation hazard in the event of release; and provide their crewmembers with appropriate training for using the breathing apparatus.

The secretary of transportation would also transmit to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Commerce Committee a report on the effects of the locomotive cab environment on the safety, health and performance of train crews.

Also, under this proposed legislation, railroads would not be allowed to discipline, or threaten discipline to, an employee for requesting medical or first aid treatment, or for following orders or a treatment plan of a treating physician. Discipline means to bring charges against a person in a disciplinary proceeding, suspend, terminate, place on probation, or make note of reprimand on an employee’s record.

Rail employees and family members are encouraged to urge their congressional representatives to support H.R.2095, the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007.

New Interactive Website Engages Union Members in Presidential Process

By James Parks

Union members and all working families now have a unique online center where they can get involved in selecting the next president. With so much at stake in the 2008 elections, union members are working to make sure working family issues are in the forefront of the political debate.

The new interactive Working Families Vote 2008 site offers the resources and opportunity for union members to make their voices heard in the AFL-CIO presidential endorsement process. The website examines presidential candidates positions on the key working family issues: the Employee Free Choice Act, good jobs, health care, trade and manufacturing, retirement security and education. It also features links to candidate videos, polls, blog roundups and everything working families need to know to be prepared for the 2008 elections. The site includes a Forum for discussion of key issues in the presidential race. The current thread-opening question asks, What issues will get you to the polls in November 2008?

The site, which launched Friday, also features an Action Center that allows users to let presidential candidates know where they stand on the issues.

The AFL-CIO Working Families Vote 2008 website is part of the broadest effort yet to involve union members in the AFL-CIOs endorsement process, aiming for record union household turnout in 2008. Other features include a series of town hall meetings with candidates and a multicandidate forum in August.

In the 2006 elections, the AFL-CIO mobilized more than 13.6 million union household voters in 32 states in support of working family-friendly candidates. That mobilization played a key role in shifting the majority in Congress.

Nation's Workplaces Too Unsafe Reports New AFL-CIO Death on the Job Study

National and State Numbers Included in New Report Released for Workers Memorial Day

The nation's workplace safety laws are too weak to effectively protect the nation's workers, according to the new AFL-CIO annual study: Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect. In 2005, there were 5,734 fatal workplace injuries, with significant increases in fatalities among Latino, African-American, foreign-born and young workers.

On average, 16 workers were fatally injured and more than 12,000 workers were injured or made ill each day of 2005. These statistics do not include deaths from occupational diseases, which claim the lives of an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 workers each year. Overall, the rate of workplace fatalities decreased slightly from 4.1/100,000 workers in 2004 to 4.0/100,000 workers in 2005.

"The number of workers killed, injured and diseased on the job each year is a national tragedy and disgrace. It's time for the Bush Administration to wake up and see there are real solutions to preventing workplace injuries and deaths. Enforceable safety laws. Better funding for OSHA. Voices for workers on the job," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. "Instead of rolling back workplace safety measures, the Bush Administration should meet its responsibility to provide needed protections for America's workers."

The Bush Administration's proposed FY 2008 budget for worker safety and health programs provides $490 million for OSHA, which, adjusting for inflation, represents a $25 million cut since the Administration took office. Federal OSHA enforcement staffing levels have been cut from 1,683 to 1,543 positions and staffing for the development of safety and health standards from 100 to 83 positions.

To inspect each workplace, it would take federal OSHA 133 years with its current number of inspectors. In seven states (Florida, Delaware, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Maryland, and South Dakota), it would take more than 150 years for OSHA to pay a single visit to each workplace. In 18 states, it would take between 100 and 149 years to visit each workplace once.

The current level of federal and state OSHA inspectors provides one inspector for every 63,670 workers. This compares to a benchmark of one labor inspector for every 10,000 workers recommended by the International Labor Organization for industrialized countries. In the states of Arkansas, Florida, Delaware, Nebraska, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, the ratio of inspectors to employees is greater than 1/100,000 workers.

The fatality rate among Latino workers in 2005 was 23 percent higher than the fatal injury rate for all U.S. workers. In 2005, fatal injuries among Latino workers increased by 2 percent over 2004, with 923 fatalities among this group of workers, the highest number ever reported. The rate of fatal injuries to Latino workers decreased from 5.0 per 100,000 workers in 2004 to 4.9 per 100,000 workers in 2005.

Wyoming, Montana, and Mississippi had the highest rates of worker fatalities in the last year while Rhode Island and Vermont had the best record of workplace safety. Twenty-four states saw an increase in either the rate or number of fatalities between 2004 and 2005, with Mississippi, Montana, and South Dakota having the biggest increases in fatality rates.

The release of the AFL-CIO Death on the Job report coincides with Workers Memorial Day, April 28th, which commemorates workers who died or were injured in the past year. As part of the day of remembrance, community and union members from around the world are participating in hundreds of events to remember local workers and draw attention to the "unfulfilled promise" of worker safety.

Also for the week of Workers Memorial Day, two hearings are being held in Congress to investigate current job safety protections in the United States. On Tuesday, April 24th, the House of Representatives investigated if OSHA standards are keeping up with workplace hazards. On Thursday, April 26th, the Senate held a hearing on the state of workplace safety and health protections. Peg Seminario, the Director of Safety and Health at the AFL-CIO testified before the Senate committee, arguing that enforceable safety regulations are crucial to protecting today's workforce.

Presidential Candidates to Join 2007 'Day of Action'

New York Senator Hillary Clinton, Delaware Senator Joe Biden and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich will address the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) in Washington, D.C. on May 17, 2007, at the unions 2007 Day of Action, a mass rally of union members aimed at highlighting the sacrifices and contributions of transportation workers worldwide.

Our goal is to articulate a clear message, Enough is Enough! and to do so at the front end of the 2008 presidential election cycle, said IAM Transportation General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr., who is coordinating the event. Union members have suffered grievously under the current gang that occupies the White House, but on May 17 our members will make their voices heard.

The day-long rally will begin at 10 a.m. on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. where more than 10,000 union members and representatives of global unions are expected to attend. Additional information, maps and a list of speakers for the days activities can be found at www.17may07.org.

Founded in 1888, the IAM is among the largest industrial trade unions in North America, representing nearly 700,000 active and retired members in transportation, aerospace, woodworking, shipbuilding and manufacturing sectors. For more information about the IAM, visit their website at www.goiam.org.

AFL-CIO Town Hall Meetings With Presidential Candidates Begin April 29

Forums Aim to Involve Working Families Deeply in Selecting Next President

The AFL-CIO launched its Working Families Vote 2008 campaign on April 18, 2007 by announcing plans for a series of town hall style forums with presidential candidates in the coming weeks, culminating with a multi-candidate forum in early August in Chicago.

America's working families are looking for a national about-face when it comes to good jobs and wages, affordable health care for their families, retirement security and a firm plan for getting out of Iraq, said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Over the next several months, candidates for president of the United States will have a unique opportunity to listen to the real concerns of working people firsthand. And working families will have the chance to ask the candidates what they will do to make America work for working families.

Confirmed forums are:

Sen. Christopher Dodd — April 29, Sacramento, CA

Sen. John Edwards — May 1, Seattle, WA

Sen. Barack Obama — May 14, Trenton, NJ

Sen. Joseph Biden — May 16, Miami, FL

Sen. Hillary Clinton — May 19, Detroit, MI

Gov. Bill Richardson — June 4, Phoenix, AZ

Rep. Dennis Kucinich — Details TBD

Multi-candidate forum — August 6 or 7, Chicago, IL

The candidate town hall forums are part of an intensive six-month program to engage union members and their families in the AFL-CIOs presidential endorsement decision-making process. The Executive Council of the AFL-CIO voted last month to ask each of its 54 national unions to make no endorsement until the AFL-CIO General Board decides, following the six-month period of member consultation, whether or not to endorse a candidate prior to the primaries.

These town hall meetings provide the candidates with a real opportunity to rally and inspire the grassroots activists who are essential to victory in 2008, said AFSCME President and AFL-CIO Political Committee Chair Gerald McEntee. Union members are looking forward to hearing from the candidates and being more active than we've ever been before.

The AFL-CIO Working Families Vote 2008 campaign is the broadest effort yet to involve working people in the selection of a president, aiming for record turnout in 2008. The town meetings will help ensure that the candidates understand working peoples priorities on issues like health care reform, retirement security, jobs and the freedom to form or join a union to bargain for a better life.

In addition to the town meetings, the AFL-CIO will provide union members and their families with opportunities to engage the candidates for president through online idea exchanges and other means. Later this month the AFL-CIO will launch an interactive website dedicated to the presidential campaign and endorsement process.

In the 2006 elections, the AFL-CIOs massive union voter mobilization proved key to shifting the balance of power in Congress. The AFL-CIO mobilized more than 13.6 million voters in 32 states in support of working family friendly candidates.

Union Plus — Two New Auto Programs for Union Members

Union Plus Auto Buying Service With the Union Plus Auto Buying Service, buying or leasing a car or truck doesn't have to be a hassle. Union members can receive pre-negotiated, best-market auto pricing on new cars, trucks, motorcycles and most other vehicles without having to negotiate directly with the dealer.

The Union Plus Auto Buying Service, administered by Vehicle Advantage, a leading auto fleet purchasing and leasing provider, can also help you find and buy used cars and trucks. And your personal Vehicle Advisor can assist you throughout the buying process, from selection of a car to the final delivery based upon pre-negotiated auto pricing and the best dealer service.

Union Plus Premier Motor Club Whether you need a car jump start, a tire change, auto repair service, gas delivery, or a tow truck service, the Union Plus Premier Motor Club membership will be there for you.

Administered by Pinnacle Motor Club, union members save with the Union Plus Premier Motor Club membership that provides emergency automotive roadside assistance nationwide 24 hours a day with an extensive network of independent, reputable auto service providers

Visit www.unionplus.org to learn more about the benefits offered by Union Plus.

Amtrak Offers Discount for Day of Action Participants

Amtrak offers a 10% discount off the lowest available rail fare to the Day of Action event in Washington, DC between May 13 and May 21, 2007. To book your individual reservation call Amtrak at 1-800-872-7245 or contact your local travel agent.

Conventions cannot be booked via Internet. Please be sure to refer to Convention Fare Code X02P-915 when making your reservation. This offer is not valid on Auto Train. Fare is valid on Amtrak Regional and Acela service for all departures seven days a week, except for holiday blackouts. Offer valid with Sleepers, Business Class or First Class seats with payment of the full applicable accommodation charges.

Groups of 20 or more paying passengers traveling together are eligible to receive a 20% discount. Amtrak's 15% senior citizen and half-fare children's discounts may be applied to eligible members of the group. These discounts are not valid on all trains and some restrictions may apply. Call 1-800-872-1477 for group fares.

