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The SMART Railroad, Mechanical and Engineering Department (SMART-MD) has reached tentative agreements with CSX, Norfolk Southern and BNSF Railway that will be sent to the membership for a vote in the days ahead.

Section 6 notices for national negotiations are not allowed to be served until November 1, 2024; however, these tentative agreements were reached on an individual carrier basis, rather than under the national umbrella. The tentative agreements, if ratified, would resolve the next round of national negotiations for SMART-MD and each respective rail carrier.

Each five-year tentative agreement provides for annual general wage increases — effective July 1st of each calendar year — totaling 17.5% (over 18.75% when compounded), as well as paid vacation days for new-hire employees and the accelerated qualification and accrual of paid vacation for tenured employees. There are also improvements to health and welfare benefits, including the extension of health and welfare coverage for surviving dependents, male sterilization procedures (i.e., vasectomy), as well as substantial increases for vision frame allowances from $115 to $250 every two years. In addition, the orthodontia lifetime maximum benefit would increase from $1,000 to $2,500 per covered individual.

The tentative agreements provide for a new individual employee-only health insurance benefits coverage that is not mandatory and will only apply to employees that select such coverage. Employees that select this new benefit will have a reduced monthly cost-share payment, capped at 10% of the carrier’s monthly payment rate. Employees that do not select the new individual employee-only health insurance benefit will continue to have their traditional employer-provided health insurance benefits, as well as a monthly cost-share payment of 15% of the carrier’s monthly payment rate. Employees that entirely opt out of their employer-provided coverage will now receive $200 per month instead of $100.

“These tentative agreements provide real wage increases and substantial improvements to paid time off that the railroads have historically fought us on, as well as improvements to health and welfare benefits with an added benefit option for those that want it,” said SMART Directing General Chairperson John McCloskey. “These tentative agreements, if ratified, take away the uncertainty of when the next round of national negotiations will be completed, and if and when annual pay increases will be implemented.”

“It is now up to the members to decide whether these agreements meet their standards,” added SMART General President Michael Coleman. “I know that all of SMART-MD, officers and staff, will be engaging with the members on each railroad property, answering questions and providing them with ratification material so they can make an informed decision.”

Tags General Committee 2, railroad, rme

Senator Bernie Sanders speaks during the Capitol Hill rail solidarity rally.

The SMART Transportation Division organized rallies in multiple locations Dec. 13 to bring attention to rail-related issues, including maintaining the current safe level of a minimum two-person crew in the cabs of locomotives, paid sick leave for workers and an end to the carriers’ Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) scheme.

A solidarity rally took place at Capitol Hill days after the Dec. 2 federal imposition of a national rail contract on SMART-TD and three other unions, drawing support from the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, multiple unions from inside and apart from the rail industry, a bipartisan contingent of U.S. representatives and senators and others.

Watch coverage of the Capitol Hill rail solidarity rally in episode four of SMART News.

“Every single day in this nation, a life is saved because of the actions of a two-person crew. When a train whistle is blown and a kid gets out of the way — that is a life that is saved in a moment. But you never hear about it because the railroads are not required to report it,” SMART-TD Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity told the crowd of supporters in Washington, DC. “PSR is a deadly animal to this entire nation. Public safety is under threat because of cuts for profit that the railroads are trying to make. They want to keep cutting. They want to keep taking crew members off trains — they’re going to do whatever they can do to keep making another dollar. We have got to put an end to it, but the only way we do that is that we all fight together and keep going.

“Keep talking to your brothers and sisters. Let them know that the fight continues — the only way that we win this battle is if everybody is out, everybody is fighting and everybody is loud and everybody is doing their part to make sure our job, our union, our solidarity is being fought for. You’ve got to be the leader at home. You’ve got to let your people know that the time is here, the time is now. We’re all in this fight together.”

The rally at the Capitol was one of a series that took place in multiple states, including Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah and Wyoming.

“These reforms aren’t going to happen on their own. We’re going to keep pushing to make them happen so we can deliver for railroad workers. At a minimum, every single railroad worker deserves paid sick leave and the guarantee of a two-person crew. These reforms will create a safer and better freight system for everyone,” said TTD President Greg Regan, who introduced a number of the speakers from Congress.

“When we leave here today, do not go home and think that you did your part. You have not done enough yet. We have not done enough yet. No one has done enough yet,” Cassity added. “We will get strong. We will get louder. We have got to continue.”

