A 90-car train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in a rural area of western Alabama early on Friday, leaving 11 cars burning and potentially bolstering the push for tougher regulation of a boom in moving oil by rail.
No injuries have been reported, but 20 of the train’s cars derailed and 11 were still on fire, the train owner, Genesee & Wyoming, said in a statement. Those cars, which threw flames 300 feet into the night sky, are being left to burn down, which could take up to 24 hours.
FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Railroad is known across the state, and now it’s getting national attention thanks to a six-part documentary commissioned by the Discovery Channel.
“Railroad Alaska” debuts Nov. 16 on the Destination America channel, one of several channels the Discovery Channel owns, with each hour-long episode focusing on the railroad and the communities it serves as well as railroad crews who work on everything from track maintenance to those employees who operate the locomotives.
The Labor Department wants companies to begin filing all workplace injury and illness reports electronically so they are available for anyone in the public to see.
The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration will announce the plan on Thursday as part of a proposed rule that would dramatically change the way companies file safety records, according to a person familiar with the proposal.
By Joe Nigro, SMART General President – Last month, delegates from both the SMART Transportation and Sheet Metal Divisions stood together united as one on the floor of the AFL-CIO convention. SMART’s message to our brothers and sisters in the labor movement was simple. We demanded that organized labor, as a whole, hold national, state and local elected leaders accountable for their actions – regardless of their party label and irrespective of any promises they may have made in the past.
The last six years have been difficult for working people. The Great Recession, caused through no fault of our own, was devastating to millions of working families. Making the pill even more bitter and harder to swallow was the fact that when working people asked for a hand up, we were ignored and our hard-earned tax money was diverted to bail out the same Wall Street banks and CEOs who created the mess in the first place.
For those who work in the private sector, whether in construction or transit, the harm done was further exacerbated when we asked to be treated in the same manner as companies like Wal-Mart, who received a one-year waiver from the rules that will be set for administering the Affordable Care Act.
SMART, as well as the rest of the labor movement, supports the goal of better access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. However, many union health care funds are multi-employer plans, designed to pool the resources of union employers in order to reach the best possible deal on health care benefits for members. Rather than treat these plans in the same way larger employers like Wal-Mart are treated, they were instead pushed out of the exchanges and, in effect, will be undermined by the government subsidies available through the health care exchanges. Amazingly, Obamacare will be undercutting and destroying the very health care plans of its staunchest supporters in order to cut the health care costs of America’s largest corporations. That is outrageous, and another example of why it is important, regardless of who is in office, to remain vigilant – to vote based on issues and not party identification or empty promises.
Let me point to a specific action that illustrates the power of unified action in fighting for workers’ rights on the political front. Adren Crawford, the SMART Transportation Division’s Tennessee State Legislative Director, worked with the SMART Sheet Metal Division Locals 4, 5, 177 and 555 to fight attacks on workers’ compensation and prevailing wage laws in that state. SMART’s transportation members now have a stronger legislative offensive to protect transportation members when they are being transported from point to point at work in that state, as well as support in securing prevailing wage rates for sheet metal construction workers. We see, in this joint effort, how the legislative experience and connections on the transportation side of our union combines with the sheet metal membership strength to show the benefits of the merger.
A similar experience is occurring in Illinois, where the SMART Transportation Division’s state legislative board met with Sheet Metal Local 73 to begin planning joint activities in that state. In Southern California, local unions have come together and worked on joint organizing projects, such as at Bombardier Inc., which manufactures and services passenger rail equipment and serves as an integral piece of the rail transportation pipeline in North America. Earlier this summer, workers at Bombardier overwhelmingly chose to join SMART and we anticipate future organizing efforts at other locations to prove just as successful.
When I hear about these joint efforts, it gives me a sense that the levels of trust and cooperation have increased. To some extent, credit has to be given to the transparency of our operations. We have in place a system of checks and balances that ensure, starting with the General Executive Council, SMART is financially viable. Leaders from both the Transportation and Sheet Metal Divisions serve on that council and we share information to make sure our decisions represent the best interests of our members. In this way, we are accountable for our actions and answerable to the membership.
I want you to remember that this is YOUR union. My job is to work for you. I only ask that you become more involved on the “union side” of being a member. Our union is only as strong as we make it and the stronger it becomes, the more it benefits you and your family. I encourage everyone to take part in their union meetings, campaigns and events. We need you to join SMART’s Facebook pages, either at www.facebook.com/smartunion or by searching “SMART Transportation” in the Facebook search bar. You can also join the SMART Action Team to stay abreast of action alerts and other news items via www.smartaction.org.
SMART is working for you and building a stronger and brighter future for this organization and for our families.
WASHINGTON – An oncoming freight train sounded its warning, and track guard gates started to descend. But the crowd was cheering, a marching band was playing, the lights of a police escort were flashing and a truck driver towing a parade float of wounded veterans and their wives in Midland advanced heedlessly into the crossing.
