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Former International President Tom DuBose
(1991-1995)

Having served as a member and as chairperson of UTU national negotiating committees, and as a UTU International officer for 28 years, I found that the failure to reach an agreement on the national level carries the risk of having third party recommendations placed in effect by Congress.

In my 36 years of service, those decisions by Congress never were in favor of the worker – even when Democrats controlled both the House and Senate.

In today’s increasingly conservative and anti-labor political climate, allowing a presidential emergency board and Congress to determine our contract terms would be the same as our adopting the Section 6 notices of the carriers.

No national agreement has ever been perfect. This agreement is extraordinary in terms of what other labor unions have been able to achieve. A failure to ratify this agreement could be devastating to our membership.

Assistant President Arty Martin

Without the negotiated $200 monthly cap on employee health care contributions, they could rise to $355 monthly by 2015 under the formula in the existing contract.

That cap alone is worth more than $5,000 over the life of this agreement. In fact, not a penny of the wage increases negotiated is to be offset through higher health care insurance contributions for 6½ years, which is 1½ years beyond the term of this agreement. For many members, there could be a reduction in out-of-pocket costs for doctor visits and prescription drugs.

In addition to the 17-percent wage increase, which is actually 18.24 percent when compounded, we have negotiated additional pay for every FRA-certified job, a faster process for new hires to reach full pay, cash payments to those still under the five-year service scale, no work rules concessions and a process for local negotiations on alternative compensation, compensation enhancement and electronic bidding and bumping.

General Chairperson (NS GO 680) Pate King

I’m still feeling the devastating effects of PEB 219 in 1991, which were imposed by a Congress where Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), both longtime friends of labor, chaired the key Senate and House transportation committees.

I shudder to imagine what the current anti-labor chairman of the House  Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, John Mica (R-Fla.), might have in store for us if we vote down this agreement and turn our fates over to third parties.

This agreement deserves to be ratified on its merits. It is the very best agreement we could gain in this difficult economic and political environment.

International Vice President Delbert Strunk

This is the best deal out there by far: The wage increases, the cap on monthly employee health care contributions, significant savings that can be realized with decreases in generic drug co-pays and added coverage such as personalized medicine, improved entry rates for new hires, certification pay, and no work-rules concessions.

Additionally, general chairpersons have the opportunity to negotiate issues on the property relative to electronic bidding and bumping, as well as enhanced benefits. This is especially important for NS and CSX committees.

Every cent that could be gained at the negotiating table was squeezed from the carriers. No other organization has done better, period! This agreement should be ratified by our members.

International Vice President Robert Kerley

In a time of unprecedented global economic uncertainty, high unemployment rates and stagnating or retreating wages for most working Americans, this agreement provides for wage increases that far exceed anticipated increases in the Consumer Price Index, plus affordable and superior health care benefits that include the addition of state-of-the-art services and enhancements never before available to UTU members.

All this is without any work rule concessions that have historically accompanied such gains. I wholeheartedly endorse this proposal for ratification.

 General Chairperson (CSX GO 049) John Lesniewski

Lesniewski, John; John Lesniewski; G0-049; GO 49; General ChairmanIt would be irrational for our UTU membership to forsake a 17 percent general wage
increase (18.24 percent when compounded), certification pay and a condensed  new-hire service scale for the alternative of an imposed settlement decided by a third party. Historically, having a third party-imposed settlement has fared poorly for labor.

Entering these negotiations, I didn’t anticipate we could roll back our members’ health care contributions to $200 monthly and freeze them for 6½ years. The health care cost issue isn’t going away, and we met it head on, minimizing the impact on UTU members in a responsible way.

We cannot simply bury our heads in the sand and ignore the current state of the economy, escalating health care costs, the high unemployment rate, and recent wage and health care settlements made by other organizations that are well below what we have negotiated.

Alternate International Vice President Doyle Turner

Our members need to consider today’s double digit increases in health care costs.
The proposed UTU national rail contract maintains your health care insurance contribution at $200 while improving coverage.
 
