Effective on March 1, 2018, all new and continuing claims for the SMART Transportation Discipline Income Protection Program (DIPP) will be paid via direct deposit into participants’ accounts.
Please complete the authorization for automatic transfer that is attached to your DIPP claim form and attach a canceled check to avoid delay of your payments.
Author: bnagy
An online fundraising effort has been started for a SMART TD conductor and an engineer who were severely injured Feb. 15 when their train derailed in Attica, N.Y.
Conductor Ben Garland of Local 1566 out of Buffalo, N.Y., and engineer Dave Tobey were hospitalized after their Norfolk Southern locomotive left the tracks and caught fire.
The fundraiser is available here: https://www.gofundme.com/dave-bens-railroad-medical-fund
Proceeds from the fund will be divided evenly among the men’s families as they recover from their injuries, which include fractures, spinal trauma and facial injuries.
A Local 1566 member who said he didn’t want to be named said he went to visit the accident site and couldn’t believe what he saw.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
Online video footage from a drone posted by WHAM TV Channel 13 out of Rochester N.Y. shows a sinkhole underneath the tracks at the accident site. Local authorities said the cause of the derailment was under investigation.
Members have been pulling together to help the families of both men as they begin the road to recovery from their injuries.
“The families have been astonished by the amount of support,” said the Local 1566 member. “We’ve worked with these people — they’re family.”
Amtrak employees represented by SMART Transportation Division General Committees of Adjustment GO-769, GO-663, and GO-342 (Conductors, Assistant Conductors, and Yardmasters) voted in overwhelming favor of ratifying a tentative agreement reached last month.
The agreement, effective April 1, 2018, provides a compounded 18.83 percent pay increase over the life of the contract, which runs through 2021, plus retroactive pay.
The contract also caps monthly healthcare contributions at $228 while adding services such as telemedicine and a fixed 24-month continuation of coverage period, among others. It establishes AMPLAN 1A, a lower-cost healthcare plan that will be available to all employees beginning Jan. 1, 2019, and compulsory for new hires during their first five years of service.
For members of the military who lose earnings because of their service, the agreement accounts for up to 120 hours of “make whole” pay.
Follow this link to view a synopsis of the now-ratified agreement.
SMART TD President John Previsich and Vice Presidents John England and John Lesniewski led the negotiating team, and a tentative agreement was reached Jan. 11.
“Their combined efforts were instrumental in reaching our goal of gaining wage increases and certification allowances that are comparable to industry standards,” General Chairperson Dirk Sampson (GO-769) said in a Feb. 6 letter to his membership announcing the vote results.
General Chairperson Robert Keeley (GO-342) in a letter to his membership expressed gratitude to leadership and to fellow members of the negotiating committee, including Vice General Chairperson Charlie Yura and Secretary Rick Pauli.
“We walked into negotiations together and we found success together,” Keeley said.
As did his fellow GCs, Fran Ariola, general chairperson of GO-663, expressed appreciation to leadership, members of the negotiating team, his colleagues and to his membership.
“I would like to thank you for this opportunity to represent our GCA and our members during this negotiation process,” Ariola wrote in a Feb. 6 letter.
After months of having his nomination on hold in the U.S. Senate, Ronald L. Batory was confirmed Tuesday evening as administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration by unanimous voice vote.
Batory’s ascension to the position came after U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, removed a hold he had placed on the nomination.
The hold on Batory’s nomination had been an attempt by the Democratic senator to work out federal funding for the multibillion-dollar Gateway Tunnel project between his home state of New York and New Jersey.
Batory, former COO and president of Conrail, was nominated in July to lead the FRA by President Donald Trump. As the delay on his confirmation continued, Batory began working in November as a special assistant to federal Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, advising on rail matters.
“Ron Batory is a veteran railroader who knows the industry,” SMART TD National Legislative Director John Risch said. “We look forward to working with him at FRA.”
While Batory’s confirmation remained in political limbo, the FRA was being described as “rudderless” in some media reports.
Deputy Administrator Heath Hall, who had been leading the agency, resigned mere days before Batory’s confirmation after allegations surfaced in the media that Hall was working a second job.
Hall had been on a leave of absence from the agency since late January, and Juan D. Reyes III had been overseeing the FRA.
