After a legal battle that dragged on for more than four decades, a group of Cleveland railroad workers and their heirs will be sharing a multi-million-dollar award. ideastream’s David C. Barnett says it’s the surprising conclusion of a story that has its roots in the rise and fall of a corporate giant.
It was six years ago when Virginia McNabb took the stand to testify on behalf of her father, who died in 1989. He had worked in Cleveland-area rail yards his entire career, and was part of a group of workers who sued the Penn Central Transportation company. They claimed the company had cheated them out of seniority and healthcare benefits. McNabb reads her own words from the court transcript.
WASHINGTON – The Association of American Railroads Nov. 14 urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to press for improved federal tank car regulations by requiring all tank cars used to transport flammable liquids to be retrofitted or phased out, and new cars built to more stringent standards. AAR said in comments filed with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) that the safety upgrades it is recommending will substantially decrease the likelihood of a release if a tank car is involved in an accident.
The AAR estimates that roughly 92,000 tank cars are currently moving flammable liquids, with approximately 78,000 of those requiring retrofit or phase out based on its proposal. Another 14,000 newer tank cars that today comply with the latest industry safety standards will also require certain retrofit modifications under AAR’s proposal. The tank cars affected by the AAR’s recommended safety enhancements include those used to transport crude oil and ethanol.
“We believe it’s time for a thorough review of the U.S. tank car fleet that moves flammable liquids, particularly considering the recent increase in crude oil traffic,” said AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger. “Our goal is to ensure that what we move, and how we move it, is done as safely as possible.”
The AAR is recommending that PHMSA consider the following when determining what federal safety standard improvements should be required for tank cars moving flammable liquids:
increase federal tank car design standards for new cars to include an outer steel jacket around the tank car and thermal protection, full-height head shields and high-flow capacity pressure relief valves;
require additional safety upgrades to those tank cars built since October 2011, when the rail industry instituted its latest design standards that today exceed federal requirements, including installation of high-flow-capacity relief valves and design modifications to prevent bottom outlets from opening in the case of an accident;
aggressively phase out older-model tank cars used to move flammable liquids that are not retrofitted to meet new federal requirements, and
eliminate the current option for rail shippers to classify a flammable liquid with a flash point between 100 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit as a combustible liquid.
“Freight railroads understand the rail supply marketplace is seeing an increased demand for tank cars needed to move more flammable liquids, such as crude and ethanol,” Hamberger said. “We believe our suggested approach to improving tank car safety allows railroads to continue to serve their customers, while taking rail tank car safety to the next level. We look forward to working with PHMSA, rail customers and the rail supply community as this rulemaking process moves ahead.”
To learn more about how railroads ensure that approximately 99.998 percent of all hazardous materials moving by rail reach their destination without a release caused by an accident, visit www.aar.org/safety.
Paul Emert Former Norfolk Southern General Chairperson Paul E. Emert, 65, died Nov. 11 following a heart attack. Emert, a member of SMART Transportation Division Local 750 at Knoxville, Tenn., retired in 2011 following 39 years of railroad service. He had served as general chairperson of NS General Committee of Adjustment GO 898 since 2002 and had also served his local as chairperson, secretary and treasurer and delegate. Prior to his railroad service, Emert was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. He was a deacon at Riverview Missionary Baptist Church for 37 years. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Vickie; daughter and son-in-law, April and Rusty Turbyfill; son, Jed Emert and friend Angie Thompson; son and daughter-in-law, Justin and Kimberly Emert, and 10 grandchildren. The family will receive friends Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. at Miller Funeral Home’s Magnolia Chapel, located at 915 W. Broadway Ave. in Maryville, Tenn. Funeral services will be held following the visitation at 7 p.m. Family and friends will gather at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, at Clarks Grove Cemetery for the interment.
SMART Transportation Division members of General Committee of Adjustment GO 065 employed by Belt Railway of Chicago recently ratified a new agreement governing their rates of pay and working conditions, according to SMART Vice President John E. Lesniewski.
The agreement mirrors that of the Sept. 16, 2011, UTU National Agreement, Lesniewski said.
While GO 065 members had already been governed by the health and welfare provisions of the 2011 National Agreement by virtue of the carrier’s participation in national handling for health and welfare only, the remainder of the agreement had been stalled in mediation over disputes involving crew consist and other local issues.
“With those issues having been successfully set aside in favor of future voluntary and non-binding discussions, the agreement was ratified by an overwhelming majority of nearly 97 percent of voting members,” Lesniewski said.
Lesniewski, who assisted with the negotiations, lauded the efforts of General Chairperson Stelios Paras and Vice General Chairperson Graeme McClure for “staying the course, ultimately securing the same favorable agreement our Class I members enjoy nationally, without any additional strings attached.”
BRC, headquartered in Chicago, is the largest switching terminal railroad in the United States. It is co-owned by six Class I railroads, including BNSF Railway, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway and Union Pacific Railroad, each of which uses the switching and interchange facilities. The BRC also provides rail terminal services to approximately 100 local manufacturing industries.