The agreement also provides a 17-percent increase in wages (which is more than 10 percent in excess of projected inflation over the life of the agreement), plus service-scale enhancements, FRA certification pay, a special wage adjustment for yardmasters of 12.5 cents per hour, and a supplemental sickness benefit increased to $3,333 per month.

I fully support this proposed agreement and urge a “yes” vote.

 National Legislative Director James Stem

This is a very good agreement, regardless of economic conditions; but it is especially good given its increase over price inflation. No previous agreement provided wage increases so far above the Consumer Price Index without significant rules changes, as does this agreement.

Also to be considered is how the U.S. House of Representatives, controlled by political extremists, is attempting to reduce Railroad Retirement, Social Security and Medicare benefits, eliminate Amtrak and slash transit subsidies.

It would not be wise for us to ask Congress, already in gridlock over economic issues, to legislate an agreement based on recommendations of a presidential emergency board.

Workers are under sustained attack. This agreement provides significant financial improvement and economic stability for our families. Any other option would be a big gamble we cannot afford to take.

By UTU Assistant President Arty Martin

While watching the Major League Baseball Game of the Week Saturday between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, I was reminded of how important history and heritage are.

Prior to the start of the game, a special guest of the Red Sox was honored — 100-year-old Arthur Giddon, who had been a bat boy for the old Boston Braves as a 13 year old, 87 years ago. The Braves, until they left Boston for Milwaukee in 1952, were in the National League, while the Red Sox have remained Boston’s American League team.

Arthur was a bit slower as an honorary bat boy during Red Sox batting practice on Saturday, but no less enthusiastic in handing bats to sluggers Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, Jason Bay, and David Ortiz.

Wearing uniform number 100, with the name “Big Pappy” on the back (not to be confused with Ortiz’ nickname of “Big Poppy”), Giddon and almost 40,000 Boston baseball fans celebrated a game that has long been the American pastime, linking generations and strengthening family ties.

As a Red Sox official observed, “Baseball is a celebration of generations, and a celebration of bringing them together.” The parallels with the UTU, its history and heritage, are significant.

In the UTU, our roots run deep. Our predecessors are the ones we humbly thank today for labor laws protecting our right to organize, the requirement that employers bargain in good faith and the appointment of neutral arbitrators to hear our grievances.

UTU predecessor organizations were formed when the predominant mode of transportation in America was the horse.

In the generations that followed, rail — and later bus and aviation workers — looked to the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Firemen, the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, the Switchmen’s Union of North America, the International Association of Railroad Employees, and the Railroad Yardmasters of America (all now part of the UTU) for job security and improved wages, benefits and working conditions.

Our roots run deep, and our heritage was built on personal sacrifice and success. Our future — the future of our members and their families — will prosper, as baseball in Boston has prospered, by celebrating our heritage and never forgetting who brought us to the dance. Indeed, we can learn a lot about life, progress and success from baseball.

President Futhey, General Secretary and Treasurer Thompson and myself encourage all UTU members to take the time to learn of our history and heritage and what it means to you and your families.

This year is the UTU’s 40th anniversary, although the roots of our predecessor unions stretch back more than a century.

We will be celebrating our roots and history at the regional meetings this summer. You owe it to yourselves and your families to be educated and involved. 

I also remind all members to attend the regional meetings in San Francisco and New Orleans, where our heritage, along with many other leadership topics, will be discussed in workshops.

By Assistant President Arty Martin

Viewers of the cable television sitcom, Fawlty Towers, may recall an episode in which Basil Fawlty (played by John Cleese) beat his broken-down car with a branch, blaming the car rather than his own failure to maintain it.

Being too negatively focused on a problem rather than identifying and pursuing a workable solution can be a costly error in the workplace.

Remote control operations come to mind. For sure, remote control cost jobs, but beating up on new technology has never preserved jobs in the long run, and diverts our productive energies from crafting a positive strategy to ensure new technology is safe and that those using the new technology are properly trained and compensated for their improved skills.

