UTU Local 426   Spokane, WA

UTU Local 426 Archived News.

02/25/05

Hopefully we are going to have a local chairmen's meeting with the carrier some time the week of February 28, about the refueling depot at Hauser and maybe we can get some answers as to what we can expect in the future. Things right know are pretty much kept to the company. We will let you know what comes out of the meeting we have with the carrier for sure.
 
The BNSF is going to hire 30 more people this year in Spokane, the expected dates are March 28, May and July. That is tentative right now, but is what was told to me by management. So if you know some one who might be interested, tell them to apply on the internet and then talk to Mark McNaughten.
 
Arnie McDonald
local Chairmen Yard
 

02/17/04

Follow up to Scoters information:

After the latest company show of good will and cheer and expert leadership from the tar pit of Pasco, the folks there deadheaded numerous crews on empty grain trains with set-outs and pick-ups. Needless to say the trains were 11 plus hours.

Mr. Kayser called me last night and stated if the carrier has to deadhead on trains, it will be on Z-trains or bus, van or passenger train. We will wait and see if this Teflon's, (nothing sticks), after forty eight hours.

I took the sheet of paper, Timbermans directive about staying with the trains when deadheading, to Doug Kayser, must say real professionally handwritten, no letterhead. Word is, if you are deadheading via train that has work at Yardley, call the drivers desk at Yardley or Hauser. If there are available drivers you will get a ride to Hauser.

At the shared values session yesterday afternoon, employees stated they had a "lets put it in a acceptable manner" discussion about the deadheading on these trains with Ward Angelo (Jay Lazanis) fame. Let's suffice to say, watch out for him, in his replies to the employees.

I will attach the INTERNAL BNSF INTERNAL COMPLAINT RESOLUTION FORM-RESOLUTION PROCEDURE AND FORM. STEP ONE HAS ALREADY BEEN TAKEN BY YOUR LOCAL OFFICERS!! Use this form after copying from this website, give copy to Local Chairman. THE EEO HOTLINE NUMBER 1-800-241-5689, USE THIS. Some of the abuses to use this number are:

1. Getting lip service at Hauser about taking your two hours to report to work.

2. Hustling you out the door at Hauser without proper paperwork-air packs.

3. Forcing you to use SD 40's to deadhead on line.

Take care and heads up. rumor has it the stealth team is here.

Jim Larkin L/C

02/14/05

Mr. Ron Jackson
BNSF General Manager NW Division
2454 Occidental Avenue So.
Seattle, WA 98130

RE: Unsafe conditions report #6

Dear Mr. Jackson:

Here is a update regarding unsafe conditions I have reported to you and their status. I have been informed of two additional incidents regarding UTUWSLB-BNSF-4. One incident occurred on the Oregon Trunk Line in Oregon. The other incident happened last week in eastern Washington and involved at least one injury requiring hospital care and a locomotive fire. When I receive the details I will send them to you. If the BNSF had spent as much time, effort and money to fix the battery overcharging, overheating and exploding hazard as they have spent persecuting Fred George, the UTU messenger, this unsafe and harmful condition could have been eliminated a long time ago.

UTUWSLB-BNSF-1     Unsafe and Unacceptable BNSF Walkway Material West Lead at Delta.  Condition
corrected after 569 days.  Repair completed Feb. 4, 2005.

UTU WSLB-BNSF-2    Unsafe Walkways Delta Yard - Tracks - Scale, straight lead east and west, Delta main, switches old cab, new cab. Mini tie gang left poor footing, skeleton ties, trenches, hills, holes and
large rocks. Hard to walk on. Present conditions are dangerous to slipping, tripping, falling, turning
ankle or falling into moving equipment.. Condition has existed at least 93 days.

UTUWSLB-BNSF-3      Unsafe and Hazardous Walking conditions near dragging material detectors on BNSF mainlines - Lack of Safe Walkways Condition has existed at least 22 years.

UTUWSLB-BNSF-4     BNSF Locomotive Batteries Overcharging, Overheating and Exploding.  Condition
has existed at least 390 days.

Best regards, I remain

Respectfully,

Tom Retterath
State Legislative Director

02/11/05

If you are on board #55 you DON'T have to answer your phone after 1300 after you have already daily marked.  We have had the carrier call and change utility jobs to Hauser jobs.  This can not be done under schedule agreement.  If you do answer the phone you are subject to what ever the carrier wants you to do.  Then you have to put in penalty claims.  But I'm going to get to the bottom of this and if I have to I will ask for self help from the general chairmen account the carrier is marking the boards with who ever and how ever they want on these boards.  Which is a Major dispute account of restriction of seniority.  But remember you don't have to answer the phone if you are on board 55 after 1300.
 