FRA Approves Waiver for New Braking Technology to Improve Train Control and Safety

Two railroads will begin equipping and operating trains with new brake technology capable of significantly improving train control, reducing derailments, and shortening stopping distances as a result of a waiver approved by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Administrator Joseph H. Boardman announced March 29, 2007.

It is time for the railroad industry to embrace new train braking technology and prevent some of the accidents that are happening now, Boardman said. Rail safety can be improved and better brakes are part of the solution, he stressed, noting that the FRA is considering issuing a proposed rule later this year designed to facilitate the widespread deployment of the technology known as Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brakes. Boardman said that ECP brake technology can help avert train derailments caused by sudden emergency brake applications, prevent runaway trains caused by loss of brake air pressure, and shorten train stopping distances up to 60 percent under certain circumstances. ECP brake systems also are capable of performing continual electronic self-diagnostic health checks of the brakes to identify maintenance needs, he added.

ECP brakes apply uniformly and virtually instantaneously on every rail car throughout a train and not sequentially from one car to the next as is done with conventional pneumatic brake systems, Boardman explained. The full train brake application, and an ability to gradually apply and release the brakes, provides for vastly improved train control and enhances safety.

Boardman said the waiver request approved by the FRA allows BNSF Railway and Norfolk Southern Railway to install ECP brake systems on trains to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the technology in revenue service. Under the waiver, trains equipped with ECP brakes will be able to safely travel up to 3,500 miles without stopping to undergo certain routine brake inspections, more than double the distance currently allowed by federal regulations. It is expected that the railroads will use the waiver to test ECP brakes on container-only trains from West Coast ports to Chicago and on trains carrying coal from the Powder River Basin fields in Wyoming to southern and eastern power plants.

FRA placed several conditions on the waiver approval, including requirements that the railroads clearly define a process for handling brake problems discovered en route; ensure that ECP brake inspections be performed by qualified individuals; and provide appropriate training to crew members. The waiver ensures that proper safeguards will be in place and will permit FRA to gather extensive data that could be used in developing its proposed rulemaking. FRA also will carefully monitor the railroads compliance with the waiver using unannounced inspections of trains subject to the waiver.

For more information, go to www.fra.dot.gov.

Bush Administration Agrees to Issue Safety Equipment Rule for Employees

Read the article

Train Accidents Decline for Second Year in a Row Preliminary 2006 Safety Data Show

The number of train accidents declined for the second year in a row and there were fewer highway-rail grade crossing collisions according to preliminary 2006 rail safety data announced March 7, 2007, by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters.

The aggressive actions we are taking to improve rail safety are paying dividends," Secretary Peters said. As a result, many communities where trains operate are safer, she added, noting that 36 states experienced fewer train accidents in 2006 as compared to 2005.

The preliminary statistics released on March 7, 2007, by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) reveal that in 2006 railroads had 402 fewer train accidents nationwide, or a 12.4 percent reduction from 2005, Peters said. Specifically, the number of derailments declined 8.3 percent and collisions between trains decreased by 27.1 percent. Texas led the nation with 51 fewer train accidents last year followed by Ohio (34), Nebraska (32), Indiana (29), New Jersey (24), and California (23).

The data for 2006 also reveal that train accidents caused by human error — the leading cause of all train accidents — declined 20.2 percent, Peters said. Train accidents caused by track issues decreased 5.8 percent, and those caused by equipment failure and signal problems fell by 8.2 percent and 27.0 percent, respectively, she added.

In addition, last year the number of highway-rail grade crossing collisions fell by 5.0 percent. However, grade crossing fatalities increased by 1.4 percent to 362. And, trespass fatalities, the number one cause of all rail-related deaths, increased by 14.5 percent to 530.

FRA Administrator Joseph H. Boardman emphasized that some of the safety gains are attributable to aggressive implementation of the Departments National Rail Safety Action Plan which focuses on the most frequent, highest-risk causes of train accidents; optimizes the use of data to target federal inspection and enforcement resources; and accelerates research initiatives that hold promise to mitigate the greatest potential safety risks.

Boardman said that during 2007, the FRA is planning additional action to further improve rail safety, including: adding two new automated track inspection vehicles to its fleet to triple the number of track-miles inspected each year; issuing a final rule to address the most common human factor causes of train accidents such as misaligned track switches; and completing several grade crossing safety and trespass prevention initiatives. He noted that in February 2007, the Department submitted a rail safety reauthorization bill to Congress seeking authority to address key safety issues like regulating railroad employee hours of service and establishing new risk reduction programs.

For more information, go to the Federal Railroad Administration's website, www.fra.dot.gov.

AFL-CIO Adds Blue Man Productions to Don't Buy List

The AFL-CIO is asking union families to boycott the Blue Man Group, a theatrical production company headquartered in Las Vegas, running shows concurrently in five U.S. cities: Las Vegas, Boston, New York, Chicago, and Orlando. The company also produces Blue Man shows in London, Berlin and Toronto.

The decision to put Blue Man Productions on the official boycott list was taken at the request of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts (IATSE) with support from dozens of performing arts unions in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

This production bills itself as cutting edge as an entertainment concept, but it is a throwback to the dark ages in labor relations, declared AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka. Blue Man Productions is about to learn a harsh lesson in labor solidarity, an experience they could have avoided by simply acknowledging the right of their workers to bargain collectively.

IATSE's Las Vegas Local 720 was certified as the bargaining agent for stagehands employed by the company following a May 25, 2006 NLRB election. Officials from the Local stress employees are predominantly concerned with health care, retirement coverage and safety on the job.

Efforts to negotiate an initial agreement for the 44 employees involved were stonewalled by Blue Man Productions management despite earlier pledges to abide by the outcome from principal partner Matt Goldman during the period leading up to the election. Goldman retained Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld — a politically-connected law firm whose partners include Democratic bigwigs Robert Strauss and Vernon Jordan along with President Bush's nephew George P. Bush — as its counsel for the election and subsequent challenges.

Lawrence Levien, a former NLRB attorney now on the Akin Gump payroll, has represented Blue Man Productions throughout the process. Nevertheless, the union has beaten back company appeals at the regional and national level, where a three-member panel ultimately upheld the union's right to bargain and affirmed the unfair labor practice charges against the company. Blue Man Productions has appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. At the union's behest, attorneys for the NLRB lodged a counter motion to enforce its bargaining order with the appeals court. It may be months before the Court acts.

Meanwhile, IATSE has secured pledges of support from 36 labor organizations including performing arts unions in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Norway, and Germany, as well as an endorsement from the massive Union Network International (UNI), an international confederation of 900 unions in140 nations, representing 15 millions workers.

Stagehands for Blue Man Productions had a collective bargaining agreement through IATSE Local 720 until October 2005 when the company refused to renew that agreement after moving from the Las Vegas Luxor Hotel to its new Las Vegas venue at the non-union Venetian Hotel.

Upcoming tour dates and venues for Blue Man's 2007 U.S. productions:

February 1 — Yakima Valley (WA) Sundome
February 2 — Everett Events (WA) Center
February 3 — Portland (OR) Memorial Coliseum
February 6 — Spokane (WA) Arena
February 7 — Boise Idaho Center
February 9 — Sacramento (CA) ARCO Center
February 10 — Oakland (CA) Arena
February 11 — Bakersfield (CA) Rabobank Theater
February 12 — Los Angeles (CA) Gibson Amphitheatre
February 13 — Phoenix (AZ) US Airways Center
February 15 — Amarillo (TX) Civic Center
February 16 — Bossier City (LA) CenturyTel Center
February 17 — Biloxi (MS) Beau Rivage Casino
February 18 — Little Rock (AR) Alltel Arena
February 19 — Huntsville (FL) Von Braun Center Arena
February 21 — Tallahassee (FL) Leon County Civic Center
February 22 — Orlando (FL) TD Waterhouse Centre
February 23 — Ft. Lauderdale (FL) BankAtlantic Center
February 24 — Tampa (FL) St. Pete Times Forum
February 25 — Ft. Myers (FL) Germain Arena
February 27 — Miami (FL) BankUnited Center
March 1 — Columbia (SC) Colonial Center
March 2 — Norfolk (VA) Constant Convocation Center
March 3 — Charlottesville (VA) John Paul Jones Arena
March 4 — Knoxville (TN) Thompson-Boling Arena
March 6 — Richmond (VA) Coliseum
March 8 — Youngstown (OH) Chevrolet Centre
March 9 — Washington DC Patriot Center
March 10 — Atlantic City (NJ) Etess Arena-Taj Mahal
March 11 — Raleigh (NC) RBC Center
March 13 — Columbus (GA) Civic Center Arena
March 15 — Evansville (IN) Roberts Stadium
March 16 — Memphis (TN) DeSoto Civic Center
March 17 — Louisville (KY) Freedom Hall
March 18 — Dayton (OH) Nutter Center
March 20 — Binghampton (NY) Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena
March 21 — Syracuse (NY) War Memorial at OneCenter
March 22 — Buffalo (NY) HSBC Arena
March 23 — Orilla (ON-Canada) Casino Rama Entertainment Center
March 24 — Detroit (MI) The Palace of Auburn Hills
March 25 — Grand Rapids (MI) Van Andel Arena
March 27 — Green Bay (WI)Resch Center
March 28 — Duluth (MN) Entertainment Convention Center
March 30 — St. Paul (MN) Xcel Energy Center
March 31 — Kansas City (MO) Kemper Arena
April 1 — Wichita (KS) Kansas Coliseum
April 3 — Peoria (IL) Civic Center Arena
April 4 — Dekalb (IL) Convocation Center of Northern Illinois
April 5 — Sioux City (IA) Tyson Event Center
April 6 — Fargo (ND) Fargodome
April 7 — Sioux Falls (SD) Arena
April 9 — Rochester (MN) Mayo Civic Arena
April 10 — Madison (WI) Kohl Center
April 11 — Colombia (MO) Mizzou Arena
April 13 — Birmingham (AL) BJCC Arena
April 14 — New Orleans (LA) Arena
April 15 — Mobile (AL) Civic Center Arena
April 17 — Greenville (SC) BI-LO Center
April 19 — Philadelphia (PA) Wachovia Center
April 20 — Hershey (PA) Giant Center
April 21 — Baltimore (MD) 1st Mariner Arena
April 22 — Wilkes Barre (PA) Wachovia Arena

CONTACT: Charles Mercer, President,
Union Label and Service Trades Department
(202) 508-3700

AFL-CIO and UAW File Complaint With UN Protesting Bush Labor Board Denying Teaching and Research Assistants' Freedom to Form Union

The AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers (UAW) today filed a complaint against the United States government with the International Labor Organization (ILO), an agency of the United Nations, alleging that a 2004 decision by the Bush-dominated National Labor Relations Board in the Brown University case violates workers' rights to the freedom of association. The complaint alleges that by denying teaching assistants and research assistants at private universities the right to join unions and engage in collective bargaining, the NLRB has violated workers' rights under internationally recognized core labor standards.

