United Transportation Union Insurance Association (UTUIA) President Kenneth Laugel proudly announced this month a plan intended to broaden the scope and availability of all of the fraternal benefit society’s services to SMART Transportation Division members and its customers nationwide.
“After serving a broad spectrum of our customer base during the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that there were avenues where UTUIA could construct more efficient, more convenient and broader ways to serve all our customers,” Laugel said. “We are excited and confident that these improvements will not simply maintain, but elevate the level of service that our members have come to enjoy and expect.”
First and foremost is a revamping of the agency’s structure approved by the UTUIA board that comes in three major components:
UTUIA agents who were in the former position of Field Supervisor have been dispersed among seven regions encompassing multiple states. Now known as Regional Insurance Managers, they oversee states in the Western, Great Plains, Southwest, Great Lakes, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. The accompanying map shows specifics on the regional structure.
Positions of Territory Manager and Assistant Territory Manager also have been created to provide a broader support system to improve service within each region.
Finally, the position of Local Insurance Representative has been redesigned, meaning that every Transportation Division local will have at least one person singularly devoted to fulfilling the needs of members regarding UTUIA benefits.
“These changes are all designed to better increase our visibility to the membership,” Laugel said. “Ultimately with more ‘boots on the ground’ our members will see the greater value that the UTUIA represents to the SMART-TD family.”
The change in structure is not the only innovation that the society is undertaking.
UTUIA also has established a partnership with US Bank subsidiary Evalon Inc. to provide secure credit-card processing with full encryption so that paying premiums online is protected at the maximum level available.
“Elavon has a proprietary service that shields all sensitive data,” Laugel said. “UTUIA has seen the damage security flaws and breaches have caused to customers in our field. We will always protect members’ confidential information.”
A Credit Card Services page has been set up on the UTUIA website (www.utuia.org) for enrollment in online premium payments and provides another level of convenience for people who still may be hesitant to venture out as the nation continues to contend with COVID-19.
The pandemic has been a challenge for UTUIA and essential workers alike, but Laugel noted that the 152-year-old fraternal benefit society has continued to be there unabated and undeterred — paying claims and providing scholarships, extending premium grace periods, making policy loans and continuing its steadfast support with charitable donations and contributions to the SMART-TD Disaster Recovery Fund.
“Through this time we have continued to make changes that will serve to strengthen our Society and better serve our members,” Laugel said. “We are proud of this effort and are even more proud to continue to protect and serve our members and our customers with our full range of insurance and financial benefits as we emerge from the pandemic.”
The United Transportation Union Insurance Association (UTUIA) asks those members who are experiencing financial or other difficulties in paying premiums due to Hurricane Harvey, to please call the UTUIA to discuss options that may be available.
The UTUIA may be reached at 216-228-9400 or toll-free 800-558-8842.
The United Transportation Insurance Association (UTUIA), in a show of fraternal solidarity and generosity, has donated $5,000.00 to the UTU Disaster Relief Fund to be used for SMART TD members who have been negatively impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
“Many Brothers and Sisters of the UTUIA have been affected by the devastating flooding in Texas. The officers and staff of the UTUIA have elected to forward a donation of $5,000.00 to help ease the pain and burden placed on those who are attempting to recover from this disaster,” said UTUIA President Ken Laugel.
In response, SMART TD President John Previsich said, “I wish to extend my personal thank you to the UTUIA and President Laugel for this magnanimous donation to a worthy cause. Our union brothers and sisters are hurting and it is donations like this one that will help our members get back on their feet. We must show them that they are not alone and that we care during what is certainly an unimaginably difficult time.”
Members who wish to donate to help their union brothers and sisters may do so by making checks payable and sending them to:
UTU Disaster Relief Fund 24950 Country Club Blvd.
Suite 340
North Olmsted, OH 44070-5333
For questions, please call Transportation Division headquarters at 216-228-9400 and reference Disaster Relief.
Bernice “Bunny” Sovine Laugel, 88, of Mooresville, N.C. died Monday, Jan. 18, 2016, at Brookdale Assisted Living.
Laugel was a homemaker who loved to travel, enjoyed crocheting, had a great sense of humor and loved to make people smile.
She was preceded in death by her husband Louis Frank Laugel and her daughters Debbi Hart and Judy Gang.
