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Division 333 Legislative

Legislative Representative

Mark Anderson

2702 Stillwater Rd.
Maplewood, Mn. 55119
(651) 730-0398
bletmmslb@comcast.net

 

Leadership Update May 8, 2008

 

Across this nation our brothers and sisters are standing up for workers. We are challenging the Bush/McCain anti worker agenda. Working people are being left behind as wages stagnate, health care costs spiral out of control and the hope of a secure retirement fades. The housing crisis and credit crunch have working families stretched to the limit like no other time in the last 50 years. Wage stagnation and economic inequality form the house of cards upon which our current economy was built. We have been out at the worksites with our message and next week we will join our brothers and sisters from across the nation going door to door.

 

Join us on Saturday, May 17, as the massive Labor 2008 pro g ram launches in Minnesota and other battle g round states
What: Minnesota joins nationwide Labor 2008 kickoff
When: May 17 (May 15 in Virginia, May 20 in St. Cloud)
Where: 6 Minnesota locations, 150 Locations nationwide

  • Virginia, MN – Thurs., May 15, 4 PM - Local 49 Hall - 8381 Enterprise Dr .

  • Metro Area – Sat., May 17, 9 AM - Local 49 Hall - 2829 Anthony Lane S.

  • Duluth – Sat., May 17, 9 AM - Labor Temple - 2002 London Rd.

  • Grand Forks – Sat., May 17, 9 AM - IBEW Local 1426 - 1714 N. Washington

  • Mankato – Sat., May 17, 9 AM - Labor Temple , 310 McKinzie St .

  • Rochester – Sat., May 17, 9 AM – Plumbers Local 6, 1470 Industrial Dr. NW

  • St. Cloud – Tue., May 20, 4 PM, Laborers Hall - 1903 Fourth St. N.

We’ll need your help in the coming months with walks, phone banks, worksite leafleting and other activities. Your help is critical to getting information out to working family voters.

 

 

Show union members where John McCain stands

You’ll find flyers in English—and in Spanish—on the working families toolkit. And the AFL-CIO will pay for printing when you order flyers through the toolkit. Keep the pressure on, by showcasing www.mccainrevealed.org in your newsletters and on your web site.

 

 

 

FYI: Candidate McCain is on record, saying that he:

-    Would tax health benefits

-    Supports NAFTA

-    Opposes the Employee Free Choice Act

-    Is no fan of OSHA or worker safety

 

Labor Leader of the Week

Steve Claypatch, Business Manager of IBEW 292, has been dedicated to increasing Local 292 participation in politics. One recent example came last week, when a large group of IBEW members lobbied the legislators and urged them to support a multi-million dollar, job-creating expansion at the Mall of America. With its 5000 members, local 292 is fully participating in the Labor 2008 program and will be releasing staff to work full-time on Labor 2008 in June. As Steve says, “This election is about the future. Labor will play a critical role and IBEW 292 will do whatever it takes to win this election for working families.”

 

News from Working America

Working America, the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, began recruiting members from its third and newest office in the St. Cloud area May 5th. Since reopening the Twin Cities office in May '07 and Rochester in April '08, Working America canvassers have recruited more than 65,000 members. In addition, Working America canvassers are encouraging members to take action on healthcare and an economy that is failing workers. Working America canvassers have collected more than 9,000 signatures on a petition supporting affordable healthcare, and delivered 431 hand-written letters to Minnesota legislators asking them to raise the minimum wage. Read more at: http://www.workingamerica.org/blog/category/minnesota/

 

It’s who you know…

East Central ALC: Wayne Fleischhacker, 503 Maple St. Brainerd , MN 56401 – 218-839-0850

Mpls. Regional Labor Fed.: Anna Brelje, 312 Central Ave. , Mpls. , MN 55414 – 612-379-4206

Northeast ALC: Chad McKenna, 331 E. 5th St., #2 , Duluth , MN 55805 – 218-310-8412

St. Paul Re g ional Labor Fed.: Bree Halverson, 411 Main St., #202 , St. Paul , MN 55102 – 651-222-3787

