UTU Local 426 Archived News.
Subject: Tentative agreement! UTU - BNSF
Date: 01/26/2008
News
The United Transportation Union (UTU) and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) reached a tentative agreement Jan. 23 on wages, rules and working conditions retroactive to Jan. 1, 2005, and continuing in force through Dec. 31, 2009. The tentative agreement, which must be ratified by some 46,000 affected UTU members, applies to conductors, brakemen, engineers, firemen, hostlers, switchmen and yardmasters employed by Burlington Northern Santa Fe, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and smaller railroads party to the national agreement between the UTU and the NCCC. After nearly three years of negotiations, a new bargaining team, headed by recently elected UTU International President Mike Futhey, reached the tentative agreement two days into resumption of talks. Other members of the negotiating team were Assistant President Arty Martin, National Legislative Director James Brunkenhoefer, UTU International Vice Presidents John Babler, J. R. (Jim) Cumby and Robert Kerley, and UTU General Chairpersons John Lesniewski and Delbert Strunk. Although the specifics of the tentative agreement will not be released until after discussion with affected (District 1) general chairpersons, Futhey said it provides for a 17 percent general wage increase over the life of the agreement, a retention of the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), and a cap on health-care contributions. The wage increases also include retroactive payments covering the period July 1, 2005, to the implementation of the tentative agreement. Additionally, the tentative agreement provides a mechanism for resolution of the entry-rates dispute, an increase in the held-away-from-home-terminal (HAHT) meal allowance, and, for the first time, contributions by the carriers to the yardmasters’ supplemental retiree medical insurance program. Futhey thanked the negotiating team for their "participation and their contributions to the negotiating process. The UTU and the NCCC have made commitments to a cooperative process that returns the industry to a spirit of interest-based resolution of matters of mutual concern. This is a process that will pay dividends to the membership."
Subject: FRA says BNSF violated utility employee rules
Date: 01/19/2008
News
CHICAGO — A Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) investigation has confirmed a September 2007 UTU complaint that Burlington Northern Santa Fe supervisors violated federal law when they allowed yard-service employees to perform functions of a utility man / road crew and then ordered them to return to their yard assignments. In a December 31 letter to UTU Illinois Legislative Director Joseph C. Szabo, FRA reported that the practice, known as “attaching,” is illegal if the so-called “utility employee” is returned to his yard duties after finishing his work with a road crew. “Concurrent service,” or rotating an employee back and forth from yard work to road work during the same shift, is a violation Part 218.22 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, wrote FRA Region IV Administrator Laurence H. Hasvold. “The railroad is allowed to detach an employee from a yard crew and assign him to assist a road crew as a utility employee only upon completion of his yard assignment,” said Local 1494 Local Chairperson John Lynch. “When he’s finished they have to send him home — otherwise his work would be in violation of the regulation. He may also be entitled to further compensation for performing the duties of a utility employee, which in our yard falls under the duties of a herder position.” But that’s not what Lynch saw happening over a period of several years at BNSF’s Corwith Yard, a busy intermodal ramp on Chicago’s Southwest Side. Lynch told “Hot Topics” he saw BNSF supervisors order members of yard crews to “attach” themselves temporarily to road train crews so they could attach, test and arm the electronic End of Train (EOT) warning device. But instead of letting such employees mark off when finished with their EOT duties, the supervisors sent them back to their switching assignments. Lynch said he was suspicious about BNSF’s practice and complained about it to supervisors. Each time he complained, he said, the supervisors tried to assure him the carrier was in compliance. Still suspicious, Lynch brought up the matter with the FRA and the UTU. “In February 2007 I attended an FRA seminar at our general committee reorganization meeting in Kansas City,” Lynch said. “I raised the utility man issue with the FRA officials and with James A. Stem Jr., the UTU’s alternate national legislative director. They confirmed these actions were a violation of the federal regulation. We told the railroad they were doing it wrong, but they still didn’t believe us. I then reported about five random incidents to Joe Szabo, and he wrote them up and forwarded the information to the FRA.” Hasvold said interviews with BNSF supervisors and employees confirmed that the practice has been discontinued. He said the FRA would not request the carrier be fined for the violations.
Subject: AETNA WARNS COVERAGE MAY STOP WITHOUT VERIFICATION
Date: 01/17/2008
News
Aetna will soon begin sending FINAL NOTICES to all employees eligible for coverage under the Railroad Employees' National Dental Plan who have not yet provided the required proof to verify their dependents’ eligibility for this coverage. Aetna began to seek verification of eligible dependents last year. To date, many members have not responded to this request or supplied proof of their dependents’ eligibility for coverage, placing continued coverage in jeopardy. If you have not yet responded to previous requests for this information, it is imperative that you do so immediately. Failure to respond to this FINAL NOTICE will result in the termination of coverage for your eligible dependents, not only under the dental plan but also under the medical plan. It is vital that UTU members who have not yet responded comply immediately with this request for dependent verification to avoid any potential discontinuation of coverage for their eligible dependents. Failure to provide the required proof by March 15 will result in termination of dependent benefits. This dependent eligibility audit is being conducted in accordance with understandings reached between rail management and rail labor. Aetna has established a toll-free help line at (866) 682-5619. It is staffed by customer service representatives specially trained to answer questions about the verification process and the required documentation. If you have not received any requests for dependent verification from Aetna, please call Aetna’s help line at the number above immediately to begin the process.
Subject: Berkshire adds 29,600 shares to its stake in BNSF railroad
Date: 01/11/2008
News
OMAHA, Neb. - Billionaire Warren Buffett's company bought 29,600 more shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe stock, giving Berkshire Hathaway ownership of 17.4 percent of the nation's second-largest railroad. He said he is willing to buy up to 25%. Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday reveal that Berkshire bought the stock Monday when Burlington Northern's stock dipped below $77 a share. The filing said Berkshire paid $76.55 for each of the shares. Buffett's company now owns 60.9 million shares of BNSF. Berkshire officials do not typically comment on the company's stock holdings, and a company spokeswoman said no one was available to comment Thursday. But Buffett and Berkshire vice chairman Charlie Munger discussed their interest in railroads at last year's annual meeting. They said railroads have become an appealing investment because they are healthier today than in past years, something Buffett and Munger said they were slow to realize because of past poor performance in the industry. Shares of Burlington Northern, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, rose $2.21, or 2.8 percent, to $80.06 Thursday. Berkshire's Class A stock gained $3,800, or 2.9 percent, to $134,200 Thursday. Berkshire also invested early last year in two other railroad companies, Norfolk Southern Corp. and Union Pacific Corp., but Berkshire cut its holdings in those two railroads in the second half of 2007. A November filing showed that Berkshire reduced its Union Pacific stake to 4.5 million shares by the end of September. That's less than half of the 10.5 million shares Berkshire previously said it owned last March 31. That same November filing said Berkshire held 1.9 million shares of Norfolk Southern as of Sept. 30. Previously, Berkshire had said it owned nearly 6.4 million shares of Norfolk Southern. Berkshire owns furniture, insurance, jewelry and candy companies, restaurants, natural gas and corporate jet firms and has major investments in such companies as The Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.