WASHINGTON – The UTU and 30 other trade unions have jointly written members of Congress in opposition “to any proposal” that would pay for health care reform “by altering the tax treatment of employer-provided health care. “We believe this would be a step in the wrong directi [...]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued an interpretation of its regulations on employer harassment and intimidation of injured employees — welcome pointers to help rail workers, injured on the job, know their rights. The interpretation focuses [...]
The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 provides that no later than April 2010, the FRA must conduct a rulemaking to determine the principles, elements and methods of conductor certification. The FRA says it is now prepared to move forward on that rulemaking with the assistan [...]
A new federal law requires railroad workers to provide the Social Security numbers of their dependents. The Medicare secondary payer statute and regulations contain a series of rules for determining whether Medicare is the primary payer for a person who has both Medicare and [...]
Here’s an opportunity to save a 44-cent stamp and better assure your UnitedHealthcare payments for GA-23111 plans and COBRA coverage arrive on time. It’s called electronic funds transfer, or EFT, and it permits your UnitedHealthcare premiums for GA-23111 plans and [...]
By UTU Assistant President Arty Martin As a union, we can’t make the economy better, but we always attempt to make life better for our members caught up in the downturn. Many younger members, having left non-railroad employment to take railroad jobs, have now found themselves [...]
By Vic Baffoni Vice president, Bus Department Negotiations are underway on UTU’s largest bus property, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA). The UTU negotiating committee, headed by General Chairperson James A. Williams, exchanged contract pro [...]
By International President Mike Futhey Compromise is the art of successful negotiations. But when one party goes to the negotiating table unwilling to compromise, the results can be unpleasant for both, and produce a result that might not be the best choice. Such was the case [...]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which was signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17, 2009, may temporarily reduce the premium you have to pay to purchase Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) continuation coverage under the medi [...]
Aetna has corrected the coordination-of-benefits policy of the national dental plan it administers for UTU members employed on freight railroads and Amtrak. The change applies only where Aetna is the secondary payer and the primary payer is another dental-insurance plan. An a [...]
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