Southeast ALC: Liz McLoone, 11 Fourth St. SE , Rochester , MN 55904 –  507-254-9249

West ALC: Mark Froemke, 811 N. Broadway, Crookston , MN 56716 – 701-722-7404

 

Calendar

Labor 2008 Steering Committee Meeting: 10 AM, Thursday, May 15

 

The last word:

Both Houses of Minnesota Legislature support Employee Free Choice Act

On International Workers’ Day, May 1, Minnesota became one of only four states that have supported the Employee Free Choice Act in both Houses of its legislature. With more than 30 union members looking on, 84 Minnesota legislators voted for SF 543, a resolution urging Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. The same bill passed the Minnesota Senate during the 2007 Legislative Session...

...But Governor joins McCain, Coleman in opposing freedom to join unions

Senators John McCain and Norm Coleman voted against the Employee Free Choice Act in the US Senate, and Tim Pawlenty is following in his mentors’ anti-worker footsteps. On Thursday, May 8 Pawlenty vetoed a bill supporting workers’ freedom to form and join unions.

 

Brian Winkelaar

Minnesota State Director – Labor 2008

IBT launches Teamsters For Obama web site to mobilize members

 
 CLEVELAND, April 23 — The International Brotherhood of Teamsters launched TeamstersForObama.org over the weekend to help educate and mobilize its members.

The web site is available only to Teamsters members and can be accessed by entering the Password published on the Contents Page of March/April Teamsters magazine. The password login is case sensitive and must be entered exactly as it appears in the magazine.

 


The web site contains Sen. Barack Obama’s positions on labor, trade, health care, the economy and more. Likewise, Teamsters can sign up for email updates on our election year efforts, view news headlines from the campaign trail, keep up with election oriented events, watch videos and order Teamsters For Obama gear.

Federal Election Commission rules limit what the union can say or post on web sites that are open to the public, such as Teamster.org. However, TeamstersForObama.org, a password-protected, members-only web site can provide Teamsters with more information about the election, the issues, the candidates and ways to get involved.
 

EMAIL FROM BROTHER ANDERSON ABOUT THE FRA SEMINAR

I did attend the FRA seminar and yes there was a lot of good information. I thought that there would be a 1 1/2 - 2 hour presentation that would be rerun every 2 hours or so. It turned out to be one 5-6 hour presentation so when I arrived  at about 1pm or so they were on page 69 of a 93 page power point presentation. It lasted until 3:30 or so.

 The main  ideas that I got were that if you shove blind or leave a switch open in dark territory you may be fined as much as $15,000 depending on if an incident occurs or not and which regulation is violated. We have always been subject to fines but there is no longer a requirement for the FRA to prove that the violation was  willful. The fine part was not emphasized because the Unions have petitioned the FRA saying that the fines  should be removed. Crews likely will not turn themselves in for forgetting a switch if they are going to be fined. This could result in another crash like the one in South Carolina. The whole regulation was to be postponed but the postponement was not published in the Federal Register in time. The FRA says that is using it's authority to not impose fines at this time.

 There was also emphasis on something called a "Good Faith Challenge."  This is your right to not follow a company officers instructions if you believe that you would be violating one of these new regulations. It applies only to the new regulations. If you believe that following carrier instructions would be a violation of these rules you can utilize your challenge by telling the officer that you are going to employ the "Good Faith Challenge". You must explain to the officer the basis of your challenge. You need to document the circumstances before you go off duty. Once you make your challenge you cannot be forced to do that work until the Challenge is resolved. Another crew can be asked to do the work but it must be explained to them why you have refused to do the work and that you  have invoked the challenge. They may choose to do the work as requested or they can also challenge. The company officer must get another officer another officer to review  the dispute and resolve the challenge. The other officer can be in person or on the phone. If that officer decides that you are wrong you must do the work. Your documentation is what will save you if you are right and they are wrong. Try to have all crewmembers involved in the discussion with the officers so you have witnesses. They must give you time to document the challenge  before your shift ends 

 The carriers are supposed to train all of us in this by the end of the year. They are also appealing this as they think they don't have enough time. The carriers had the same presentation that was given last Saturday. I'm not sure how much training they will actually give but the FRA people I saw this week thought it would be hard to do in less that 4 hours.

