Progress Through Unity

Archives for August 10, 2018

OPEN LETTER TO NJ TRANSIT RAIL PASSENGERS

 

I am Stephen J. Burkert, General Chairman for SMART TD. My union represents the Conductors, Assistant Conductors and Ticket Collectors that work for NJ TRANSIT Rail Division. I have been employed as a NJ Transit conductor for 30 years. I pride myself on being an advocate for my Members as well as our passengers.

The past few weeks have been extremely difficult for anyone who has had to travel or work on our transit system. I write this letter hoping to clarify  truthful statements and to dispel what has been falsely put out to you, the passengers, via radio, newspapers or television.

I do not condone annulled trains for any reason unless there is an emergency situation involving a safety issue. I completely understand the passengers frustration in standing on a platform waiting for a train to arrive and then being told over the Public Address system it is annulled. I understand the financial impact on already strained paychecks for cabs, Ubers and extended daycare, not to mention the time lost with your families at home.

I would like to begin with “crew shortages” and annulled trains. It was recently attributed that trains were annulled due to conductors not being available, this statement is NOT TRUE. The shortage of engineers is why trains were annulled. Without an engineer to operate the train locomotive there cannot be service. Annulments were not caused by a lack of availability of the men and women in uniform on our trains. The engineer shortage is a direct result of NJ Transit being underfunded for the last 8 years.

The Federal Railroad Administration places work rules on both of our crafts that are similar to pilots or truck drivers. In the past we were allowed to work trains in an unlimited string of days without a rest day. The recent rule change dictates that rest days must be taken. NJ Transit lacked the funds to hire conductors and engineers to make up the short fall, thus there is a shortage of employees and more train annulments. The training program for both positions are similar in duration, 2 years, and due to recent increased funding by Governor Murphy and the State Legislature more classes are projected. I work alongside NJ Transit within the training program. We are working together to make improvements for future employees.

The train conductors DO NOT choose which trains will run service and which trains will be annulled. I understand that waiting for the next train is inconvenient as it will be more crowded, but yelling your complaints at the crew when the door opens is misplaced. They are ordered by NJ Transit supervisors to work those trains, they have no power in the decision. The train crew is placed in a position to transport the passengers safely from point A to point B, while picking up double the amount of passengers. The crews are trying to accomplish this with as little added disruption as possible while being courteous to irate passengers. The reason trains are short coaches or annulled completely, due to mechanical issues, has to do with spare parts. The last 8 years of underfunding has left NJ Transit’s spare parts bins empty. If there had been more money allotted for spare parts we would all be in a much better state of affairs today.

The train crews are ordered to collect revenue whether the train in front of them was annulled or late. If your train is delayed for mechanical issues they are still required by NJ Transit to collect revenue. The train crews are NOT empowered to issue refunds. Train crews who have tried to appease passengers and not charge fares for a delayed train are brought up on disciplinary charges. If a passenger refuses to pay a fare, NJ Transit rules dictate the police must be called. Again, I understand the frustration of paying a fare for a service you deem inferior, but you are placing the blame on a train crew member who is only trying to do the job they are required to perform. Crews are required to work overtime, and many of my members do, some in excess of 70 hours a week, many assignments have over-time built into them and most employees do work on their scheduled days off to provide service for our passengers.

It has been published that train crews are responsible for trains that are short coaches, that statement is FALSE. The crews report to work for their shift and are directed to a train set which will be used on that day. The crew does not get to pick which trains have more or less coaches.

The train crew is NOT responsible for mechanical issues or malfunctions. I can assure you we are not responsible for the overflowing toilets and we are just as inconvenienced as you, if not more so. We have had crews stuck with those overflowing toilets for over 6 hours. The train crew has no input when there are zero toilets in a train set. Crews will try their best to fix a minor malfunction if they are able, but we are not trained mechanics.

Passengers have taken to social media when service disruptions have occured looking for solutions. They have received advice from NJ Transit Customer Service that may have been misunderstood or incorrect. The conductors are given direction from their train supervisors who are not customer service representatives. I am working with NJ Transit to insure that the messages or responses that are given to passengers via social media are correct in substance and comply with the rules and regulations that trains crews must abide by while working.