"It's shameful that the Bush Labor Board chose to deny the fundamental freedom to join a union and bargain collectively to those tasked with performing critical research and teaching duties at our nation's finest universities," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said. "We urge the ILO to issue a strong condemnation of this latest attempt by the Bush board to strip working people of the right to come together to bargain with their employers for a better life."

The complaint the AFL-CIO filed today claims that this ruling "violates Graduate Teaching Assistants' fundamental rights" protected in two provisions of ILO Conventions. Convention 87 states that, "Workers and employees, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and to join organizations of their own choosing without previous authorization." Convention 98 states, "Measures appropriate to national conditions shall be taken, where necessary, to encourage and promote the full development and utilization of machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers or employers' organizations and workers' organizations, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreements."

The Brown decision reversed an earlier, unanimous decision by the NLRB in New York University (NYU), which held that teaching and research assistants are employees under the National Labor Relations Act. Employees covered by the Act are entitled to join unions and bargain collectively. The three-person majority in Brown, composed entirely of Bush administration appointees, ruled that teaching assistants and research assistants are not entitled to protection under the National Labor Relations Act because they are also enrolled as students.

The dissent in Brown characterized the majority opinion as "woefully out of touch with contemporary academic reality," in which universities have become increasingly dependent on teaching and research assistants who earn far less in pay than regular faculty members, and receive almost no benefits in order to cut costs.

"Without the work of teaching and research assistants, America's research universities could not function," said Elizabeth Bunn, Secretary-Treasurer of the International Union, UAW. "It's absurd for the National Labor Relations Board to deny them the protections of labor law."

The NYU decision in 2002 led to a historic union contract for teaching and research assistants at NYU who formed GSOC/UAW, an affiliate of the United Auto Workers. This success inspired ongoing organizing efforts at major American universities, including Brown, Columbia, Tufts, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale. Taking advantage of the fact that the NLRB now had a majority of Bush appointees, Brown successfully sought reversal of the Board's earlier ruling in NYU.

At NYU, as a consequence of the Brown decision, the administration has refused to recognize the union or to bargain for a new agreement, but teaching assistants and research assistants continue to wage a campaign for their rights. Teaching and research assistants at a number of private universities are also fighting for their right to engage in collective bargaining despite their current status under U.S. labor law.

Employee Free Choice Act — 10 Key Facts

	America's workers want to form unions. Research shows nearly 60 million would form a union tomorrow if given the chance.
	Too few ever get that chance because employers routinely block their efforts to form unions, and our current legal system is too broken to stop them. As many as one-quarter of employers illegally fire workers who try to form unions.
	The Employee Free Choice Act would give workers a fair chance to form unions to improve their lives by: Allowing them to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation. Providing mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes. Establishing stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.
	In the 110th Congress, the Employee Free Choice Act has widespread support.
	More than three-quarters of Americans — 77 percent — support strong laws that give employees the freedom to make their own choice about whether to have a union in their workplace without interference from management (PDF).
	Allowing working people to choose for themselves whether to have a union is the key step toward rebuilding Americas middle class. Union membership brings better wages and benefits and a real voice on the job (PDF). It's no accident that the 25-year decline in workers wages in our country has paralleled a 25-year slide in the size of the Americas unions.
	The Employee Free Choice Act would put democracy back into the workplace. Majority sign-up would ensure the decision whether to form a union was made by majority choice, not by the employer unilaterally.
	Workers can still vote under the Employee Free Choice Act. At any time, if 30 percent of the workers want an election, they can have one. And once they have a union, workers also vote to elect their union representatives.
	The Employee Free Choice Act has the support of hundreds of respected organizations and individuals, major religious denominations, academics and civil and human rights groups and others.
	The AFL-CIO union movement is working in many ways to restore good jobs, health care and retirement security but passing the Employee Free Choice Act is our top priority because we cannot create balance for working people or rebuild the middle class unless workers genuinely have the freedom to form unions for a better life.

For more information on the Employee Free Choice Act, visit www.employeefreechoiceact.org.

Longevity of Railroad Retirement Beneficiaries

Every three years, the Railroad Retirement Boards Chief Actuary conducts a study of the longevity of its annuitants, as part of a valuation of future revenues and benefit payments. The following questions and answers summarize the results of the most recent longevity study.

1. What were the study's finding on the life expectancy of retired male railroaders?

The most recent data reflected a continued improvement in longevity. Using data through 2003, the study indicated that, on the average, a male railroader retiring at age 60 can be expected to live another 20.7 years, or approximately 248 months. Studies done three, six and nine years ago indicated life expectancies of 20.1, 19.8, and 19.5 years, respectively, for this category of beneficiary. The study also indicated that a male railroader retiring at age 62 can be expected to live another 19 years (228 months), while the previous three studies indicated life expectancies of 18.5, 18.2, and 17.9 years, respectively. A male railroader retiring at age 65 can be expected to live another 16.6 years (approximately 199 months). The previous studies indicated life expectancies of 16.1, 15.8, and 15.5 years, respectively, for this category of beneficiary.

2. How did these life expectancy figures compare to those of disabled annuitants?

As would be expected, disabled annuitants have a shorter average life expectancy, but the difference decreases with age. At age 60, a disabled railroader has an average life expectancy of 15.8 years, or 4.9 years less than a nondisabled male annuitant of the same age; at age 65, a disabled annuitant has an average life expectancy of 3.6 years less than a nondisabled 65-year-old annuitant; and at age 70 the difference is only 2.7 years.

3. Are women still living longer than men?

In general, women still live longer than men. This is shown both in the Railroad Retirement Boards life expectancy studies of male and female annuitants and by other studies of the general United States population.

For example, at age 60 a retired female railroader is expected on the average to live 24.2 years, 3.5 years longer than a retired male railroader of the same age; and at age 65, a retired female railroader is expected on the average to live 19.8 years, 3.2 years longer than her male counterpart. Spouses and widows age 65 have average life expectancies of 20 years and 18.1 years, respectively.

4. Can individuals use life expectancy figures to predict how long they will live?

Life expectancy figures are averages for large groups of people. Any particular individuals lifetime may be much longer or shorter than the life expectancy of his or her age and group.

According to the study, from a group of 1,000 retired male employees at age 65, 915 will live at least 5 years, 774 at least 10 years, 579 at least 15 years, and 352 at least 20 years. Of female age annuitants at age 65, 519 will be alive 20 years later.

5. How do the life expectancies of railroad retirement annuitants compare with those of the general population?

While exact data were not available for direct comparison, data available to the Railroad Retirement Board did not indicate significant differences. The entire longevity study is available on the agency's Web site at www.rrb.gov.

Healthy Families Act Would Ensure Workers Get Paid Sick Leave

by Mike Hall

We've all been there. Maybe it was a raging fever and a churning tummy. Maybe it was you. Maybe it was your son or daughter. Maybe you could call in sick or stay at home to take care of your son or daughter without losing a days wages or maybe even your job.

But that's a big maybe, because nearly half of all private-sector workers don't have a single day of paid sick leave to take care of themselves or a family member. Its even worse for low-income workers: 76 percent have no paid sick days whatsoever. In all, says Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, 86 million workers have no paid sick leave to take care of a sick child.

Ness, along with several other health and family professionals, testified on February 13, 2007, before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pension in support of Sen. Edward Kennedys (D-Mass.) Healthy Families Act. The act would require employers with 15 or more workers to provide seven paid sick leave days a year to take care of themselves or a family member. Says Ness:

"Millions of Americans are being forced to choose between taking care of a sick child or family member and losing a days pay or even losing a job. In a nation that values families, no worker should have to make this impossible choice.

Americans want to be responsible workers and be able to take care of their families. In 78 percent of today's homes, both parents work for pay and a typical couple in America now works close to 90 hours per week. But our policies lag desperately and families are struggling as a result. We can and must do better and we will if we truly value families."

The National Partnership for Women & Families is part of a coalition that includes the AFL-CIO, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, ACORN and other community, faith and women's groups that support Kennedys bill.

Says Kennedy:

"We need workplace laws that let working men and women be responsible parents, too. The world and the workplace are changing, and our laws have to catch up. Paid sick days are the obvious solution to prevent the spread of illnesses and reduce medical costs."

Before the hearing, Elnora Collins, a home care worker from Chicago told reporters about how difficult it is to work without paid sick leave days.

"Its just not right. I've been so sick I can hardly walk and I'm told I have to work or else. I love my job, but everyone gets sick and I cant afford to lose a day of pay."

In November, San Francisco voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative to require employers to provide paid sick leave for workers. Dr. Rajiv Bhatia, the director the city's Department of Public Health's Occupational and Environmental Health agency, says paid sick leave can significantly reduce the spread of infectious diseases and reduce health care costs.

"Paid sick leave is a humane policy, and it is also a practical and cost-effective public health policy to' reduce disease transmission, avoid unnecessary hospitalization and bring health care costs down."

But even as the committee explores the need for paid sick leave, the Bush administration likely is seeking to make it harder for Americas workers to take unpaid leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA provides workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year to care for themselves or their loved ones in the times they need help most.

Big Business long has sought to weaken the FMLA since it was enacted in 1993 after strenuous opposition from corporate interests, and in recent weeks, the Department of Labor opened up FMLA to comments, a move many workers advocates believe is just a first step toward revising the rules to make it harder for workers to take leave.

Click here to read about the attacks on the FMLA and here to read about Working America's campaign to protect the FMLA.

The full testimony of the hearing's witnesses is available at the committee's website.

Have You Had Enough?

Transportation labor strongly endorses the Day of Action (www.17MAY07.org) being organized by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and urges all transportation unions to participate in the May 17, 2007 event in Washington, DC.

For five years transportation workers and their families have been painfully living out the theme of the rally, Enough is Enough. They have been targets of government and corporate efforts to trample worker rights, sell off American jobs, and shortchange transportation safety and security.

Transportation workers and their unions have been leading the fight to defend our homeland through greater security on our rail and transit systems, in our airports and airplanes, and at our seaports. The Bush administrations all talk, no action approach to transportation security chooses photo ops over real results, and many employers put profit ahead of security and safety. Transportation labor must stand up to those who would sacrifice our transportation industry and its workers in the name of greed or political ideology.