Laugel is survived by her children Kenneth (Mechele) Laugel and Cyndi (Gary) Hart; grandchildren Greg (Michelle) Hart, Adam (Amanda) Hart, Emily (Nathan) Higgs, Amanda (Cory) Gibson, Ashley Laugel and Cameron Laugel; great grandchildren Tyler, Charlie and Jackson Hart, Ethan and Raelynn Gibson and Isaiah Prince.
Visitation for Laugel was held Wednesday, Jan. 20, at the Cavin-Cook Funeral Home in Mooresville.
Retired former United Transportation Union Insurance Association Field Supervisor Thomas R. Anziano Jr., 73, of Local 1373 at Philadelphia, died Mar. 26 after an extended battle with cancer.
Anziano began his railroad career with CSX Transportation and worked as a conductor and yard foreman. He was a member of the UTU since 1972 and held several offices in his local including chairperson, legislative representative and delegate before working as a field supervisor for the UTUIA, a position from which he retired in 2005. He was also a member of the UTU Alumni Association. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force.
“Tom was always known as a kind, generous man who was loved and admired by everyone who knew him. Tom always put his family, friends and especially the UTU membership ahead of himself,” UTUIA Field Supervisor Art Rayner (Local 1374 at New Castle, Pa.) said. “I will always be forever grateful and indebted to Tom for all he had done for me after I replaced him as a UTUIA field supervisor. I will truly miss him.”
Anziano is survived by his wife, Barbara, and numerous family members.
A viewing is scheduled for Monday, March 30, at 8 a.m. at Cavanagh Family Funeral Homes, Inc., at 301 Chester Pike, in Norwood, Pa., with funeral mass to follow at 11 a.m. at St. Gabriel Church, Norwood, Pa. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Taylor Hospice Residence at P.O. Box 147, Ridley Park, PA 19078.
Delivering on the theme of the 2012 regional meetings – “We will not back down” – UTU International President Mike Futhey told more than 1,000 attendees at the Memphis meeting how the UTU is using every tool available – negotiations, legislative and legal — to defend its members’ jobs and workplace safety.
* On the Belt Railway of Chicago, where the carrier is demanding contract changes to permit one person crews at carrier discretion, the UTU has asked the National Mediation Board to declare a bargaining impasse. Belt Railway General Chairperson Chris Votteler’s negotiating team, assisted by International Vice President Delbert Strunk, faces a carrier that refuses to take crew consist changes off the table – three years following start of negotiations — even though the carrier is party to a moratorium on the issue.
“We will take every action necessary to protect our members’ jobs. We will not stand down on crew consist,” Futhey said.
* As to conductor certification — mandated by Congress and put into regulatory language by the Federal Railroad Administration – Norfolk Southern has filed an FRA-required certification plan without discussion and coordination with general chairpersons.
The NS proposed plan seeks to provide a pilot for remedial training only for conductors who have not traveled over a territory for 36 months, rather than the 12 months required in current agreements; and then seeks to place the burden of notification solely on the conductor rather than tracking the time period electronically. Additionally, the NS plan does not discuss procedures it will follow in an investigation even though FRA regulations require railroads to provide all documents and the list of witnesses prior to a hearing.
Futhey said the UTU will not permit “a tortured interpretation” of congressional and FRA intent, and will work to ensure every railroad follows the letter and intent of the law and regulations prior to the required Sept. 1 deadline for certifying conductors.
* In Pennsylvania, Norfolk Southern is attempting to disregard state safety laws and regulations through federal preemption affecting workplace safety at hump yards. “We will take every action necessary to prevent railroads from weakening workplace safety protections, whether at the state or federal level,” Futhey said.
* Pointing to millions of dollars in fines assessed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration against railroads that have harassed, intimidated, disciplined and fired workers for reporting injuries and workplace safety concerns, Futhey reminded members that UTU designated legal counsel is pledged to assist in bringing and pursuing such complaints. Information on filing these complaints is available at the UTU website at www.utu.org by searching “OSHA.”
“We are not going to allow carriers to continue their pattern of harassment and intimidation of workers who are injured on the job,” Futhey said. “The FRA and OSHA recently signed a letter of intent to investigate jointly all complaints of carrier harassment and intimidation, and the FRA has informed each carrier of its intent to work with OSHA to end the long-standing practice of carriers disciplining injured workers “where the facts fail to support the charges. We are lawyered up, too, and will take this to wherever we must to protect the interests of our members.”