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is RAIL_don_bacon2-copy-1024x683.jpg — Rep. Ocasio-Cortez

While Congress stopped a nationwide rail strike by imposing a contract on workers in December, the devastating workplace conditions perpetuated by major rail corporations continue to prevail.

More than a dozen members of Congress addressed the rally, including: U.S. Reps. Donald Payne (D-N.J.), Andy Levin (D-Mich.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Jesús “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), as well as U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.).

“What you have shown the country is how outrageous this level of corporate greed is and how we have it in the rail industry and in other industries across this country,” said Sanders. “Tell the people that own this country that we are going to put an end to their greed.”

Sanders railed at the carriers’ refusal to meet workers’ demands for paid sick leave in the industry during the contract negotiations that concluded with the federal government imposing a contract on a majority of rail workers.

“The truth of the matter is, that if we had any justice in this country, we wouldn’t have to make that demand because this country would do what virtually every other major country on Earth does and guarantee paid family and medical leave.”

He also told workers that PSR will be in Congress’s cross-hairs: “You guys now have to do more with less. That’s their ideology — how do we work people to the bone so we can make $20 million a year? And that is why we have to put an end to Precision Scheduled Railroading,” Sanders declared. “We’re going to bring not only the rail unions together, we’re going to bring the workers together to bring the justice that is long overdue.”

The rallies coincided with a hearing led by the Surface Transportation Board to examine Union Pacific’s service performance failures that have harmed the supply chain, and preceded the public hearing before the Federal Railroad Administration on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding two-person freight crews.

Tags Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Don Bacon, Jamaal Bowman, precision scheduled railroading, PSR, railroad, two-person crews

SMART TD President Previsich came out against the merger in a letter addressed to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in January of this year. “We strongly opposed the merger when it became clear that CP’s takeover of NS would cost U.S. jobs as well as have a negative impact on those who sought to ship by rail” said Previsich, who further commented: “Having long opposed the negative impact that mergers and acquisitions such as this have on our members, we are extremely pleased to hear that CP has officially terminated their quest to takeover NS.” Read the complete statement, here.

Tags CP, freight, merger, NS, railroad

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) – Sam Harmison has been collecting rare coins and currency since he was 12. He’ll be 99 this month and is celebrating by displaying his collection of civil war and railroad currency. A friend found it and gave it to him.

“They were tearing down an old farm house between Front Royal and Winchester, Virginia,” said Sam. “They found this tin box full of old money. He said he thought I’d might like to have it.”

“The Railroads, which were really really big at that time, issued their own money,” said Mike Harmison, Lakeside Bank president and Sam’s son. “It became more acceptable throughout the nation. The railroad would take it for fare and for freight and shipping, etc.”

Read more at the StarTribune.

Tags railroad, Track inspector

Samantha Alvelo has thanked God for saving her young life after a train rolled over her three decades ago in Havelock, but she has always wanted to thank Joe.

She finally got that chance on Friday night.
Alvelo completed a decade-long search for the railroad worker she credits with saving her life when she talked with Joe Dunn on the phone on Friday night.
Dunn is a member of local 1129 out of Raleigh, N.C.
Read more from the StarNews Online.

Tags Dunn, Joe Dunn, local 1129, railroad

VANCOUVER, Wash. — The International Air and Hospitality Academy has added a new program called the Northwest Railroad Institute. The new degree program will be the fourth such program offered in the U.S.

Students taking the six-month program will be provided with training for freight railroad careers including freight conductors, conductor trainees, brakemen, switchmen and yardmen. Training for engineers and passenger conductors is not yet available.

The degree will consist of nine units including yard switching operations, air brakes and train handling rules and hazardous materials practices and handling.

The institute reckons that nearly 20 to 25 percent of the rail workforce will be eligible for retirement within the next couple of years and entry-level jobs will become available.

“A diploma from the Northwest Railroad Institute soon will be a ticket for landing an entry-level job in the railroad industry,” said Terry Keene. Keene is a member of the school’s advisory committee and worked for BNSF Railway for 39 years and was a member of UTU Local 1977.

To start the academy will only be accepting 50 students to the program. Students must have a high school diploma or GED to apply and be at least 18 years of age. The school will start to accept applications for the program beginning June 15 and classes are set to start July 15.

Similar programs are offered at two locations of Modoc Railroad Academy near Sacramento, Calif. and Marion, Ill., and at the National Academy of Railroad Sciences at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan.

Tags brakemen, conductor, degree, degree program, rail, railroad, switchmen

The following message was sent to the UTU National Legislative Office from Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo:

In his State of the Union Address last week, President Obama spoke about the importance of investing in our infrastructure as a path to create new jobs and lay a foundation for America’s economic success.