An example of positive problem solving through the identification of workable solutions is a recent joint petition filed with the FRA by the UTU and the BLET seeking a safety rule requiring a qualified conductor be aboard every freight train.

Indeed, a priority of the UTU International is finding positive solutions to problems affecting our membership.

Consider other recent initiatives:

In the face of an unacceptable increase in rail-employee fatalities and career-ending injuries, a rail safety task force was appointed by UTU International President Mike Futhey to gather information and make recommendations regarding employee safety. The task force has an interactive Web page accessible from the UTU home page at www.utu.org.

Within the next couple of weeks, the task force will post a member survey on its Web page, seeking information on workplace distractions, carrier-enforced work practices, instances of worker fatigue, and other workplace safety problems.

The Web page also encourages direct communication with task force members, intended to help the task force gather detailed facts required to back-up recommendations the task force will be making to the carriers for remedial action; and, if necessary, by the UTU International to the FRA and Congress.

Moreover, the International leadership is meeting with other rail labor organizations to build a coalition aimed at convincing the carriers that intimidation, harassment and excessive discipline are jeopardizing the ability of workers to do their jobs efficiently and safely.

President Futhey’s column in the September issue of the UTU News, which will reach your mailboxes within the next 10 days, speaks more to that problem; and the column will be posted at www.utu.org next week.

President Futhey encourages members to contact local chairpersons and general chairpersons to alert them to workplace situations where members unnecessarily are forced to look over their shoulder rather than focus on doing their jobs efficiently and safely. State legislative directors should always be made aware of safety problems on the job.

A listing of contact information for International vice presidents and other senior International officers also will accompany that column. This is an open-door administration and we want to hear from you.

While the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 does not contain all we wanted — and contains some provisions we didn’t want — we are working with other rail labor organizations toward a fine-tuning of that law. The law did give us conductor certification, and President Futhey has appointed a UTU team to an FRA Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) to work toward a carrier/labor/FRA consensus on certifying conductors.

Also, in a joint submission aimed at improving safety and the security of member paychecks, the UTU and the BLET have asked the FRA to clarify and simplify its interim policies and interpretations relating to hours of service provisions of the Rail Safety Improvement Act.

Additionally, in conjunction with the BLET, we are working closely with the FRA to ensure that the FRA’s rules on Positive Train Control — whose implementation is mandated no later than 2015 by the Rail Safety Improvement Act — include provisions to ensure the technology is properly tested and monitored, that operating crews are properly trained, and that employee and public safety be the number one priority over all other considerations.

With regard to our airline members, the UTU is working with others in transportation labor to gain legislation eliminating flight-crew fatigue and to bring flight attendants under protections of OSHA.

As for our bus members, the UTU is working through the AFL-CIO for changes in commercial driver’s license regulations that subject bus operators to loss of their jobs if they receive citations while operating personal automobiles. We also are working to gain legislation requiring improved crash-resistant buses, uniform driver-training standards, and required training in dealing with abusive and threatening passengers.

Finally, member suggestions as to what the UTU should propose in Railway Labor Act Section 6 notices (the first step in revising the national rail contract), have been catalogued and the District 1 Association of General Chairpersons will soon be finalizing them prior to our Section 6 notices being served on the carriers in November.

To keep current on what the UTU is doing on your behalf to protect jobs and improve wages, benefits and working conditions, sign up for e-mail alerts by clicking on the link below:

https://webapps.utu.org/WebSiteForms/EmailAlert.aspx

Almost a year has passed since Mike Futhey, Arty Martin and Kim Thompson took office.

They ran on a platform of specific promises, including full disclosure. Following are Futhey administration promises and results, so far:

Promise #1: Restructure the International by reducing the number of International officers in Cleveland,and providing the most possible assistance to general committees, state boards and local officers.

Results: The vice president-administration duties were consolidated with those of the general secretary and treasurer (GS&T), and that vice president position was reassigned to the field. All full-time officers are assigned on a full-time basis and are required to make detailed and timely reports of their activities.

Communication with local officers was expanded, especially through visits to locals and general committees by the International president, assistant president, GS&T and International vice presidents.