* Recalling the horrific murder of a UTU-member bus driver in Los Angeles, the fatal shooting of a train-crew member near New Orleans, and assaults on bus operators and intrusions into locomotive cabs by armed robbers elsewhere, Futhey said the UTU is working with lawmakers and regulators to implement better safeguards for its air, bus and rail members. The FRA recently imposed a requirement that all new and remanufactured locomotive cabs be equipped with secure cab locks.
“I promise every member that the UTU will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our members to ensure their safety. Our voice will be heard,” Futhey said.
As to the state of the union, Futhey said the International’s general fund balance is improving as carriers bring back furloughed workers, that the UTU Insurance Association now has a $28 million surplus and is financially strong, and the Discipline Income Protection Plan (DIPP) is financially sound with more than $10 million in assets.
Futhey emphasized that while competing plans often seek ways to deny payment of claims, the UTU’s DIPP is aggressive in paying claims. Futhey cited an example of two workers on the same assignment on CSX – one covered by the UTU’s DIPP and the other by a competing plan – who were both suspended. “Where the competing plan denied the claim, DIPP paid the claim. End of story.”
As for the UTU’s disability insurance plan covering bus and rail members, Futhey said it has paid out more than $22 million in disability benefits for off-duty injuries and is proving to be a valuable benefit.
As to organizing, Futhey said that since January 2008, when he took office, the UTU has an unprecedented record of organizing one new property every seven weeks. One of the first post-merger coordinations has been the joint strengthening with the Sheet Metal Workers International Association of organizing efforts, which makes greater resources available for organizing transportation, building trades and production workers.
Futhey also explained how the UTU negotiating strategy in national handling has already paid off for rail members covered by the national rail contract.
“When we entered national rail contract negotiations, our strategy was to hold the monthly cost sharing premium under $200 — rather than allow it to escalate to $300 or more — in exchange for somewhat higher copays,” Futhey said. “The Affordable Care Act now eliminates many of those copays, saving affected members out-of-pocket for many health care services while those members enjoy one of the lowest cost-sharing premiums in the public and private sectors.”
Congratulations go to Art Rayner, the United Transportation Union Insurance Association’s man of the year for 2011.
Art Rayner
Art was recognized for his sales and leadership performance – attributes that helped propel the UTUIA last year to one of its strongest financial performances.
The competition Art faced from our other dedicated and determined field service representatives demonstrated that the UTUIA is financially strong and growing. And the UTUIA will grow even stronger as our merger with the Sheet Metal Workers International Association into SMART eventually allows 150,000 additional trade unionists to join the UTUIA through purchase of insurance and investment products.
For 2011, the UTUIA’s assets grew by $3 million, its annual revenue topped $17 million, and it produced a surplus (net income after costs are deducted) of almost $2 million.
The UTUIA’s investment portfolio is generally conservative, primarily invested in government and corporate bonds and companies with the highest credit ratings, with just 15 percent of assets invested in stocks and real estate.
Our field supervisors have been provided with new technology that better helps them provide insurance advice, while the number of UTUIA insurance products has increased.
The UTUIA is working to determine what changes in its constitution are required to make its products available to our new SMWIA brothers and sisters (the current constitution limits sales to transportation workers). The key to improving further the UTUIA’s financial performance is growing sales volume, and inclusion of non-transportation workers represented by the SMWIA is essential.
As the UTUIA’s financial performance improves from inclusion of SMWIA’s 150,000 members and increased sales, product offerings can be widened.
As it has been for 135 years, the mission of the UTUIA, an insurance company owned by its trade-union members, remains the same. It is to promote the general welfare of its members; disseminate information about life, health and annuity products that provide for the security of its members and their families; provide uncompromising service quickly, efficiently and professionally; and engage in volunteer activities through its local units.
The UTUIA recognizes its obligations to its members and shall constantly strive to live up to the ideals of the fraternal benefit system.
For more information on the UTUIA and its products, including links to UTUIA field service representatives, click on the following link:
As the perfectly healthy man told the obituary editor of his local newspaper, “Reports of my demise are grossly exaggerated.”
And so it is with the UTU Insurance Association (UTUIA) and the UTU’s Discipline Income Protection Plan (DIPP).
Vicious and absolutely false rumors are circulating that the UTU and UTUIA are going out of business, and that UTUIA policy holders and DIPP participants should flee to competing organizations.
Not surprisingly, one of these false rumors originated with a competitor to DIPP.