The May 17, 2007, Day of Action will demonstrate to our government and business leaders that transportation labor will not sit quietly as the transportation industry is destroyed by misguided federal policies and management incompetence. This mobilization will showcase the strength of transportation labors commitment to our transportation system and to our nation, and the determination shared by transportation unions to reclaim our country from those who seek to erase generations of progress for their own personal gain.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen along with the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO stands with the IAM in saying, Enough is Enough and urges all unions and their members to support and participate in the 2007 Day of Action.

NLC Offers Educational Opportunities

BRS members and others who are interested in union activism and the labor movement and who are interested in pursuing education opportunities in those fields should visit the Web site of the National Labor College (NLC).

The NLC has developed unique programs to satisfy the educational needs of trade union officers and staff members who cannot be served by traditional educational institutions.

The American labor movement has, since its inception, placed a high value on educational opportunity and the NLC embodies this concept by providing working individuals with a place where they can realize their aspirations for higher education in a format which emphasizes both academic excellence and the realities of career and family.

The NLC offers a number of programs, including a rail hazmat training program and degree programs that are tailored to accommodate the schedules of union activists with hectic work schedules.

Reduced tuition and other benefits accrue to members of AFL-CIO affiliated unions, including BRS members.

To find out more about the program offered by the NLC, click on the icon below.

'Union Representation Elections Don't Resemble Anything We Call American'

by James Parks

The United States routinely sends observers to foreign countries to ensure their elections are free and fair. Yet, when it comes to workers who want to form a union in this country, the process is anything but free and fair.

The current system for choosing a union is seriously broken and the best way to fix it is for Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800) says Mary Beth Maxwell, executive director of American Rights At Work, which sponsored a briefing on the bill today for Capitol Hill staff members.

Employer interference is off the charts. Every 23 minutes a person is fired or discriminated against for supporting a union. [Employer] lawlessness is rampant in the workplace. The system is broken and manipulated by employers and there are no meaningful penalties for breaking the law.

The bill was introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the chairman of Education and Labor, and now has 231 co-sponsors, (Click here to see if your representative is a co-sponsor.).

If passed, the Employee Free Choice Act would:

Establish stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.
Provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes.
Allow employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation.

Gordon Lafer, a professor at the University of Oregon who has studied how the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) union representation election process really works, told the staff members the process "resembles what happens in rogue regimes abroad rather than anything we call American."

Even though the process ends in a secret ballot, it is not fair, Lafer told a briefing for Capitol Hill staff members Friday. He compared what happens in union representation elections to the standards the United States sets for what is free and fair in foreign elections and says every aspect of the NLRB process violates U.S. standards of free and fair.

In a report for ARAW, Lafer compares U.S. standards for foreign and domestic elections with the union representation election:

Democratic Election Standard: Each side should have equal access to the media so that competing viewpoints can create an informed electorate.
Union Representation Election: Employees are restricted from openly handing out information. Employers have monopoly control of media in the workplace. Employers can distribute anti-union literature anywhere anytime, while pro-union workers can only post literature in the break area during break time.
Democratic Election Standard: The right should be freedom of speech that allows broad debate of public issues.
Union Representation Election: Employers are allowed to enforce a total ban on employees discussing a proposed union outside the break room. Yet employers can have unrestricted access to employees, including mandatory staff meetings and one-on-one meetings with supervisors.
Democratic Election Standard: Both sides should have equal access to contact and inform voters.
Union Representation Election: Although pro-union workers can contact workers outside the workplace, they cannot have address information for employees until they can document that 30 percent of the workforce wants a union.
Democratic Election Standard: No side should coerce or have undue influence on who a voter supports.
Union Representation Election: Employees are not protected against economic coercion. Employers and supervisors exercise considerable leverage over workers. Generally, they stop short of outright threats or bribes (which are illegal) and instead, are allowed to issue thinly veiled threats like choosing a union may lead the company to lose business or make cutbacks.
Democratic Election Standard: Once the voters make a decision, it should take effect quickly through a system of regular elections and fixed terms of office.
Union Representation Election: If workers vote for a union, they can face infinite delays before their will is carried out. Often the delays, which sometimes take years because employers take full advantage of permissive election guidelines and drag out appeals for years. Also, the laws require that the workplace operate as if the workers did not choose a union during the appeals.
Democratic Election Standard: Campaign finances should be regulated to allow a competitive and level playing field.
Union Representation Election: The law sets no limit on the amount an employer can spend to fight workers choice to form a union. Also, the employer has access to resources the union doesn't such as on-the-clock meetings, use of company property and equipment and converting supervisors to anti-union campaign staff.

For more information on the Employee Free Choice Act, visit www.employeefreechoiceact.org.

Lawmaker Introduces Union-Backed Card Check Bill

On Tuesday, February 6, a senior House Democrat introduced a bill that would allow workers to join a union as soon as a majority of them sign authorization cards.

Click here for the full article.

Act Now to Save Family and Medical Leave

by James Parks

If a member of your family gets sick, you should be able to take time off from work to take care of them without being afraid of losing your job. That's why Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993.

But the Bush administrations Labor Department and Big Business have set their sights on FMLA. Right now, the Labor Department is asking for comments on the law, but many workers advocates believe that is just a first step toward revising the rules to make it harder to take FMLA leave.

The FMLA, for which AFL-CIO unions led the fight, allows employees to balance their work and family life by taking up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a personal illness, the illness of a family member or for a new baby. It was the first piece of legislation President Bill Clinton signed after taking office.

You can act now to save FMLA. Join with Working America, the AFL-CIO community affiliate, to let lawmakers and officials know how important it is for workers to be able to take time to care for a sick family member. Click here to tell your story about what the FMLA has meant to you, and Working America will send the information on to the Labor Department.

Here's what C.J., a Working America member from Pennsylvania, had to say about Family and Medical Leave:

"As a working woman, I have worked for 35 years caring for the elderly. I have raised a son and am now finding that my parents need more time and help with getting to medical appointments. As with many other workers in the same situation, this means missing work to help. We need laws to help us keep our jobs when illness happens."

In an AFL-CIO Point of View guest column last year, former 9to5, National Association of Working Women Director Ellen Bravo wrote:

"Since it was passed in 1993, an estimated 50 million workers have been able to care for a loved one or recover from illness without being fired. At the same time, nearly nine in 10 employers report that the FMLA has had a positive effect or neutral effect on productivity and profits."

In 2005, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other Big Business groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers, launched a campaign to weaken the FMLA.

Michael Eastman, the chambers head of labor policy, said at the time of the campaigns launch:

"Changing FMLA is our No. 1 priority right now in terms of labor issues. Business executives struggle continuously with the laws requirements what conditions qualify as serious, and tracking leave and verifying if its legitimate."

This year, the chamber already has sent out an action alert to its members urging them to send comments to the Labor Department.

Federal Income Tax and Railroad Retirement Benefits

View this document in PDF

The following questions and answers describe the tax statements issued by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) each January for Federal income tax purposes. Railroad retirement beneficiaries needing information about these statements, or tax withholding from their benefits, should contact the nearest office of the RRB. For further Federal income tax information, railroad retirement beneficiaries should contact the nearest office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

1. How are the annuities paid under the Railroad Retirement Act treated under the Federal income tax laws?

A railroad retirement annuity is a single payment comprised of one or more of the following components, depending on the annuitants age, the type of annuity being paid, and eligibility requirements: a Social Security Equivalent Benefit (SSEB) portion of tier I, a Non-Social Security Equivalent Benefit (NSSEB) portion of tier I, a tier II benefit, a vested dual benefit, and a supplemental annuity.

In most cases, part of a railroad retirement annuity is treated like a social security benefit for Federal income tax purposes, while other parts of the annuity are treated like private pensions for tax purposes. Consequently, most annuitants are sent two tax statements from the RRB each January, even though they receive only a single annuity payment each month.

2. Which railroad retirement benefits are treated as social security benefits for Federal income tax purposes?

The SSEB portion of tier I (the part of a railroad retirement annuity equivalent to a social security benefit based on comparable earnings) is treated for Federal income tax purposes the same way as a social security benefit. The amount of these benefits that may be subject to Federal income tax, if any, depends on the beneficiary's income.

If taxable pensions, wages, interest, dividends, and other taxable income, plus tax-exempt interest income, plus half of the amount of the social security equivalent benefit payments exceed:

$25,000 for an individual, $32,000 for a married couple filing jointly, and zero for a married individual who files separately but lived with his or her spouse any part of the year, up to 50 percent of these railroad retirement benefit payments may be considered taxable income;
$34,000 for an individual, $44,000 for a married couple filing jointly, and zero for a married individual who files separately but lived with his or her spouse any part of the year, up to 85 percent of these benefits may be taxable.

3. Which railroad retirement benefits are treated like private pensions for Federal income tax purposes?

The NSSEB portion of tier I, tier II benefits, vested dual benefits, and supplemental annuities are all treated like private pensions for Federal income tax purposes. In some cases, primarily those in which early retirement benefits are payable to retired employees and spouses between ages 60 and 62, and some occupational disability benefits, the entire annuity may be treated like a private pension. This is because social security benefits based on age and service are not payable before age 62 and social security disability benefit entitlement requires total disability.

4. What information is shown on the railroad retirement tax statements sent to annuitants in January?

One statement, the blue and white Form RRB-1099 for U.S. citizens or residents (or black and white Form RRB-1042S for nonresident aliens), shows the SSEB portion of tier I or special minimum guaranty payments made during the tax year, the amount of any such benefits that an annuitant may have repaid to the RRB during the tax year, and the net amount of these payments after subtracting the repaid amount. The amount of any offset for workers' compensation and the amount of Federal income tax withheld from these payments are also shown. Illustrations and explanations of items found on Form RRB-1099 and Form RRB-1042S can be found in IRS Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits.

The other statement, the green and white Form RRB-1099-R (for both U.S. citizens and nonresident aliens), shows the NSSEB portion of tier I, tier II, vested dual benefit, and supplemental annuity paid to the annuitant during the tax year, as well as the employee contributions amount. The NSSEB portion of tier I along with tier II are considered contributory pension amounts and are shown as a single combined amount in the Contributory Amount Paid box item (Item 4) on the statement. The vested dual benefit and supplemental annuity are considered noncontributory pension amounts and are shown as separate box items on the statement. Also shown is the amount of Federal income tax withheld from these payments. In addition, the statement shows the amount of any of these prior year benefits repaid by the annuitant to the RRB during the tax year, but this amount is not subtracted from the gross amounts shown because its treatment depends on the years to which the repayment applies and its taxability in those years. To determine the year or years to which the repayment applies, annuitants should contact the RRB. Illustrations and explanations of items found on Form RRB-1099-R can be found in IRS Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income.

If the annuitant is taxed as a nonresident alien of the United States, Form RRB-1042S and/or Form RRB-1099-R will show the rate of tax withholding (0%, 15% or 30%) and country of permanent residence.