Also, the UTU Alumni Association was restructured to provide greater interaction between the UTU International and retirees.

Promise #2: Automate more functions.

Results: The Information Technology Department has accelerated the conversion of critical data from an antiquated mainframe computer to modern operating systems.

Direct deposit of dues, DIPP and UTUIA insurance premiums was implemented on CSX and portions of UP, with other national- agreement carriers to be added in 2009.

Automation of billing and auditing is underway.

Also, the iLink platform was expanded for use by general committees and state boards, allowing improved and more rapid access. iLink will be directly accessible from the UTU Web site by Dec. 1.

Promise #3: Expand education opportunities.

Results: The computer-based UTU University was created, providing structured, self-teaching programs through iLink. Group instruction, to assist officers in getting started, is underway.

The awards database search engine is being improved.

Regional meeting workshops are being fine tuned to better meet member needs, especially for officers administering the National Labor Relations Act.

Promise #4: Grow and protect the International’s finances.

Results: UTU International funds have increased by $3.4 million — some 45 percent — to $11 million since Jan. 1. They are managed for the most effective return consistent with a conservative investment approach.

Also, organizing of unorganized airline, bus and rail properties has been accelerated.

Promise #5: Expand the Bus Department.

Results: More aggressive organizing is underway of bus properties in the Northeast and on the West Coast.

Also, regional meeting workshops were beefed up to provide greater understanding of labor laws affecting bus members.

Promise #6: Yardmaster commitment.

Results: While there no longer is a vice president of the Yardmaster Department, a yardmaster vice president position remains within the International headquarters to provide assistance as requested.

Promise #7: Airline commitment.

Results: In spite of the demise of Big Sky Airlines, the assistant president is assigned to search out the unorganized in the aviation industry. Discussions are underway on two airline properties, where employee interest in the UTU, based on the quality of representation at Big Sky, is strong.

Promise #8: Improve the ability and ease of researching controlling awards.

Results: iLink now provides better access to controlling awards, plus secure chat rooms for various levels of elected officers to exchange information and ideas.

Promise #9: Grow the UTU through the right merger with the right organization, and provide full transparency in the process.

Results: The UTU International is aggressively defending attempts by the SMWIA to force a merger in the face of a federal court decision that members were not provided information on conflicts between the two constitutions prior to casting ballots in 2007.

Promise #10: Improve member services.

Results: Leadership reports are posted to the UTU Web site for member inspection.

Meetings have been held regularly by senior International officers with general chairpersons and state legislative directors in an open-forum format.

A monthly UTU News feature introduces members to UTU employees, and explains what they do.

Promise #11: Engage in successful contract negotiations.

Results: A new national rail agreement bettered the pattern was negotiated in January, and was overwhelmingly ratified by the membership.

Arbitration on training and service-scale is scheduled to commence in early December.

Also, UTU International officers are available to assist general chairpersons, as requested, including providing assistance in negotiating individualized agreements to satisfy the new rail-safety bill’s changes to hours of service and limbo time.

Advice on complying with the FRA’s emergency ban on use of electronic devices in the cab has been posted on the UTU Web site.

Advice on how hours-of-service changes in the safety bill will affect members will be posted by Dec. 1. Those changes are not effective until July 2009.

Promise #12: Expand the legislative agenda and deliver on those promises.

Results: The UTU provided leadership in passage of the Rail Safety Improvement Act — the most sweeping safety reform in 30 years. Included is a provision permitting general chairpersons to sit down with carrier labor relations officers and negotiate a better balance between time off and earnings, while preserving guaranteed time off.

UTU efforts to elect Barack Obama and labor friendly lawmakers exceeded any effort ever mounted by a labor union.

The UTU will continue efforts to fix the commercial driver’s license problem, and will work with the AFL-CIO to identify qualified nominees for regulatory agency positions in the Obama administration.

“We have achieved solid gains in pursuing platform objectives,” said UTU International President Mike Futhey. “We are committed to building on the accomplishments of the first year, and identifying new objectives to serve the membership.”