While passengers are justified in expressing their displeasure over NJ Transit in recent weeks, they are never justified when anger is directed toward train crews. Recently crews have been verbally assaulted and passengers have spit on them. Two female crew members have been physically thrown off their trains for no other reason than a male passenger was angry. Conductors are being assaulted and have been transported to hospitals for serious injuries. The train crew is there to insure your safety, it is a top priority while you are on our system, they do not deserve to be a crime victim for showing up to do their assigned jobs.

I look forward to discussing the Atlantic City Rail Line suspension with NJ Transit in the near future. I will certainly offer my assistance and past knowledge to Executive Director Corbett. If the suspension can be avoided completely or reduced in duration it would be extremely beneficial to my members and those passengers who reside and work in South Jersey and the Philadelphia area.

I hope this letter clarifies some recent events. I will continue in my efforts to return NJ Transit back to a top notch transportation system that the passengers deserve.

 

Thank you,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

SMART TD LOCAL 60

General Chairman Burkert’s Weekly “HOT TOPICS” News

In an effort to better communicate information as quickly as possible to the Local 60 Membership, here is the ” HOT TOPICS” for this week.

A) This past few weeks have been absolute misery for our passengers, and it has been even worse for our Membership. The Carrier has annulled trains for “Crew Shortages” and mechanical issues. I informed the Carrier that “crew shortages” was an incorrect term, they were short engineers not conductors. I asked for more accurate information to be released to the public since our assaults have risen due to passengers venting their anger at poor train service and taking it out on train crews. I was the only Union Officer,  to attend Governor Murphy’s press conference today at NJ Transit HQ. I explained to both Governor Murphy and Executive Director Corbett what the ramifications of twitter/customer service responses that are not accurate or misleading have on our members. The Carrier agreed to be more precise in their notices and responses to passengers.

Governor Murphy started his press conference by stating that train conductors are not responsible for the annulments, nor were they involved in mechanical issues. He was very clear in his statement that NO PASSENGER should ever take out their frustration over service delays on train crews, either verbally or physically, and it will not be tolerated.

Executive Director Corbett later added that he felt NJ Transit and their union member’s relationship is in a good standing and he only hopes to make it better in the future. He applauded the effort of our train crews in dealing with overcrowding and lack of air-conditioned equipment. Corbett also stated that train crews had no control over annulment and should never be assaulted for things that are out of their control.

Governor Murphy, DOT Commissioner Scaccetti and Executive Director Corbett all agreed there needs to be more accurate information given not only to the public but to us, the employees. The information needs to be timely but also accurate as to what is actually the train crews responsibility and what is beyond their scope of duties. Giving passengers inaccurate information leads to confrontations that are unnecessary and some times volatile.

B) While I attended the Regional SMART TD meeting, I did have the opportunity to address the FRA in a forum session. I questioned the FRA moderator on their position about LOST ELECTRONIC ITEMS onboard passenger trains. I explained that freight railroads dont have a lot of lost items found but on passenger service it is a common occurrence. I explained my position that the FRA Rule when adopted, did not have the foresight in what passengers crews duties are on a daily basis. He agreed and stated that the rule was being investigated on a National level due the correspondence originated by myself on the subject. Please be aware that NJ Transit has posted a new rule as of this past Monday on this subject.

I want to be very clear to all of the Local 60 Members that I represent in the yards, on the trains or Ferry street classrooms. Whether I am visiting crew bases and talking to Members, working in our Netcong office, at NJ Transit HQ or away from the area on Local 60 business, I will not tolerate any injustice towards Local 60 or it’s Members. I have no issue talking directly to Governor Murphy, Executive Director Corbett or the FRA if I think that a Member is being slighted by their actions. I will persist in my efforts by any means I deem necessary to protect our Local 60 family. I have no issue in personally taking the heat from any state or federal agency,  state or federal politician or John Q public when it comes to protecting you and your families.

Please email me feedback or suggestions, I am here for you the Members. sburkert@utulocal60.com

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman