When Medicare began in the 1960s, it was the primary payer for all services except those covered by workers compensation. In 1980, Congress enacted provisions to shift costs from the Medicare program to private insurers, when possible. This legislation stopped Medicare from m [...]
Lewis Lavon Nelson, 74, retired general chairperson of former Union Pacific General Committee of Adjustment GO 957 (Northwest District), died Jan. 10 from complications related to lung cancer. A member of SMART Transportation Division Local 1574 at Portland, Ore., Nelson reti [...]
On the first day of November, Bruce Corgiat tried to log on to the Union Pacific Railroad’s employee web page just as he’d done most other mornings. “They’d already blocked me,” he said. Wow, that was quick. On Halloween, Bruce officially retired from the railroad, as did his [...]
The amounts of compensation subject to railroad retirement tier I and tier II payroll taxes will increase in 2014, while the tier I and tier II tax rates will remain the same on both railroad employers and employees, the Railroad Retirement Board announced. Also, railroad une [...]
Funeral services were held Tuesday, Dec. 3, for Timothy J. Smith, 66, who died Nov. 28 after a hard fought battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Smith worked 30 years as an engineer for Lake Terminal Railroad in Lorain, Ohio, with 22 of those years serving as general chairperson. H [...]
The payment of a railroad retirement annuity can be affected by entitlement to social security benefits, as well as certain other government benefits. Such dual entitlement, if not reported to the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), can result in benefit overpayments that have t [...]
UTU members and their dependents insured under the Railroad Employees National Early Retirement Major Medical Benefit (ERMA) Plan (GA-46000) will have their lifetime maximum amount of coverage increased, effective Jan. 1. ERMA is a comprehensive benefits plan for employees wh [...]
It’s been sitting around in Pomona for nearly 53 years, but now the beast they call Big Boy is making tracks for Wyoming. Officially known as Union Pacific steam engine No. 4014, the locomotive has been parked at the RailGiants Train Museum in Pomona since 1962, a displ [...]
Thirty operating employees from Union Pacific Railroad in the La Grande, Ore., area, who retired or left employment on disability in the last year, will be honored at a retirement party Nov. 23, SMART Transportation Division Local Chairperson Larry Romine reports. The 30 memb [...]
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 [...]
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