In addition to Batory’s confirmation, Raymond Martinez was confirmed by the Senate as administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
The Safe Freight Act, the two-person crew bill introduced Jan. 30 by U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, has doubled its number of cosponsors in two weeks.
On Feb. 12, U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Tina Smith of Minnesota joined in supporting the bill, bringing the total number of cosponsors to nine.
Earlier in the month, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts indicated their support.
Four senators — Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Angus King of Maine and Edward Markey of Massachusetts — were original cosponsors of the bill.
All cosponsors of the bill thus far, with the exception of King, an independent, are Democrats.
The two-person crew bill in the House of Representatives, H.R.233, introduced by U.S. Rep. Donald Young of Alaska, has 83 bipartisan cosponsors.
SMART TD members are encouraged to make use of the Legislative Action Center to continue the momentum for this vital safety legislation by sending messages to their senators and representatives supporting these bills or thanking them for their support.
The United State Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has issued its spring schedule of informational conferences and pre-retirement seminars for union officers and for rail workers respectively. Registration for both of these types of programs is required and available at the RRB website (www.rrb.gov).
RRB informational conferences
The RRB’s informational conference program was started by the Office of the Labor Member in 1957 to provide local union officers comprehensive information about the benefits available to rail employees and their families under the railroad retirement and unemployment insurance systems. Union officers who attend RRB can become better prepared to share accurate, reliable information with their members.
Union officials planning to attend an informational conference program must register either online or print a paper form from the RRB website then complete and return the registration form to your local RRB field office. These conferences are only open to Local union officers.
- If you plan on attending with your spouse or another guest, please indicate so in the designated fields on your registration form.
- If you register for a conference and become unable to attend, inform the RRB.
- Bring photo identification for entry to federal buildings; no weapons allowed.
Conferences with parking fees are marked with *.
- March 16, 2018: West Covina Library, 1601 West Covina Parkway, West Covina, Calif.
- March 23, 2018: Country Inn & Suites, 4500 Circle 75 Parkway, Atlanta, Ga.
- March 23, 2018: Maidu Community Center, 1500 Maidu Drive, Roseville, Calif.
- April 13, 2018: Hilton Garden Inn – Richmond Airport, 441 International Center Drive, Sandston, Va.
- April 13, 2018: Drury Inn & Suites (St. Louis Forest Park), 2111 Sulphur Avenue, St. Louis, Mo.
- April 20, 2018: Huntington Center, 23rd Floor Conference Room, 525 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio *
- April 20, 2018: Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, 6th Floor Conference Room A/B, New York, N.Y. *
- April 27, 2018: Holiday Inn Romulus, 8400 Merriman Road, Romulus, Mich.
- April 27, 2018: Eugene T. Mahoney State Park, 28500 West Park Highway, Ashland, Neb. *
- May 4, 2018: Sheet Metal Workers Local Union No. 2, 2902 Blue Ridge Boulevard, Kansas City, Mo.
- May 4, 2018: Corporate Conference Center, 180 East 5th Street, 2nd Floor, St. Paul, Minn. *
- May 11, 2018: Hampton Inn Altoona, 180 Charlotte Drive, Altoona, Pa.
- May 11, 2018: Comfort Inn & Suites Presidential, 707 Interstate 30, Little Rock, Ark.
- May 18, 2018: Sheet Metal Workers Local Union No. 33, 12525 Corporate Drive, Parma, Ohio
- May 18, 2018: Holiday Inn Denver (Lakewood), 7390 West Hamden Avenue, Lakewood, Colo.
RRB Pre-retirement seminar schedule
Designed for railroad employees and spouses planning to retire within five years, the pre-retirement seminars familiarize attendees with retirement benefits available to them, and also guide them through the application process. Registration is required.
- March 23, 2018: Maidu Community Center, 1500 Maidu Drive, Roseville, Calif.
- April 13, 2018: Robert A. Roe Federal Building, 200 Federal Plaza, 5th Floor (Room 527), Paterson, N.J.
- May 11, 2018: Roanoke South County Library, 6303 Merriman Road, Roanoke, Va.
- May 11, 2018: Hampton Inn Altoona, 180 Charlotte Drive, Altoona, Pa.
- May 23, 2018: IBEW Local 714 Union Hall, 1800 Commerce Drive, Bismarck, N.D.