The total Part B Medicare premiums deducted from the railroad retirement annuity may also be shown on either Form RRB-1099 (Form RRB-1042S for nonresident aliens) or Form RRB-1099-R.

The statements also include the annuitants name, current mailing address, RRB claim number and payee code, United States taxpayer identifying number (social security number or individual taxpayer identification number or employer identification number), detailed explanations of all the items on the statements, and the toll-free telephone numbers and Web site addresses of the RRB, the IRS, and the Social Security Administration.

Copy B and/or Copy 2 of Form RRB-1099-R must be submitted with the annuitants tax return. Annuitants should retain copy C of all statements for their records, especially if they may be required to verify their income in connection with other Government programs.

5. What is the significance of the employee contributions amount?

For railroad retirement annuitants, the employee contributions amount is considered the amount of railroad retirement payroll taxes paid by the employee that exceeds the amount that would have been paid in social security taxes if the employees railroad service had been covered under the Social Security Act. The employee contributions amount is referred to by the IRS as an employees investment, or cost, in the contract. Employee contributions are not a payment or income received during the tax year. Only employee and survivor annuitants have an employee contributions amount shown in Item 3 of their Form RRB-1099-R.

The contributory amount paid (NSSEB portion of tier I and/or tier II) is considered income and is reported to the IRS. The contributory amount paid is either fully taxable or partially taxable depending on whether the employee contribution amount has been used to compute a tax-free (nontaxable) portion of the contributory amount paid. If no employee contribution amount is shown on Form RRB-1099-R, then the contributory amount paid is fully taxable.

The use and recovery of the employee contributions amount is important for annuitants since it affects the amount of taxable income to be reported on income tax returns for a tax year. There is a tax savings advantage in using (recovering) employee contributions since it may reduce the taxability of the contributory amount paid and in turn the amount of taxable income.

Annuitants should refer to IRS Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income, and Publication 939, General Rule for Pensions and Annuities, for more information concerning the tax treatment of the contributory amount paid (see items 6 and 7 below) and use of the employee contributions amount.

6. If an employee contribution amount is shown on my Form RRB-1099-R, may I use the entire amount?

The employee contribution amount shown is attributable to the railroad account number. This means that the employee contribution amount must be shared by all eligible annuitants under that same railroad account number.

If an employee contribution amount is shown on your Form RRB-1099-R and your annuity beginning date is July 2, 1986, or later, you are an eligible annuitant who may use some or all of the employee contribution amount shown to compute the nontaxable (tax-free) amount of your contributory amount paid. Therefore, your contributory amount paid and total gross paid shown on your Form RRB-1099-R may be partially taxable.

If an employee contribution amount is not shown on your Form RRB-1099-R, you are not an eligible annuitant and you cannot use or share the employee contribution amount. Therefore, your contributory amount paid and total gross paid shown on your Form RRB 1099-R are fully taxable.

When more than one annuitant is or was entitled to a contributory amount paid under the same railroad account number, any eligible annuitant may not use the entire employee contribution amount shown on their Form RRB-1099-R for themselves. They must first determine the amount of the total employee contribution amount they are individually entitled to use. That means determining:

The portion of the total employee contribution amount still potentially available for use, and
The portion of that amount that must be shared by those eligible annuitants currently receiving contributory amounts paid.

7. How are contributory and noncontributory pension amounts taxed?

Amounts shown on Form RRB-1099-R are treated like private pensions and taxed either as contributory pension amounts or as noncontributory pension amounts. The NSSEB portion of tier I and tier II (shown as the contributory amount paid on the statement) are contributory pension amounts. Contributory pension amounts may be fully taxable or partially taxable depending on the presence and use (recovery) of the employee contribution amount. Vested dual benefits and supplemental annuities are considered noncontributory pension amounts. Noncontributory pension amounts are always fully taxable and do not involve the use of the employee contribution amount.

For annuitants with annuity beginning dates before July 2, 1986, the contributory amount paid is fully taxable. These annuitants cannot use the employee contribution amount, even if the amount is shown on Form RRB-1099-R, to compute a nontaxable amount of their contributory amount paid because their employee contribution amount has been fully recovered. Since the contributory amount paid is fully taxable, the total gross pension paid in Item 7 of Form RRB-1099-R is fully taxable.

For annuitants with annuity beginning dates from July 2, 1986, through December 31, 1986, the contributory amount paid is partially nontaxable for the life of the annuitant. These annuitants may use some or all of the employee contribution amount to compute the nontaxable amount of their contributory amount paid. Once that nontaxable amount is computed, it does not need to be recomputed and can be used for each tax year unless there is a change in the employee contribution amount, annuity beginning date, date of birth used to determine life expectancy, or the number of eligible annuitants receiving contributory amounts paid. Therefore, the total gross pension paid in Item 7 of Form RRB-1099-R may be partially taxable.

For annuitants with annuity beginning dates effective January 1, 1987, and later, the contributory amount paid is partially nontaxable for a specified period of time based on life expectancy as determined by IRS actuarial tables. These annuitants may use some or all of the employee contribution amount to compute the nontaxable amount of their contributory amount paid. Once that nontaxable amount is computed, it does not need to be recomputed and can be used for each tax year unless there is a change in the employee contribution amount, annuity beginning date, date of birth used to determine life expectancy, or the number of eligible annuitants receiving contributory amounts paid. Therefore, the total gross pension paid in Item 7 of Form RRB-1099-R may be partially taxable. However, once the specified life expectancy is met, the employee contribution amount is considered fully used up, and the contributory amount paid and total gross pension paid are now fully taxable.

The contributory amounts paid of disabled employee annuitants under minimum retirement age are fully taxable and these annuitants cannot use the employee contribution amount. Therefore, the total gross pension paid in Item 7 of Form RRB-1099-R is fully taxable. (Minimum retirement age is generally the age at which individuals could retire based on age and service, which is age 60 with 30 or more years of railroad service or age 62 with less than 30 years of railroad service.) However, once the disabled employee annuitant reaches minimum retirement age, the annuitant may use the employee contribution amount shown on Form RRB-1099-R to compute the nontaxable amount of his or her contributory amount paid.

The RRB does not calculate the nontaxable amount of the contributory amount paid for annuitants. Annuitants should contact the IRS or their own tax preparer for assistance in calculating the nontaxable amount of their contributory amount paid. For more information on the tax treatment of the contributory amount paid, vested dual benefits, supplemental annuities, the employee contributions amount, and how to use the IRS actuarial tables, annuitants should refer to IRS Publication 939, General Rule for Pensions and Annuities, and IRS Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income.

8. Does Form RRB-1099-R show the taxable amount of any contributory railroad retirement benefits or just the total amount of such benefits paid during the tax year?

Since 1993 (tax year 1992), Form RRB-1099-R shows the total amount of any contributory railroad retirement benefits (NSSEB and tier II) paid during the tax year. The RRB does not calculate the taxable amounts. It is up to the annuitant to determine the taxable and nontaxable (tax-free) amounts of the contributory amount paid using the employee contributions amount.

9. Can an employees contributions amount change?

Yes. The employee contributions amount shown on Form RRB-1099-R is based on the latest railroad service and earnings information available on the RRBs records. Railroad service and earnings information (and the corresponding employee contributions amount) often changes in the first year after an employee retires from railroad service. That is when the employees final railroad service and earnings information is furnished to the RRB by his or her employer. As a result, the employee contributions amount shown on the most recent Form RRB-1099-R may have increased or decreased from a previously-issued Form RRB-1099-R.

Any change in an employee contributions amount is fully retroactive to the railroad retirement annuity beginning date. Therefore, the nontaxable amount of the contributory amount paid should be recomputed. This could affect the taxable amounts reported to the IRS on prior income tax returns. Generally, an increase in the employee contributions amount is advantageous, as it will yield a larger tax-free amount. However, a decrease in the employee contributions amount may be disadvantageous since it may result in an increased tax liability. In any case, annuitants should determine if any change in their employee contributions amount would require them to file original or amended Federal income tax returns for prior tax years.

10. What if a person receives social security as well as railroad retirement benefits?

Railroad retirement annuitants who also received social security benefits during the tax year receive a Form SSA-1099 (or Form SSA-1042S if they are nonresident aliens) from the Social Security Administration. They should add the net social security equivalent or special guaranty amount shown on Form RRB-1099 (or Form RRB-1042S) to the net social security income amount shown on Form SSA-1099 (or Form SSA-1042S) to get the correct total amount of these benefits. They should then enter this total on the Social Security Benefits Worksheet in the instructions for Form 1040 or 1040A to determine if part of their social security and railroad retirement social security equivalent benefits is taxable income.

Additional information on the taxability of these benefits can be found in IRS Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits.

11. Are the residual lump sums, lump-sum death payments or separation allowance lump-sum amounts paid by the RRB subject to Federal income tax?

No. These amounts are nontaxable and are not subject to Federal income tax. The RRB does not report these amounts on statements.

12. Are Federal income taxes withheld from railroad retirement annuities?

Yes, and the amounts withheld are shown on the statements issued by the RRB each year. However, an annuitant may request that Federal income taxes not be withheld, unless the annuitant is a nonresident alien or a U.S. citizen living outside the United States.

Annuitants can voluntarily choose to have Federal income tax withheld from their SSEB payments. To do so, they must complete IRS Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request, and send it to the RRB. They can choose withholding from their SSEB payments at the following rates: 7 percent, 10 percent, 15 percent, or 25 percent.

Annuitants who wish to have Federal income taxes withheld from their NSSEB and tier II (contributory amount paid), vested dual benefit, and supplemental annuity payments must complete a tax withholding election on Form RRB W-4P, Withholding Certificate For Railroad Retirement Payments, and send it to the RRB. An annuitant is not required to file Form RRB W-4P. If that form is not filed, the RRB will withhold taxes only if the combined portions of the NSSEB and tier II (contributory amount paid), vested dual benefit and supplemental annuity payments are equal to or greater than $1,521.99. In that case, the RRB withholds taxes as if the annuitant were married and claiming three allowances.

13. How is tax withholding applied to the railroad retirement benefits of nonresident aliens?

A nonresident alien is a person who is neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States. Under the Internal Revenue Code, nonresident aliens are subject to a 30-percent tax on income from sources within the United States not connected to a U.S. trade or business. The 30-percent rate applies to all annuity payments exceeding social security equivalent payments and to 85 percent of the annuity portion treated as a social security benefit. The Code also requires the RRB to withhold the tax. The tax can be at a rate lower than 30 percent or can be eliminated entirely if a tax treaty between the United States and the country of residence provides such an exemption, and the nonresident alien completes and sends Form RRB-1001, Nonresident Questionnaire, to the RRB. Form RRB-1001 secures citizenship, residency and tax treaty claim information for nonresident beneficiaries (nonresident aliens or U.S. citizens residing outside the United States).