The plain dealing truth is that neither the UTU nor the UTUIA are going out of business.
The UTUIA, which is wholly owned by its policy holders and regulated by the Ohio Department of Insurance, is doing business as usual. There is no change in the status, service, or security of the UTUIA. UTU General Secretary & Treasurer Kim Thompson reported earlier this year that the UTUIA earned more than $400,000 from operations in 2010 and remains financially strong with nearly $26 million in surplus.
Similarly, DIPP is its strongest in years. Participants in the DIPP also should keep in mind – and this has been consistently and frequently proven – that the DIPP is steadfast in looking for ways to pay claims of participants, while non-UTU plans are known to look for ways to avoid paying claims.
In addition to the UTU DIPP being the largest and most effective discipline income protection plan, it is the only program of its kind regulated by the Department of Labor – publishing financial statements, holding its funds in trust and audited annually by a public accounting firm.
The UTU, the UTUIA and the DIPP are alive and well and will continue to serve UTU members. Don’t allow mischievous and self-serving rumor mongers upset your financial security.
How long will you live after you retire, and will you have enough money to live on comfortably?
Good question. That’s why – before you retire – you should think about post-retirement economic security, because few things could be worse than money running out during what are supposed to be carefree years.
A balanced retirement portfolio should resemble a three-legged stool.
The first leg is your Tier I Railroad Retirement, Social Security or CalPERS (the California retirement system for public employees), plus Tier II Railroad Retirement and/or an employer pension.
The second leg is the equity in your home, plus your personal savings, such as certificates of deposit and mutual funds.
The third leg of this financial stool are annuities, IRAs, 401(k) plans and whole life insurance.
These three financial legs are the assets to support you through retirement. The fewer legs, or the lower value of any legs, could mean a less secure financial situation during retirement.
Determining available assets before you retire is essential. You may, for example, choose to wait another year or two before retiring and build up assets in one or more legs of your financial stool.
Younger members are wise to consider these financial legs long before they retire.
The UTU Insurance Association can help build the third leg of your financial stool prior to, and even during, retirement.
UTUIA whole life policies provide a death benefit while accumulating cash value. The death benefit protects your surviving family if you die; and the cash value becomes a source of tax-deferred savings available during your retirement years.
UTUIA annuities and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) earn guaranteed interest that is tax deferred until you draw down the balance. You may invest in UTUIA annuities up to age 85.
Existing IRAs and/or employer 401(k) plans may be rolled over into a UTUIA IRA.
To learn how the UTUIA can help make your retirement more secure, talk with a UTUIA field supervisor, call the UTUIA toll-free line at (800) 558-8842, or click here.
So how long will you live after you retire, and will you have enough money to live on comfortably?
Precisely. And that’s why – before you retire – you should think about post-retirement economic security, because few things could be worse than money running out during what are supposed to be carefree years.
A balanced retirement portfolio should resemble a three-legged stool.
The first leg is your Tier I Railroad Retirement, Social Security or CalPERS (the California retirement system for public employees), plus Tier II Railroad Retirement and/or an employer pension.
The second leg is the equity in your home, plus your personal savings, such as certificates of deposit and mutual funds.
The third leg of this financial stool are annuities, IRAs, 401(k) plans and whole life insurance.
These three financial legs are the assets to support you through retirement. The fewer legs, or the lower value of any legs, could mean a less secure financial situation during retirement.
Determining available assets before you retire is essential. You may, for example, choose to wait another year or two and build up assets in one or more legs of your financial stool.
Younger members are wise to consider these financial legs long before they retire.
The UTU Insurance Association can help build the third leg of your financial stool prior to and even during retirement.
UTUIA whole life policies provide a death benefit while accumulating cash value. The death benefit protects surviving family if you die; and the cash value becomes a source of tax-deferred savings available during your retirement years.
UTUIA annuities and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) earn guaranteed interest that is tax deferred until you draw down the balance. You may invest in UTUIA annuities up to age 85. Existing IRAs and/or employer 401(k) plans may be rolled over into a UTUIA IRA.
To learn how the UTUIA can help make your retirement more secure, talk with a UTUIA field supervisor, or call the UTUIA toll-free line at (800) 558-8842.
The United Transportation Union Insurance Association is looking for a special person to honor as its 2010 volunteer of the year.
Do you regularly volunteer at a hospital or nursing home? Do you lead a Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop or work with the handicapped? Are you involved in some other activity that benefits those in your community?