Combined informational & pre-retirement programs
To help manage costs, the RRB is combining the following five officer conferences and pre-retirement seminars:
- March 23, 2018: Roseville, Calif.
- May 11, 2018: Altoona, Pa.
- Sept. 21, 2018: Bellevue, Wash.
- Nov. 16, 2018: Houston, Texas
- Dec. 7, 2018: Jacksonville, Fla.
The focus of these combined programs will be a presentation covering the various railroad retirement benefits available to rail employees and their families. The RRB will then close with a separate, brief presentation on railroad unemployment and sickness benefits, which will be shown to union officials only.
These five programs will be open by invitation to rail union officials and also to any interested rail employees and their spouses who are within five years of retirement. Officials will receive an invitation for their local informational conference, and in a later mailing, a promotional flyer for the same program which they are encouraged to share with fellow rail employees.
Union officials should register for combined events through the informational conference program webpage and all other attendees should use the promotional flyer, which is also available for printing on the pre-retirement seminars webpage of the RRB.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 passed early this morning by both houses of Congress and signed by President Donald Trump provides some benefits to transportation workers and the industry.
“Discretionary spending for domestic infrastructure will see a $20 billion increase, which could mean more funds for transit and/or Amtrak-related projects. The two-year budget provides a better opportunity to secure adequate funding for National Mediation Board arbitration and Railroad Retirement Board agency needs,” said National Legislative Director John Risch.
The bill also includes a one-year (2017) extension of the short-line tax credit known as Section 45G, that helps Class II and III railroads pay for the maintenance of their infrastructure.
Finally, the tax credit known as Section 45-Q that encourages power companies to capture carbon emissions in coal-fired plants, helping to keep coal a part of the United States energy mix, has been extended.
However, the bill does not exempt unemployment and sickness benefits provided by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) from the funding cuts known as sequestration. Some media reports said all nondefense-related sequesters were repealed, but the board confirmed later that RRB unemployment and sickness benefits are categorized as direct, not discretionary, spending and therefore still were subject to being sequestered.
Sequestration has carved out 6.6 percent of the funding to these RRB benefits – which would translate to a total of $9 million in the 2018 fiscal year. Restoration of these funds would reinstate the maximum of $72.00 per day or $720.00 per two-week or 10-day claim period for rail workers who claim unemployment or sickness through RRB.
Services have been announced for Brother Michael Cella, the SMART Transportation Division conductor, who was killed in the Amtrak Train 91 collision Feb. 4 in Cayce, S.C.
A gathering of Cella’s friends and family will be 10 a.m. to noon immediately followed by a celebration of life Monday, Feb. 12 at Hardage-Giddens Holly Hill Funeral Home, 3601 Old Jennings Road Middleburg, Fla. 32068.
Brother Cella is survived by his wife, Christine, daughter, Elena, and son, Logan.
Online condolences for Cella’s family may be left at http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Michael-Cella&lc=4346&pid=188097606&mid=7753115.
Services for Michael Kempf, 54, the engineer and former SMART TD member also killed in the accident, were today. Kempf is survived by his wife and three children.
Online condolences for Kempf’s family may be left at https://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/?action=obituaries.obit_view&CFID=ab6d4627-ce61-45c9-b40f-ee818f22b0a5&CFTOKEN=0&o_id=4606891&fh_id=13934.
An online fundraiser for both families is available at https://www.gofundme.com/memorial-fund-for-cella-amp-kempf.
SMART Transportation Division members out of Local 1626 were among the recipients of the Gold Spike award from Alaska Railroad in late January.
Members Benjamin Bowen, Ryan Diehl, Caitlin Elison, Joshua Robinson, Bryan Sooter and Steven Tennison were among those who received a team award for “a sustained level of excellent performance and team-driven professional development, which in turn, improved train transportation performance.”
A memorial fund for Amtrak conductor Mike Cella, a current SMART Transportation Division member out of Local 30 in Florida, and engineer Mike Kempf, a former SMART TD member, who were tragically killed in the line of duty on Sunday, Feb. 4, has been established.
Proceeds from the fund will be used to help their families with expenses as they grieve the loss of these men in the collision of Amtrak 91 with a parked CSX freight train.
Contributions will be split evenly between the families. Please give what you can at https://www.gofundme.com/memorial-fund-for-cella-amp-kempf.
A printable PDF flyer to post at Locals is available at this link.