Form RRB-1001 is sent by the RRB to nonresident aliens every three years to renew the claim for a tax treaty exemption. Failure by a nonresident alien to complete Form RRB-1001 will cause loss of the exemption until the exemption is renewed. Such renewals have no retroactivity. Also, a nonresident alien must include his or her United States taxpayer identifying number on Form RRB-1001. Otherwise, any tax treaty exemption claimed on the form is not valid. The majority of nonresident aliens receiving annuities from the RRB are citizens of Canada, which has a tax treaty with the United States.

If a Canadian citizen claims an exemption under the tax treaty, no tax is withheld from the annuity portion equivalent to a social security benefit and a withholding rate of only 15 percent is applied to those annuity payments exceeding social security equivalent payments.

Additional information concerning the taxation of nonresident aliens can be found in IRS Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

14. Are unemployment benefits paid under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act subject to Federal income tax?

All unemployment benefit payments are subject to Federal income tax. Each January the RRB sends Form 1099-G to individuals, showing the total amount of railroad unemployment benefits paid during the previous year.

15. Are sickness benefits paid by the RRB subject to Federal income tax?

Sickness benefits paid by the RRB, except for sickness benefits paid for on-the-job injuries, are subject to Federal income tax under the same limitations and conditions that apply to the taxation of sick pay received by workers in other industries. Each January the RRB sends Form W-2 to affected beneficiaries. This form shows the amount of sickness benefits that each beneficiary should include in his or her taxable income.

16. Does the Board withhold Federal income tax from unemployment and sickness benefits?

The RRB withholds Federal income tax from unemployment and sickness benefits only if requested to do so by the beneficiary. A beneficiary can request withholding of 10 percent of his or her unemployment benefits by filing Form W-4V with the Board. A beneficiary can request withholding from sickness benefits by filing Form W-4S.

17. Are railroad retirement and railroad unemployment and sickness benefits paid by the RRB subject to State income taxes?

The Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts specifically exempt these benefits from State income taxes.

18. Can a railroad employee claim a tax credit on his or her Federal income tax return if the employer withheld excess railroad retirement taxes during the year?

If any one railroad employer withheld more than the annual maximum amount, the employee must ask that employer to refund the excess. It cannot be claimed on the employee's return.

19. Can a railroad employee working two jobs during the year get a tax credit if excess retirement payroll taxes were withheld by the employers?

Railroad employees who also worked for a non-railroad social security covered employer in the same year may, under certain circumstances, receive a tax credit equivalent to any excess social security taxes withheld.

Employees who worked for two or more railroads during the year, or who had tier I taxes withheld from their RRB sickness benefits in addition to their railroad earnings, may be eligible for a tax credit of any excess tier I or tier II railroad retirement taxes withheld. The amount of tier I taxes withheld from sickness benefits paid by the RRB is shown on Form W-2 issued to affected beneficiaries. Employees who had tier I taxes withheld from their supplemental sickness benefits may also be eligible for a tax credit of any excess tier I tax.

Such tax credits may be claimed on an employee's Federal income tax return.

Employees who worked for two or more railroads, received sickness benefits, or had both railroad retirement and social security taxes withheld from their earnings should see IRS Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, for information on how to figure any excess railroad retirement or social security tax withheld.

For more information on Railroad Retirement, visit the Railroad Retirement Board's website.

Union Plus Scholarship Deadline — January 31, 2007

Reminder! All completed Union Plus Scholarship applications for 2007 must be postmarked by January 31, 2007.

Union members, including their children, can download the Union Plus Scholarship application at www.UnionPlus.org/Scholarship.

Outrage, Part 2: Kennedy Blasts Senate Republican Minimum Wage Delays

by Mike Hall

With their amendments and delays, Republican senators this week have tied up a minimum wage increase in more knots than you can find in a scouting handbook.

Maybe what they're telling minimum wage workers is, Don't get pushy, its just $2.10 and you've waited 10 years. What's another few weeks or months while we try to find a few extra billion for your bosses.

For 10 years when they controlled the agenda, Republican leaders used all their power to block a raise in the minimum wage. Now, after the new Democratic-controlled House passed with bipartisan support a simple $2.10-an-hour increase to the $5.15-an-hour minimum wage, out-of-power Republican Senate leaders are running a guerilla war of delay with filibusters and amendments to deny minimum wage workers a raise. They even tried to repeal the federal minimum wage Wednesday.

Late yesterday afternoon, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) had it up to here. Kennedy lashed out at the Republican-led fight against raising the minimum wage unless the bill is filled with a multibillion pay-off to corporations or anti-worker poison pills.

Here's Kennedy in his own words.

"Mr. President, $276 billion in tax breaks for corporations, $36 billion in tax breaks for small businesses, increase in productivity of 29 percent over the last 10 years, but do you think there is any increase in the minimum wage? No. Five days on the floor of the Senate we have considered immigration issues, as we have now. We have considered Social Security issues. We have considered health issues. We are considering education issues. We are considering additional kinds of tax breaks for wealthy corporations. But do we hear from the other side a willingness, as this side is willing at this moment, at 12 after 5 today, on Thursday? I speak for all of our Democratic members and say we are prepared to vote now, now, in 10 minutes, 15 minutes on this issue.

But no, as we have seen for the last five days no, no, we have other amendments, Senator. We have other amendments to offer.

What is the price, we ask the other side? What is the price you want from these working men and women? What cost? How much more do we have to give to the private sector and to business? How many billion dollars more are you asking, are you requiring? When does the greed stop, we ask the other side.

That is the question and that is the issue, make no mistake about it. They have on the Republican side 70 more amendments, 70 more amendments. We have none. We are prepared to vote now. Seventy more amendments. Oh, yes. We want an increase in the minimum wage, we want this, we want that, but silence over there, or lets have some other kinds of amendments that have virtually nothing to do with this. Do you have such disdain for hard-working Americans that you want to pile all your amendments on this? Why don't you just hold your amendments for other pieces of legislation? Why this volume of amendments on just the issue to try to raise the minimum wage? What is it about it that drives you Republicans crazy? What is it? Something. Something. Are you going to require us to have a cloture vote next week? I can see it already: Amendments that have already been filed that are going to be related in case we do get cloture to delay this even further.

What is the price workers have to pay to get an increase? What is it about working men and women that you find so offensive that you wont permit even a vote, denying the Senate of the United States the opportunity to express ourselves? This is filibuster by delay and amendments. I have been around here long enough to know it when I see it and smell it. That is what it looks like, that is what it is, make no mistake about it. Make no mistake about it. And it just puzzles me. It really does.

Well, hopefully the American people are going to understand about who is delaying, who is opposing, who is using every kind of parliamentary tactic known to every possible Parliamentarian to delay action on the increase in the minimum wage. It lies right at the feet of the Republican leadership. Make no mistake about it. Make no mistake about it. An amendment here, an amendment there, an amendment on Social Security, an amendment on immigration, and the chortling and the laughing as they go on about their business.

Well, for those millions of Americans who are headed home tonight, after having worked long and hard, to face their children and hoping that at least, after the House of Representatives voted, with 80 Republicans who voted for an increase in the minimum wage, certainly the Senate of the United States isn't going to fail us, what do we tell them after five days? And $200 billion more in tax cuts here, $35 billion more in tax cuts there, $8 billion more in tax cuts for HSAs. How many more billions of dollars do we have to give you, Mr. Republican? How many more dollars do we have to give you to get an increase in the minimum wage? It is shocking. It is disgraceful. But hopefully working families across this country are going to see it for what is."

# # #

Now is a good time to contact your Senator and urge him to pass a clean minimum wage bill.

Tell Congress: Pass a clean minimum wage increase.

28 Senators Vote to Repeal Minimum Wage. 2008 Elections, Anyone?

by Mike Hall

Maybe in 1938, the idea of a federal minimum wage was controversial. But not so much so that a majority of the House and Senate couldn't approve the Fair Labor Standards Act that set the federal minimum wage at 25 cents an hour.

So in 2007, how can anyone with a shred of common sense, let alone an ounce of empathy for men and women who bust their tails day in and day out for $5.15 an hour, say its time to scrap the federal minimum wage?

Yesterday, 69 years after the minimum wage was first established, 28 U.S. senators did just that when they voted yes on an amendment from Colorado Republican Wayne Allard that would have scrapped the federal minimum wage. (Click here to see the 28 senators who voted for the Allard amendment. They should be ashamed of themselves and if they are your lawmakers, let them know how wrong they were.)

We're not making this up. Here's what Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) had to say about the Allard amendment that was offered to the Senate bill (S. 2) to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour:

"On the Allard amendment, members should understand what the effect of the Allard amendment is, and that is effectively to repeal the minimum wage for any states among the 50 states. That effectively is what the Allard amendment does."

Allard hid the repeal behind the state flexibility mask, claiming states should be allowed to set their own rates, without a federal floor, because of different costs of living and differing economies. The amendment would nullify the federal minimum wage standard in the 45 states that have their own minimum wage law, and allow the five states that don't Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee to opt-out of any federal minimum wage increase by passing a minimum wage law providing at least $5.15 an hour.

As if speaking to reluctant Depression-era lawmakers wary of federal intrusion on the states, Kennedy explained the reason for a minimum wage floor:

"The concept of the minimum wage was that it was going to be a minimum payment, a minimum standard. What was accepted at the time of the minimum wage is that in this country, we didn't want to accelerate a rush to the bottom so that we would have competition in the various states to pay the lowest possible wages — sweat labor — in order to try to attract industries into those particular States, but to provide a minimum standard."

Here in the 21st century, that simple reasoning just didn't penetrate the skulls of 28 U.S. senators who by the way make $165,200 a year and almost annually vote to give themselves a pay raise.

Meanwhile, after 43 Republican senators yesterday maneuvered to kill a clean minimum wage bill with no tax giveaways to business, debate continues today on another Senate minimum wage bill that includes business tax cuts and other giveaways. A final vote likely wont take place until next week.

Senators who voted for Allard Amendment to scrap the federal minimum wage:

Alexander (R-TN)	Cornyn (R-TX)	Inhofe (R-OK)
Allard (R-CO)	Craig (R-ID)	Isakson (R-GA)
Bennett (R-UT)	Crapo (R-ID)	Kyl (R-AZ)
Bond (R-MO)	DeMint (R-SC)	Lott (R-MS)
Brownback (R-KS)	Ensign (R-NV)	McCain (R-AZ)
Bunning (R-KY)	Enzi (R-WY)	McConnell (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)	Graham (R-SC)	Sununu (R-NH)
Chambliss (R-GA)	Gregg (R-NH)	Thomas (R-WY)
Coburn (R-OK)	Hagel (R-NE)
Cochran (R-MS)	Hatch (R-UT)

Your Access to Free Credit Reports

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the files of the nations consumer reporting companies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nations consumer protection agency, enforces the FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

Here are the details about your rights under the FCRA and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, which established the free annual credit report program.