The Senate is about to act on S 1889. This is the companion bill to H.R. 2995 that was passed last fall. (Jim Oberstar's Railroad Security improvement act of 2007) The Senate bill is not as good as the House version so we are not supporting or opposing it. 

 The issues are that it. would limit us to 276 hrs. a month including limbo time. Some carriers do not pay for limbo time and others only pay some crew members or only pay after a certain number of hours such as only after 14 1/2 hours on duty. If you are one of these guys and you sit on the train for free a few times a month this could dramatically reduce your earnings. The other issue is that it would give any carrier who owns, leases or has trackage rights on track where Amtrak runs the ability to take over the routes if they are profitable. Amtrak will require more funding if they remove their moneymakers.

 Because the bills are different a committee will try to merge the two bills together if the Senate version passes. The hope is to get a bill that looks more like the house version when it gets to committee.

Passing legislation is a dance in the dark and a crap shoot.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

The Senate is about to act on S 1889. This is the companion bill to H.R. 2995 that was passed last fall. (Jim Oberstar's Railroad Security improvement act of 2007) The Senate bill is not as good as the House version so we are not supporting or opposing it. 

 The issues are that it. would limit us to 276 hrs. a month including limbo time. Some carriers do not pay for limbo time and others only pay some crew members or only pay after a certain number of hours such as only after 14 1/2 hours on duty. If you are one of these guys and you sit on the train for free a few times a month this could dramatically reduce your earnings. The other issue is that it would give any carrier who owns, leases or has trackage rights on track where Amtrak runs the ability to take over the routes if they are profitable. Amtrak will require more funding if they remove their moneymakers.

 Because the bills are different a committee will try to merge the two bills together if the Senate version passes. The hope is to get a bill that looks more like the house version when it gets to committee.

Passing legislation is a dance in the dark and a crap shoot.

Help Us Help You



Money from the BLET-PAC is used to help in the fight on Capitol Hill for issues that impact your job, your family and your future!

Railroad Retirement
Amtrak Funding
Federal Employers' Liability Act
Railroad Security
Railroad Safety

Big Railroads spend big money in Washington to influence members of Congress and push their anti-worker plans. They outspend working families by more than 15-1. Through grassroots political action and aggressive lobbying on Capitol Hill and in State Houses and City Halls across America, labor has stopped some of the worst attacks on working people.

Why should you join?

Big Railroads are pushing their agenda harder than ever. That means we have to fight back stronger than ever. Unions cannot just react when important issues arise. We must get in the game early and help set the agenda. BLET-PAC helps elect and retain elected officials who share our concerns.

I Already Pay Union Dues?

Laws prohibit the use of union dues for political purposes. Your voluntary BLET-PAC contribution fills this gap and enables us to help those who share our interests on the state and national level.

I'm Almost Ready to Retire?

BLET-PAC also works for our retired members and their spouses. We're working to protect your interests on matters related to Railroad Retirement, survivor's benefits and other timely issues.

Please join and support BLET-PAC. If we all contribute just a little, it CAN make a difference. You can obtain a BLET-PAC Authorization Card by contacting Mark Anderson. bletmmslb@comcast.net  

If you already contribute, consider contacting our Secretary/Treasurer to increase your BLET- PAC contribution. Let's make an effort to be proactive in the effort to support issues that are important to us and our families!

Federal Legislation

 

Below are a number of bills that have been introduced in the 110th Congress that you might find of interest. At times, this list may be incomplete. It will be updated frequently to reflect new bills that have been introduced, as well as the changing nature of individual pieces of legislation as they work their way through committee. As the congressional session progresses, we will make every effort to highlight which bills the BLET has decided to support or oppose. These bills are listed here as a resource for your convenience, and inclusion or omission in no way reflects the position of the BLET unless otherwise noted. Please visit frequently, or check the Action Alerts section to stay up to date on when to take action!

