On Friday April 24, 2015, the Penn Fed participated in the Annual Workers Memorial Day held at the SheetMetal Workers Hall on South Columbus Boulevard. The fact the local media gave no coverage to this important event did not deter our members from marking off and attending. With teary eyes and against the backdrop of the Delaware River and the sound of bagpipes we reaffirmed our commitment to prevent injury, illness and death on the job. We know that when workers confront the boss to demand safe conditions, the other workers will step up to join them, even when they are underpaid, overworked, and terrified of retaliation.
April 10, 2015 - Although the United States, in the words of columnist Nicholas Kristof, is “the most powerful colossus in the history of the world,” it lags significantly in quality of life for its citizens. In the Social Progress Index 2015 the U.S. does not make the top 10, or even top 15.
March 23, 2015 - “The key to reducing the frequency of oil train derailments plaguing North America is improved track maintenance,” says Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division President Freddie N. Simpson. Track conditions are a leading cause of train derailments in the United States, accounting for approximately one-third of all train accidents, according to data published by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
March 19, 2015 - by Sarah Westwood | Washington Examiner - Amtrak gives lavish bonuses for only losing $214 million last year. Employees of Amtrak, the publically-funded railroad service, earned themselves a round of bonuses because their agency only lost $214 million last year. A second set of bonuses was scrapped after Amtrak fell far short of its customer satisfaction goals, according to the agency's inspector general. Amtrak handed out $11.2 million in bonuses as part of a short-term incentive program, which was designed to reward staff if they managed to keep operating losses under $305 million in 2014.
February 19, 2015 - The Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report titled “Safety and Security-Opportunities Exist to Improve the Safe-2-Safer Program”, which is the product of consulting and management firm Behavioral Science Technology (BST). The report analyzed 10 years worth of rail worker injury and death data. This analysis showed injuries and deaths have risen since the inception of the Safe-2-Safer program on Amtrak, while the other Class I railroads have reduced injuries. The report also analyzed the $70 million dollar program costs, including the $30 million dollar consulting fees and $15 million for training.
Please note that the JRH Memorial Scholarship Fund application packets must be received (postmarked) by March 31, 2015. Applications not postmarked by that date will not be processed by IBT. Therefore, time is of the essence.
Janaury 2, 2014 - Since the implementation of the Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) regulations in 1997, there have been too many RWP accidents in which Roadway Workers were killed or injured. To date, FAMES has analyzed 41 Roadway Worker fatalities; 7 involved strikes by Roadway Maintenance Machines (RMMs), which includes hi-rail vehicles.
“Section 6” notices seeking changes in the 2012 National Agreement can be served on the Carriers anytime on or after Nov. 1, 2014. So that we may gather rank and file input on the important bargaining issues of our members for the upcoming negotiations, the BMWED has mailed out surveys.
October 11, 2014 - Just 10 days after our union warned Amtrak's Chief Engineer one of the contractor’s crane topples. "We believe that the project is being mismanaged and the contractor is not being held accountable...furthermore we believe that the contractor does not work safely."
UPDATE: September 11, 2014 - Members strongly rejected the proposed BNSF contract allowing one-person crews. The agreement, which would have applied to roughly 3,000 BNSF workers across several western states, would have provided improved pay and benefits plus full-blanket furlough protection to all affected ground service workers in exchange for an amended crew consist agreement to be phased in over two years, beginning Jan. 1, 2015. It would also have permitted trains now requiring a brakeman or helper to be operated with a minimum of one on-board conductor or one yard foreman.