Q: How do I order my free report?

A: The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up a central website, a toll-free telephone number, and a mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.

To order, visit annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. The form is on the back of this brochure; or you can print it from ftc.gov/credit. Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only through annualcreditreport.com, 1-877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from each of the companies one at a time. The law allows you to order one free copy of your report from each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every 12 months.

A Warning About Imposter Websites

Only one website is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law: annualcreditreport.com. Other websites that claim to offer free credit reports, free credit scores, or free credit monitoring are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases, the free product comes with strings attached. For example, some sites sign you up for a supposedly free service that converts to one you have to pay for after a trial period. If you don't cancel during the trial period, you may be unwittingly agreeing to let the company start charging fees to your credit card.

Some imposter sites use terms like free report in their names; others have URLs that purposely misspell annualcreditreport.com in the hope that you will mistype the name of the official site. Some of these imposter sites direct you to other sites that try to sell you something or collect your personal information.

Annualcreditreport.com and the nationwide consumer reporting companies will not send you an email asking for your personal information. If you get an email, see a pop-up ad, or get a phone call from someone claiming to be from annualcreditreport.com or any of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, do not reply or click on any link in the message. Its probably a scam. Forward any such email to the FTC at spam@uce.gov.

Q: What information do I need to provide to get my free report?

A: You need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. If you have moved in the last two years, you may have to provide your previous address. To maintain the security of your file, each nationwide consumer reporting company may ask you for some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment. Each company may ask you for different information because the information each has in your file may come from different sources.

Q: Why do I want a copy of my credit report?

A: Your credit report has information that affects whether you can get a loan and how much you will have to pay to borrow money. You want a copy of your credit report to:

Make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date before you apply for a loan for a major purchase like a house or car, buy insurance, or apply for a job.
Help guard against identity theft. That's when someone uses your personal information like your name, your Social Security number, or your credit card number to commit fraud. Identity thieves may use your information to open a new credit card account in your name. Then, when they don't pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Inaccurate information like that could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job.

Q: How long does it take to get my report after I order it?

A: If you request your report online at annualcreditreport.com, you should be able to access it immediately. If you order your report by calling toll-free 1-877-322-8228, your report will be processed and mailed to you within 15 days. If you order your report by mail using the Annual Credit Report Request Form, your request will be processed and mailed to you within 15 days of receipt.

Whether you order your report online, by phone, or by mail, it may take longer to receive your report if the nationwide consumer reporting company needs more information to verify your identity.

There also may be times when the nationwide consumer reporting companies receive a high volume of requests for credit reports. If that happens, you may be asked to re-submit your request. Or, you may be told that your report will be mailed to you sometime after 15 days from your request. If either of these events occurs, the nationwide consumer reporting companies will let you know.

Q: Are there any other situations where I might be eligible for a free report?

A: Under federal law, you're entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action against you such as denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment and you ask for your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. The notice will give you the name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting company. You're also entitled to one free report a year if you're unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; if you're on welfare; or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft. Otherwise, a consumer reporting company may charge you up to $9.50 for another copy of your report within a 12-month period.

To buy a copy of your report, contact:

Equifax 800-685-1111 www.equifax.com

Experian 888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742) www.experian.com

Trans Union 800-916-8800 www.transunion.com

Under state law, consumers in Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont already have free access to their credit reports.

Q: Should I order a report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies?

A: It's up to you. Because nationwide consumer reporting companies get their information from different sources, the information in your report from one company may not reflect all, or the same, information in your reports from the other two companies. That's not to say that the information in any of your reports is necessarily inaccurate; it just may be different.

Q: Should I order my reports from all three of the nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time?

A: You may order one, two, or all three reports at the same time, or you may stagger your requests. It's your choice. Some financial advisors say staggering your requests during a 12-month period may be a good way to keep an eye on the accuracy and completeness of the information in your reports.

Q: What if I find errors either inaccuracies or incomplete information in my credit report?

A: Under the FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider (that is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a consumer reporting company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To take full advantage of your rights under this law, contact the consumer reporting company and the information provider.

Tell the consumer reporting company, in writing, what information you think is inaccurate.

Consumer reporting companies must investigate the items in question usually within 30 days unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all the relevant data you provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the information. After the information provider receives notice of a dispute from the consumer reporting company, it must investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the consumer reporting company. If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide consumer reporting companies so they can correct the information in your file.

When the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company must give you the written results and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. (This free report does not count as your annual free report under the FACT Act.) If an item is changed or deleted, the consumer reporting company cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. The consumer reporting company also must send you written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the information provider.
Tell the creditor or other information provider in writing that you dispute an item. Many providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider reports the item to a consumer reporting company, it must include a notice of your dispute. And if you are correct that is, if the information is found to be inaccurate the information provider may not report it again.

Q: What can I do if the consumer reporting company or information provider wont correct the information I dispute?

A: If an investigation doesn't resolve your dispute with the consumer reporting company, you can ask that a statement of the dispute be included in your file and in future reports. You also can ask the consumer reporting company to provide your statement to anyone who received a copy of your report in the recent past. You can expect to pay a fee for this service.

If you tell the information provider that you dispute an item, a notice of your dispute must be included any time the information provider reports the item to a consumer reporting company.

Q: How long can a consumer reporting company report negative information?

A: A consumer reporting company can report most accurate negative information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years. There is no time limit on reporting information about criminal convictions; information reported in response to your application for a job that pays more than $75,000 a year; and information reported because you've applied for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance. Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer.

Q: Can anyone else can get a copy of my credit report?

A: The FCRA specifies who can access your credit report. Creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use the information in your report to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home are among those that have a legal right to access your report.

Q: Can my employer get my credit report?

A: Your employer can get a copy of your credit report only if you agree. A consumer reporting company may not provide information about you to your employer, or to a prospective employer, without your written consent.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

U.S. Department of Transportation Proposes to Require Railroads to Route Hazardous Materials Based on Range of Safety and Security Factors

Railroad companies would be required to perform a safety and security risk analysis to determine the most appropriate route for shipping hazardous materials as part of a new proposal announced today by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters.

The Secretary said the notice of proposed rulemaking, issued by the Department of Transportations Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), would make shipments of certain high-risk hazardous materials, including explosives, radioactive substances and toxic-inhalation risk materials, more safe and secure by adding to and strengthening existing federal regulations.

These materials are fueling our economy and vital to the prosperity of our nation, which is exactly why we want to establish a clear and stronger baseline for determining the safest, most secure way to move them by rail, Secretary Peters said, noting that the type and quantity of hazardous materials covered by the proposed rule present the greatest potential safety and security risks.

Under the proposed rule, rail carriers would be required to compile annual data clearly identifying route segments and the total number and type of hazardous materials shipments transported over each route and use the information to analyze the safety and security risks present on each route. Railroads would then be required to use this data to select the route that provides the highest possible degree of safety and security.

We want to leave nothing to chance when it comes to the safety and security of the communities that are close to railroad tracks, Secretary Peters said.

Secretary Peters added that the proposed rule would require shippers to develop consistent plans for safely and securely storing hazardous materials while en route, and ensure that within a specified time period a rail carrier informs the final recipient that it has delivered a hazardous materials rail car.

The Departments proposal was developed in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which also issued proposed rules designed to address a range of rail hazardous materials transport security issues. The TSAs proposal would, among other things, require rail carriers and certain facilities to report the location and provide information about hazardous materials shipments to TSA upon request.

Public comments on the DOT proposal will be accepted until February 20, 2007. A copy of the notice is available on the DOT web site at www.phmsa.dot.gov.

Conscientious Consumers Tell Merchants: Stock Union-Made Items for the Holidays!

Workers will distribute "Buy Union Week" certificates to store owners and shop keepers throughout the country this fall, urging that union-made goods and services be widely available to holiday shoppers this year.

"I urge you to stock your shelves with Union-Made Goods and offer Union-Provided Services," the certificates say. "I want to spend my hard-earned shopping dollars to keep the very best jobs here in our community."

"Millions of people want to support good jobs by purchasing union-made items for the holidays, but the merchants need to hear from them," explains Charles Mercer, president of the Union Label and Service Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

"Shoppers will spend more than $60 billion during the winter holidays and it is vital to working families and to America that union-made goods and services are readily available for purchase," Mercer adds.

The AFL-CIO has designated the ten busiest shopping days of the year, starting the day after Thanksgiving, November 24th to December 3rd, as "Buy Union Week." Materials, information and product lists are available on the UL&STD website (unionlabel.org), featuring exclusively union-made goods and services in scores of categories, from books, clothing and computers to sports equipment, shoes and wrapping paper.

"Last holiday season, businesses listed on the Union Labels websites reported an average ten-fold rise in web traffic and a noticeable surge in sales. We plan to do even better this year," Mercer said.

Buy Union Week Enables Union Families to Focus Their Holiday Shopping on Union Goods/Services

For the third year in a row, Americas union families will focus their holiday purchases on union-made goods and union-provided services to observe "Buy Union Week" November 24th through December 3rd during Americas busiest shopping season.

The AFL-CIO Convention last year designated the 10-days following Thanksgiving as "Buy Union Week" as a means of harnessing the considerable buying power of union wages. Delegates to that convention, unanimously adopted a resolution setting that time aside and urging affiliates to use "all available means" to promote the purchase of union-made goods and services.

In 2006 consumers will spend upwards of $60 billion for holiday gifts. Much of that money is earmarked for apparel, computer and related equipment, consumer electronics and books according to government sources and commercial polling firms. There are union-made, competitively priced sources for all of the items on the typical shoppers wish list.

"Yes, it gets harder every day to seek out union products and services. Its a moving target with some goods that were produced here last month bearing a "Made in China" label this month," conceded UL&STD President Charles Mercer. However, he added, "it does make a difference when union families tell merchants they want to see a union label before they buy."

In 2006, as in previous years, the Department is circulating certificates for shoppers to leave with merchants saying: "I shop for union goods because I care about America." Copies of the certificates can be downloaded from the Union Label website (unionlabel.org) or from State Federations or Central Labor Councils.

A Message to Union Retirees

by George J. Kourpias

I joined a union the Machinists union in 1952. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I've been fortunate to serve in a number of different positions in labor and government over the years, but there is no title that has ever meant more to me than being called Brother.