The train rammed the float at 62 mph, killing four veterans and injuring 11 other veterans and their wives.
WASHINGTON – Prodded by the families of people killed in a regional airline crash, federal officials issued an extensive overhaul of training requirements for pilots Tuesday.
One of the most important changes requires airlines to provide better training on how to prevent and recover from an aerodynamic stall, in which a plane slows to the point that it loses lift. That was what happened to Continental Express Flight 3407, which crashed on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport in western New York on Feb. 12, 2009, killing all 49 people aboard and a man on the ground.
The number of pedestrians killed in U.S. train collisions increased 25 percent in the first eight months of this year, setting a pace unseen in more than a decade, according to new federal data.
There were 352 pedestrian railroad deaths, classified as trespasser fatalities, through Aug. 31, compared to 281 during the same period in 2012. The Federal Railroad Administration data has a three-month lag.
WASHINGTON – Cheers of support from a flag-waving crowd watching a parade turned into shouts of horror when a freight train rammed into a float carrying veterans and their wives in Midland, Texas, last year. Four veterans were killed and 16 others were injured in the collision.
On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board will meet to consider the probable cause of the accident and to make safety recommendations.
With 85 percent of eligible ballots returned, SMART Transportation Division conductors and assistant conductors on the Northern Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp. (known as Metra) have approved a seven-year mediation agreement governing wages and working conditions, through calendar year 2018.
Included in the agreement are lump-sum signing bonuses, general wage increases each year of the contract, retroactive pay, enhanced deferred compensation, conductor certification pay for assignments paying the conductor rate of pay, a new training/qualifying understanding, a modified short term disability plan and seniority retention provisions.
SMART Transportation Division Vice President John E. Lesniewski and SMART International Representative John Babler, who assisted with negotiations, commended GO 721 General Chairperson Barry Abbott for his “persistent and systematic attentiveness to the needs of our membership on his property.” In turn, Abbott offered his thanks to Lesniewski and Babler for “bringing a wealth of experience and an enduring commitment to the bargaining table. This was truly a team effort,” he said.
Metra is the commuter rail division of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority. The system serves Chicago and its metropolitan area through 241 stations on 11 different rail lines.
Railroad members covered under the national and health and welfare plans have received an extension to enroll in a health flexible spending account (FSA).
The enrollment period extension is from Nov. 5 through Dec. 1, 2013.
This special enrollment extension is only for the health FSA benefit. Enrollment for all other 2014 railroad benefits closed on Nov. 2.
To enroll in the health FSA benefit for 2014 during the extension period, visit www.yourtracktohealth.com and click “Login” in the upper-right corner.
If you have already registered, enter your username and password. If you have not yet registered, select “New User?” at the bottom of the screen to complete your registration.
Once logged in, look to the upper-left corner of the screen, select the tab that reads “Enrollment for the health FSA only has been extended beginning November 5, 2013 through December 1, 2013. Click here if you haven’t already enrolled in the health FSA for 2014.”
Be advised that you must enroll in your FSA every year. FSA enrollment is not automatic.
A health FSA is a benefit plan that lets you save money by putting pre-tax wages aside in a special account to help pay for certain medical costs and other health services. This means you can save on what you pay in your annual income taxes.
When you enroll in the health FSA for 2014, you will be able to use a special debit card to easily pay for eligible FSA expenses. The debit card is connected to your flexible spending account so there is no need to write checks or submit claim forms. Look for more information in the future that explains how your debit card may help you manage your out of pocket expenses.
A 90-car train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in a rural area of western Alabama early on Friday, leaving 11 cars burning and potentially bolstering the push for tougher regulation of a boom in moving oil by rail.
FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Railroad is known across the state, and now it’s getting national attention thanks to a six-part documentary commissioned by the Discovery Channel.
The Labor Department wants companies to begin filing all workplace injury and illness reports electronically so they are available for anyone in the public to see.
WASHINGTON – An oncoming freight train sounded its warning, and track guard gates started to descend. But the crowd was cheering, a marching band was playing, the lights of a police escort were flashing and a truck driver towing a parade float of wounded veterans and their wives in Midland advanced heedlessly into the crossing.
WASHINGTON – Prodded by the families of people killed in a regional airline crash, federal officials issued an extensive overhaul of training requirements for pilots Tuesday.
The number of pedestrians killed in U.S. train collisions increased 25 percent in the first eight months of this year, setting a pace unseen in more than a decade, according to new federal data.
WASHINGTON – Cheers of support from a flag-waving crowd watching a parade turned into shouts of horror when a freight train rammed into a float carrying veterans and their wives in Midland, Texas, last year. Four veterans were killed and 16 others were injured in the collision.
With 85 percent of eligible ballots returned, SMART Transportation Division conductors and assistant conductors on the Northern Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp. (known as Metra) have approved a seven-year mediation agreement governing wages and working conditions, through calendar year 2018.
Railroad members covered under the national and health and welfare plans have received an extension to enroll in a health flexible spending account (FSA).