To research Bills on your own, please visit www.thomas.gov. You can search by bill text, bill number, or by sponsor. The website also provides easy access to the Congressional Record and daily schedules.

RECENTLY INTRODUCED

  1. American Investment in Safe, Reliable High-Speed Rail Act -- H.R. 4122

  2. High-Speed Rail Authority Development and Formation Act -- H.R. 4123

  3. Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2007 -- S. 1889

  4. To amend title 49, United States Code, to ensure competition in the rail industry, enable rail customers to obtain reliable rail service, and provide those customers with a reasonable process for challenging rate and service disputes. -- H.R. 2125

  5. Transportation Energy Security and Climate Change Mitigation Act -- H.R. 2701

  6. Improving America's Security Act of 2007 -- S. 4

  7. Federal Railroad Safety Accountability and Improvement Act -- H.R. 1516

  8. Federal Railroad Safety Accountability and Improvement Act -- S. 918

  9. Rail Worker Emergency Training Act -- H.R. 535

  10. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives to encourage investment and expansion of freight rail infrastructure capacity and to enhance modal tax equity. -- S. 1125

  11. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives to encourage investment and expansion of freight rail infrastructure capacity and to enhance modal tax equity. -- H.R. 2116

  12. Railroad Retirement Fairness Act -- H.R. 626

  13. Rail Transit Security and Safety Act of 2007 -- H.R. 534

  14. Surface Transportation and Rail Security Act of 2007 -- S. 184

  15. Rail Security Act of 2007 -- S. 83

  16. Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Act of 2007 -- H.R. 99

  17. Public Transportation and Rail Security Assistance Act of 2007 -- H.R. 1493

  18. To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend and modify the railroad track maintenance credit -- H.R. 1584

  19. Neighborhood Rail Accountability Act -- H.R. 148

  20. Railroad Competition and Service Improvement Act of 2007 -- S. 953

  21. Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2007 -- S. 772/H.R. 1650

  22. PROGRESS ACT -- H.R. 1300

RECENTLY PASSED

  1. Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Comission Act of 2007 -- H.R. 1

  2. Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 -- S. 294
    Amtrak Reauthorization

  3. Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 -- H.R. 2095
    Passed 10/17
    To amend title 49, United States Code, to prevent railroad fatalities, injuries, and hazardous materials releases, to authorize the Federal Railroad Safety Administration, and for other purposes.

Railroad Retirement Disability Earnings Act

Introduced in the 109th Congress as H.R. 5483.
Signed by the President and became Public Law 108-478 on January 12, 2007.

This bill amended the Railroad Retirement Act to increase the allowable outside earnings limit for persons receiving railroad retirement disability benefits from $400 per month to $700 per month, with future indexing for inflation.

Read The Act
Read The Detailed Report

General Reports

  1.  BLET Reference Manual For Railroad Worker Fatigue – Abridged
    By Mark K. Ricci, Ph.D.

  2.  Hazard Survey of Remote Control Operations On the General
    System of Railroads in The United States
    By Dr. Frederick C. Gamst and George C. Gavalla

  3.  High Alert: Workers Warn of Security Gaps on Nation's Railroads
    Published by The Teamsters Rail Conference

  4.  What Every Railroad Worker Should Know About Federal Railroad Safety Laws and Regulations
    By Lawrence M. Mann

Not Registered to Vote?

The intelligent use of the Ballot is our strongest Voice!

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has a Comprehensive Voter Registration Page.

Follow the link and take a few minutes to Register Now and have your voice heard.

https://electionimpact.votenet.com/teamsters/voterreg/index.cfm

Contacting Congress

Communicating With Elected Officials -- Who, What, Where, When, Why

Tips on Writing Your Elected Officials -- How

Sample Letter to Elected Official

Finding Your Elected Officials:

Click on your state below for more information on your elected officials:

If you don't know what district you live in or who your Representative is, you can go here and enter your zip code.

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
This is only a informational website only. Information and statements contained on this web site has been provided for the benefit of BLET Division 333 Members. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Division 333 and this webmaster are not liable for discrepancies, omissions, opinions, whether expressed, implied, false or misleading content. All content © 2008 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Division 333.