In the last three years, American businesses have added 6 million new jobs, including a half-million in manufacturing. But there’s more to be done. And while construction jobs are often the most visible, our investments can continue remaking America as a magnet for manufacturing.

In a new report, the Environmental Law and Policy Center highlights the scope of the railway supply industry in the Midwest.

The report found 122 suppliers in Ohio, 99 in Indiana, 49 in Michigan, 84 in Illinois, 73 in Wisconsin, 26 in Minnesota and seven in Iowa. The Midwest is not alone. Railway suppliers are located in 49 out of 50 states and employ 94,000 people.

Manufacturers like Cleveland Track Material in Ohio are benefiting from the $12 billion the U.S. DOT has invested in passenger rail over the last four years. Started by Vietnam Veteran Bill Willoughby in 1984 in an impoverished section of Cleveland, the company was one of 53 across 20 states that received an order from Maine’s Downeaster service expansion project. Last year, Cleveland Track invested over $5 million in new production equipment at their plant. The company employs 300 people in Ohio, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

Manufacturers are opening new plants in the United States. Recently, the state of California awarded the newly-opened Nippon Sharyo plant in Illinois with a contract to build 130 rail cars that will run on the state’s existing corridors.

Amtrak and California High Speed Rail Authority have answered our call to work together to explore a bundled procurement for the next generation of high-speed rail equipment – equipment designed to reach up to 220 mph. Combining orders will provide incentives to high-speed rail manufacturers to build factories domestically, creating new high-quality jobs and tremendous opportunities for suppliers.

Investments in freight rail will also mean new jobs at suppliers. Last week, the Association of American Railroads announced the industry would invest more than $24 billion this year in its network.

President Obama also recently signed into law the Shortline and Regional Railroad 45G Tax Credit. The Railway Tie Association estimates that when the 45G credit is in effect, between 500,000 and 1,500,000 additional railroad ties will be installed each year.

For the first time in more than a decade, America is adding new manufacturing jobs. Continued investment in our rail network will put Americans to work in factories today, and lead to economic expansion over the next generation.

Tags Amtrak, FRA, high-speed rail, investment, Obama, railroad, Szabo

In his state-of-the-union speech Jan. 26, President Obama mentioned the word “railroad” eight times — the most mentions of “railroad” in more than 30 years of state-of-the-union messages delivered by five different presidents.

Yes, there are those who keep count.

In fact, the Washington, D.C., public policy advocacy firm of Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell used their research skills to trace back to the turn of the 20th century — more than 110 years ago — mention of the word “railroad” in state-of-the-union speeches.

As the table below indicates, railroads were a pretty common topic of statecraft prior to World War II, not the least of reasons being that they were the primary means of moving people and freight in America. That, of course, was before commercial air travel — especially jet aircraft — and Interstate highways. Indeed, Teddy Roosevelt said “railroad” a whopping 153 times in state-of-the-union speeches during his presidency (1901-1909).

The dearth of the word “railroad” in state-of-the-union speeches in the decades between Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) and Jerry Ford (1974-1977) ended with Jimmy Carter (1977-1981). Carter mentioned “railroad” 26 times in state-of-the-union speeches — and for good reason. During Carter’s presidency, railroad deregulation was among the top domestic priorities of his administration. It was Carter who signed into law the Staggers Rail Act, largely deregulating railroads, in 1980.

Comes now iron-horse champion Obama, who, in word and deed, is looking to resurrect rail passenger service — more precisely, world-class 21st century high-speed rail service — as a principal alternative to commercial airlines and automobiles.

Below is a table, courtesy of Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell, breaking down the mention of the word “railroad” in state-of-the-union speeches since 1901.

President	Total “Rail” Used
Barack Obama	8
George W. Bush	1
Bill Clinton	1
George H.W. Bush	1
Ronald Reagan	3
Jimmy Carter	26
Gerald Ford	2
Richard Nixon	0
Lyndon Johnson	1
John Kennedy	1
Dwight Eisenhower	0
Harry Truman	2
Franklin Roosevelt	3
Herbert Hoover	14
Calvin Coolidge	29
Warren Harding	32
Woodrow Wilson	37
William Taft	62
Teddy Roosevelt	153
TOTAL	376

To read more about what President Obama said about railroads in his state-of-the-union speech, click on the following link:

https://www.smart-union.org/news/obama-all-aboard-for-high-speed-rail-6/

Tags high-speed rail, HSR, Iron Horse, Obama, rail, railroad, Train