The labor movement built the middle class in this country. We have made great strides toward justice on the job and in our communities. We have so much to be proud of.

But unfortunately, the story hasn't been that good lately. Union retirees are seeing what we built begin to crumble. Good jobs sent overseas. Pensions and health care vanish in the blink of an eye. Big corporations walk away from their commitments to workers and retirees knowing that the government wont stand in their way.

As retirees, we worry about what we are leaving behind for our children and grandchildren.

On November 7, we can begin to change this. The entire U.S. House of Representatives, one-third of the United States Senate, and 36 of our governors must go before the voters.

November 7 shouldn't be just Election Day. It should be Judgment Day.

It was the politicians who got us into a lot of these messes, and now we need some new ones to get us out of them.

Here are two reasons why each and every union retiree should vote on November 7:

First, we need to save Social Security. President Bush and Republicans in Congress say they want to reform Social Security next year. But here's the problem: their privatization scheme would gamble your Social Security on the whims of the stock market. For you, it would be big risk. For those on Wall Street, it would be big profit.

And second, we need to fix Medicare. Seven million seniors are falling into what is known as the donut hole where they pay full price for their prescriptions, at the same time they pay full monthly premiums. And meanwhile, the big drug companies and insurers keep making record profits from this new Medicare law.

Congress created this Medicare mess, but they refuse to fix it. We need leaders in Washington who will fill in the donut hole and force Medicare to negotiate bulk discounts with the drug companies so your prescriptions cost less and we save taxpayer dollars.

I realize I've painted a pretty bleak picture of where we are today. But why do I have hope? What do I think we should do?

The answer, my brothers and sisters, is a four-letter word: VOTE.

On November 7, a retiree's place is in the voting booth.

George J. Kourpias, a former International President of the International Association of Machinists, is currently serving his second term as President of the Alliance for Retired Americans, an advocacy organization representing over three million retirees from labor and community groups. For more information, visit www.retiredamericans.org or call 1-888-633-4435.

They Use Us — Then Abuse Us

How Rail Labor Has Aided Railroads Over the Years

Rail Labor support of railroads on Capitol Hill has generated for freight railroads literally tens of billions of dollars in cash infusions, cumulative cash savings, loans, and loan guarantees. Here is a listing of some of the major beneficial rail legislation passed by Congress with Rail Labors support. Without Rail Labor support, virtually none of these bills would have become law.

Rail Labor supported passage of the Transportation Act of 1958, which provided $500 million in loan guarantees, railroad capital expenditures and maintenance. The Interstate Commerce Commission said in its 1963 annual report that without those loan guarantees, eastern railroads would not have survived.
Rail Labor supported passage of the Emergency Rail Services Act of 1970, which authorized federal loan guarantees of up to $200 million for bankrupt railroads to use for essential operations.
Rail Labor provided crucial support in Congress for creation of Amtrak in 1971, through passage of the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970. This legislation allowed freight railroads to get out of the money-losing railroad passenger business. The Interstate Commerce Commission estimated that railroads lost $1 billion operating passenger trains between 1967 and 1970.
Rail Labor supported passage of the Regional Rail Reorganization (3-R) Act of 1973, which authorized $1 billion in federal loan guarantees, $559 million in direct grants, and $85 million in operating subsidies for bankrupt railroads.
Rail Labor provided support for passage of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform (4-R) Act of 1976, which authorized $2.1 billion in federal loans to Conrail; $1.6 billion in federal loans and loan guarantees to other financially weak railroads for plant and equipment purchases and track rehabilitation; and $360 million in branch line subsidies. The 4-R Act opened the door to greater rail ratemaking freedom and, for the first time, imposed a time limitation on how long regulators had to approve railroad mergers. The 4-R Act also prohibited discriminatory state and local tax treatment of railroad property and accelerated the process for railroads to abandon money-losing branch lines.
Rail Labor support was crucial to the passage of the Staggers Rail Act in 1980, which largely deregulated railroads. While this legislation was very harmful to Rail Labor, it was necessary to financially save the industry. The Staggers Act also expedited abandonment and merger proceedings. The productivity improvements flowing from job savings helped to restore railroad profitability. The Staggers Act also opened the door for railroads to transfer branch lines to short-line enterprises. Rail Labor suffered substantially, but accepted those wounds to assist in the private-sector survival of freight railroads. Railroad bottom lines improved by literally billions of dollars as a result.
Rail Labor supported passage of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which the Association of American Railroads said provided the rail industry with a onetime cash infusion of $2.5 billion.
To assure the continuation of Conrail in 1981, Railway Labor Executives Association President Fred Kroll coordinated with various rail unions to provide massive givebacks that totaled some $200 million annually for three years, or a total of more than half a billion dollars in givebacks. Conrail President Stan Crane said in a speech May 4, 1988, From that moment on, labor no longer was our adversary, but our partner. As a result of that understanding, I believe we have the best relationship with labor in the industry.
Rail Labor supported passage of the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983, which raised to 62 the age at which 30-year railroad veterans could retire with full benefits. That law also increased Tier II contributions for employees by 2.25 percentage points, imposed income taxes on Tier II benefits, and deferred a scheduled Tier II COLA for retirees.
During the 1980s, Rail Labor worked with railroads to defeat proposed legislation to permit construction of coal-slurry pipelines.
During the 1990s, Rail Labor supported railroads in their opposition to captive-shippers who were seeking re-regulation legislation that would have capped rail rates, limited rail rate-making freedom and opened privately owned rail routes to use by other rail carriers.
In the wake of rail-service meltdowns following the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger and the Conrail carve-up, Rail Labor supported the railroads requests before regulatory agencies and Congress for more time and patience in solving the problem without greater federal interference. That assistance extended to support for temporarily lifting certain immigration restrictions to allow Canadian rail workers to take employment on U.S. railroads.
The Railroad Retirement Reform legislation in 2002 was a joint labor-management effort that allowed carriers to save some $400 million annually according to Railway Age magazine.
Rail Labor brought Democrats on board legislation in 2004 to repeal the 4.3 cents per gallon diesel-fuel tax imposed on railroads, which provided the rail industry with $180 million annually in fuel-tax savings. That tax bill also provided Class II and III railroads, which feed business to Class I railroads, a track-maintenance tax credit of up to $3,500 per mile of track.
In 2005, Rail Labor supported the rail industry when the District of Columbia and dozens of other communities sought to divert hazmat shipments to less efficient and more costly routes. Rail Labor testified before Congress in support of the railroads position.
In each session of Congress over the years, Rail Labor has supported the railroads effort to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds to pay for improvement of highway-rail grade crossings.
Each time motor carriers sought legislation to liberalize the length and weight of trucks on federally funded highways, Rail Labor has helped the rail industry defeat that legislation.M

RAIL LABOR HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE WHEN THE RAILROADS NEEDED US. YET THE RAILROADS ARE NEVER THERE WHEN RAIL LABOR NEEDS THEM.

Instead of rewarding workers for their hard work and dedication, the carriers want to punish union-represented employees with concessionary agreements.

Negotiations began in January 2005. All of the carriers were enjoying excellent economic success. Stock prices were high, profits at record levels, and CEO and top executive compensation was soaring through the roof.

The BRS and every other rail union hoped that there would be a prompt and fair resolution of bargaining. We hoped that the carriers would acknowledge their economic gains and be willing to share that success with the workers who made it possible.

Instead, from day one, the carriers laid down the gauntlet. Forget about sharing their prosperity with their workers. They had a friend in the White House; they had Republican control of both Houses of Congress; and they were going to use their political power to get radical concessions from all rail workers.

At every negotiating session, the carriers have repeated their sorry refrain that there will be no agreement without sweeping concessions from the BRS and the other non-operating unions. They are demanding changes in agreements to allow contracting out without restriction and to seriously weaken existing protective agreements. From the operating crafts, they are demanding one person crews on road service. From every union, they are demanding huge increases in employee contributions to health insurance with reductions in benefits.

We all understand that strikes are no longer an effective economic weapon in dealing with the railroads. Within hours and sometimes minutes of establishing pickets we are ordered back to work by conservative judges alleging national security issues and economic harm to industry and the country as a whole.

We have steadfastly told the rail carriers that there will be no concessionary agreement. We will fight for as long as it takes for an agreement with significant annual wage increases, caps on employee contributions to health insurance, no cutbacks in benefits, and no rule concessions.

We are not alone. All of Rail Labor is sending a united message that this is a time for the industry to share the wealth.

As a symbol of Rail Labors unity and anger, we are all launching a campaign to visibly demonstrate our members anger at the carriers greed and unfairness.

Inside the third quarter issue of The Signalman's Journal, BRS members will find a bumper sticker that proclaims our solidarity: The Nations Railroads They Use Us, Then Abuse Us. We ask that our members display it proudly. The bumper stickers carry the logos of all rail unions. The purpose is to make clear to the carriers our solidarity and joint resolve to obtain fair and equitable contracts.

But this November we can do more. We can do something concrete to change the political balance of power. We can make sure that when the time comes to strike, which will surely happen if the carriers do not change their position, we have a Congress that will not do the carriers bidding.

Make no mistake about it. The only reason the carriers are pursuing such a shameful strategy is because they believe they can call the political shots and use their political power to shove concessionary contracts down rail workers throats.

The Bush Administration is wired to the railroad CEOs. Vice President Cheney has not forgotten his stint on the Union Pacific Board of Directors. The CEOs have a direct line to the Bush White House, and they are intending to use it to have handpicked anti-worker members appointed to a Presidential Emergency Board. They know that traditional neutrals would not ignore their fantastic financial health, and would laugh at their concessionary demands. So they are counting on Bush appointing a non-traditional Board composed of pro-business, anti-worker ideologues with no arbitration experience.

They are then counting on a Republican-controlled Congress to impose the recommendations of this partisan Board.

We have it in our power to derail that strategy this November. Every one of our members must vote for the pro-worker candidate running for Congress. If the Democrats take control of either the House or Senate, or better yet both, the carrier strategy will be dead on arrival.

You would think that our rail workers would know that. But they don't. A significant number of rail workers voted for President Bush in the last election. Were it not for those votes, Kerry would be in the White House, and the carriers would be terrified of going before a Kerry-appointed Presidential Emergency Board. We must make our jobs that single most important issue when we go to the polls this November.

So it is up to each and every one of us to vote in November and to vote only for BRS-endorsed candidates. That vote is in essence an early contract vote. With a positive outcome in November, our members can do their part to ensure a positive outcome on the contract.

But no matter what happens in November, we will not give in. All of Rail Labor is determined to fight, up to and including a strike, to get contracts that our members will be proud of. The railroads use our members skills and hard work to generate their profits we will not allow them to abuse us at the bargaining table.

The BRS website is best viewed in Internet Explorer.