Arnie McDonald

02/09/05

News: Maxine put out a notice, all crews DH’ing from Pasco or Wenatchee cannot get off at Yardley and ride to Hauser in a van.

 News: If you turn short of Pasco and return to Spokane, claim flip and supply local chairman with all info. You should not return short of round trip per schedule. 

Scoter

02/08/05

George Bush and Republican leaders have made phasing out Social Security through privatization and massive benefit cuts their top priority for 2005. Members of Congress are choosing sides over the next couple of weeks.

We need to make sure they choose correctly now before a massive election-style campaign by George Bush and the Wall Street interests gets to them including what might be a $100 million TV ad campaign.

MoveOn™ is trying to gather 200,000 signatures to present to lawmakers when they return after the inauguration. You can sign the petition now at:

http://www.moveon.org/socialsecurity/

Social Security is a complicated issue, but the basics are really pretty simple:

° Social Security provides monthly benefits to some 44 million Americans who are retired, disabled or the survivor of a deceased parent. It provides most of the income for older Americans--some 64 percent of their support. It has lifted generations of seniors out of poverty.

° Social Security is not in crisis. That is an outright lie perpetrated in order to create the urgency for radical changes. Under conservative forecasts, the long-term challenges in Social Security do not manifest themselves until 2042. Even then Social Security has 70 percent of needed funds. That shortfall is smaller than the amount needed in 1983, the last time we overhauled Social Security. George Bush's Social Security crisis-talk is an effort to create a specter of doom -- just like the weapons of mass destruction claim in Iraq.

° Phasing out Social Security and replacing it with privatized accounts means one thing: massive cuts in monthly benefits for everybody. Social Security privatization requires diverting taxes used to pay current benefits into privatized accounts invested in risky stocks. Without that money Social Security benefits will inevitably be cut -- some proposals even cut benefits of current retirees. These benefit cuts are inevitable, since diverting Social Security money into privatized accounts means less money to pay current and future benefits.

° Every serious privatization proposal raises the Social Security retirement age to 70. That might be fine if you're a Washington special interest lobbyist but it is incredibly unfair to blue-collar Americans with tough, physical jobs, or for African Americans and Latinos with lower life expectancies.

° Privatization means gambling with your retirement security. There is probably an appropriate place for a little stock market risk in retirement planning -- but it isn't Social Security. Privatization exposes your entire retirement portfolio to stock market risks -- and the risk that you'll outlive any of your savings at retirement. You can't outlive your Social Security benefit.

° So who does benefit? Wall Street. Giant financial services firms have been salivating for decades over the prospect of taking over Social Security. Wall Street would make billions of dollars in profit by managing the privatized accounts -- money that would come directly from your benefits.

° Action is urgently needed today. President Bush and Republican leaders in Congress are joining forces with the financial services industry for a major campaign to convince the public there is a major crisis and pressure members of Congress to vote for privatization. Action is needed now before it is too late. Please sign MoveOn™'s petition to protect Social Security at the link above.

02/05/05

Some Good news:

Our General Chairmen Dave Snyder, will be on the wage negotiating committee again for 2005.  Dave is a very good negotiating person to have on our side, he will do his very best for the members on the BNSF. Our contract with the carrier was up January 1, 2005. We will be working under the existing wage contract of August 2002.  The only raises we will get are COLA raises in the future until our new contract is settled.  We will work under existing schedule rules. All trip rates that are not in effect will be placed in effect that will be trip rated.  The yard will not be trip rated. 
 
Members,  when sending me claims through the TSS please write all things that are important to the claim such as Who, When, Where, What time, as much of an explanation as possible.  If you are making a road claim such as being sent out of the yard to dog catch you have to fill out delay reports and all paper work that goes along with that sort of thing.  I need all copy's of such reports sent to me for further processing.
 
Also if you are doubling back from afternoons to day's and you are asked to work over time please notify the trainmaster on duty and explain to him that you are doubling back to the day shift and if you work overtime you will not be able to get to the next shift. Same applies to any shift double back.  Don't just do what the yardmaster tells you to do with out talking to that trainmaster first, then if they still want you to, then do what they want and put in a time slip for not being able to work shift marked to the previous day.
 
Fraternally Yours
Arnie McDonald
GN Yard Local Chairmen

02/04/05

All,

I have been advised that a thirty car derailment at St. Cloud will cause traffic to detour affecting your terminals.  The lines will likely not be opened for several days and therefore there will be need for all available man power during that period and for several days thereafter due to the build up of traffic.  Please advise your members of this problem and encourage them to stay marked up, if at all possible, during this period.

J D Fitzgerald