WASHINGTON – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have proposed an amendment to a workplace discrimination bill in the hopes of creating a national right-to-work law. The measure — which, as Roll Call reported Nov. 4, would be tacked onto the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) — would forbid contracts between companies and labor unions that require workers to pay the union for bargaining on their behalf. Prized by Republicans and business groups and loathed by unions, such laws have made it onto the books in 24 states, most recently in Michigan. Read the complete story at The Huffington Post.
The second explosive oil-train derailment this year, which has finally burned out in rural Alabama, may raise new questions about the safety of the crude-by-rail boom, pointing to problems beyond those that surfaced following the earlier tragedy in Quebec.
Within hours of the accident early Friday morning, operator Genesee & Wyoming Inc had already ruled out many of the factors cited in the deadly Lac Megantic disaster, where a runaway train careened into the center of town, bursting into a fireball that killed 47 people and leveled buildings.
ABC News has posted on its website a series of photographs taken by the NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority showing the construction of the new concourse for the Long Island Rail Road under Grand Central Terminal.
WASHINGTON – A new study released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recommended a series of regulatory changes to further ease the transition of military personnel and veterans into much-needed civilian jobs driving commercial motor vehicles. In releasing the study, FMCSA also announced plans to implement the changes as soon as possible.
“Our military men and women make tremendous sacrifices in service to our nation, and helping veterans transition to the civilian workforce when they come home is just one way to show our gratitude,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Today’s report builds on the work FMCSA has already accomplished on behalf of our veterans and outlines opportunities to help even more qualify for jobs based on the skills and training they receive in the armed forces.”
The study, which was directed by Congress in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21 Century Act (MAP-21) one year ago, analyzed training, testing and licensing similarities and differences between military and civilian commercial driver’s license (CDL) requirements. A number of federal and state regulatory changes were identified that would not adversely impact safety but would allow returning U.S. military personnel possessing extensive training and experience operating trucks, buses and other heavy equipment to more easily and conveniently receive a state-issued CDL.
The opportunities outlined in the report require formal rulemaking action, which FMCSA will initiate this year. The proposed changes include:
Extending the period of time, from 90 days to one year, in which an active duty and recently separated veterans can take advantage of a Military Skills Test Waiver. The waiver, which FMCSA first implemented in 2011, allows states to waive CDL skills tests for service members with two years of safe driving experience with similar vehicles. Today, 46 states and Washington, D.C. offer the waiver, which has already provided almost 2,000 military personnel a quicker pathway to a job;
Updating federal regulations to allow over 60,000 service members trained and employed in the operation of heavy vehicles, many of which are nearly identical to civilian commercial motor vehicles, to immediately qualify for a CDL while still on active duty; and
Allowing a service member who is stationed in one state, but licensed in another, to obtain a CDL before being discharged.
“The demand for truck drivers will continue to rise in the coming years, so we are taking action to remove the obstacles that prevent military veterans from finding employment in the industry,” said Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “The men and women who serve in uniform commit their lives to protecting our country — in many cases by operating heavy vehicles — and there are no better credentials for becoming a safe truck or bus driver.”
FMCSA will continue to explore other ways to ease the transition from military occupations to jobs requiring CDLs, including waiving the requirements for pre-employment drug testing for recently discharged military personnel based on their recent participation in random drug testing programs run by the military.
In August, FMCSA announced almost $1 million in grants to six colleges to help increase enrollment in commercial motor vehicle training programs, making it easier for veterans and their spouses to obtain CDLs and find transportation jobs. These grants are in addition to similar funding awards made by FMCSA two years ago.
The agency also granted a petition from Virginia in May to allow their military bases to be certified as third-party testers of military personnel for CDL knowledge and skills tests. New Mexico and Wisconsin are preparing to follow suit.
From 2010 to 2020, the need for heavy-vehicle drivers is expected to grow by more than 17 percent — faster than the national average for other occupations. Jobs as city, tour and school bus drivers, as well as light truck or delivery services drivers, are expected to continue growing at the national average.
MADISON, Wis. – The U.S. arm of a Spanish train-maker filed a $65.9 million claim against the state of Wisconsin Nov. 7, setting up a likely lawsuit and reviving debate over Gov. Scott Walker’s rejection of $810 million in federal stimulus money for a high-speed rail line.
In its filing with the state Claims Board, Seattle-based Talgo Inc. also maintained Wisconsin owes bond holders an additional $70 million because it borrowed that much for two train sets but never took possession of them.
World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” – officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”
In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”
SMART Transportation Division members of General Committee of Adjustment GO 065 employed by Belt Railway of Chicago recently ratified a new agreement governing their rates of pay and working conditions, according to SMART Vice President John E. Lesniewski.
WASHINGTON – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have proposed an amendment to a workplace discrimination bill in the hopes of creating a national right-to-work law.
WASHINGTON – A new study released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recommended a series of regulatory changes to further ease the transition of military personnel and veterans into much-needed civilian jobs driving commercial motor vehicles. In releasing the study, FMCSA also announced plans to implement the changes as soon as possible.
World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” – officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.