If so, the UTUIA would like to know about it.
A panel of judges at the UTU International will review all submissions and select the 2010 volunteer of the year.
The individual selected as UTUIA volunteer of the year will receive a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond and a plaque of appreciation from the UTUIA.
Additionally, he or she will be honored at the 2010 UTU/UTUIA regional meeting nearest his or her home, with all expenses paid by UTUIA.
Also, 20 runners up will be selected to receive certificates of appreciation for their volunteer efforts.
Nominations must be received or postmarked by Friday, March 26, 2010.
The winning individual will be notified by registered mail, and certificates of appreciation will be forwarded to runners up as soon as possible.
The decision of UTUIA judges is final. Previous nominees may be nominated again; however, former Volunteers of the Year are ineligible to receive awards.
The Volunteer of the Year program is an opportunity for the men and women of the UTUIA to let their fraternal lights shine.
It also provides an opportunity for UTUIA to recognize its volunteers for their outstanding contributions to others.
Nomination forms should be mailed to: UTUIA Volunteer of the Year, Attn.: Tony Martella, Director of Insurance, 24950 Country Club Blvd., Suite 340, Cleveland, OH 44070.
Do not forget to include a separate sheet of paper describing the applicant’s volunteer activities.
Nobody spends someone else’s dollars as carefully as we spend our own.
The UTU International leadership is especially sensitive to the fact that members entrust us with their own hard-earned dollars, and every member rightfully expects their union to gain the most value for their dues money. We do not take this obligation lightly.
Since taking office in January 2008, we have instituted new cost controls and conservative investment policies that, even in the face of significant furloughs by rail carriers and problems in financial markets, have made the UTU more efficient and financially secure.
The International’s General Fund, as detailed in the most recent GS&T report, has grown since the Futhey administration took office almost 18 months ago — from $2.1 million to $4 million, which is a 90 percent increase.
The General Fund pays for International operations, including employee wages and benefits, travel tied to assistance provided general and local committees of adjustment, and headquarters rent.
Separately, our strike fund has grown by 45 percent, to $2.7 million, and our convention fund is on track to have the necessary minimum on hand to pay traditional and contemplated costs of the eleventh quadrennial convention in 2011.
Total International funds have grown from $7.5 million, when we took office in January 2008, to more than $13 million, which is an increase of more than 70 percent. This is in the face of sharp carrier cutbacks of employees — many being UTU members — in response to a sour economy.
Among cost-cutting actions was the reduction of one full-time administrative officer in the Cleveland headquarters and redistribution of that work to headquarters staff and other International officers. We have gone from 15 full-time International officers to 11, which is more than a 25 percent reduction.
Travel expenses have been reduced by combining International officer assignments and assigning officers geographically closer to the committees they are assisting. Every travel expense is checked to ensure it is necessary and proper.
Our International funds are invested conservatively so they are available when needed without undue risk of principal.
Our investment advisers are paid directly for sound financial advice and do not profit by moving our money from one investment alternative to another, or as a percentage of short-term investment gains. As a result, our International finances have withstood the effects of this recession and associated financial calamities far better than most organizations.
The UTUIA, meanwhile, earned more than $300,000 from operations during the first quarter of 2009. The UTUIA remains strong with more than $23 million in surplus, as recently validated through an annual audit.
As for the DIPP, premiums exceeded claims for the first quarter 2009, which boosted the fund’s balance. We continue monitoring this fund, as claims are tied directly to the level of carrier discipline.
We have met — and continue to meet — with carrier officers to discuss what we consider to be arbitrary discipline that unjustifiably damages employee morale, impeding our ultimate goal of providing world-class transportation service.
At the local level, we are assisting local treasurers through workshops, individual assistance and the UTU University to better equip them to carry out their duties in managing their local’s funds.
The financial state of the United Transportation Union is strong and secure, and we intend to keep it that way through careful spending and improved productivity within every department and through every activity of the International.
The United Transportation Union Insurance Association (UTUIA) asks those members who are experiencing financial or other difficulties in paying premiums due to Hurricane Harvey, to please call the UTUIA to discuss options that may be available.
The United Transportation Insurance Association (UTUIA), in a show of fraternal solidarity and generosity, has donated $5,000.00 to the UTU Disaster Relief Fund to be used for SMART TD members who have been negatively impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
UTU International President Mike Futhey
