PROGRESS THROUGH UNITY

Requesting a “manual” check for a payroll shortage

The correct term is “Off Cycle Check”. If your weekly payroll check is short more than an 8 hour day you may request this check. They will ask if they can pay you the missing shortage next week. They have the right to ask and that is your decision. If you still require the “off cycle check” they have 24 hours to get you that check. They do not present you with the rquested check on the spot, it will take the 24 hours to process it through the system. This is listed under Rule 26 in our UTU Agreement.

 

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

UTU/Smart Roster Delayed

The Member roster that is due out on March 1, 2015 will be delayed. Our Treasurer is away at a seminar in Cleveland for his new position. The roster will be posted towards the end of this month. Thank you.

 

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

Please pick up your weekly check and printout

In the very near future NJ Transit will require you to have, in your possession, the weekly job explanation sheet printout before answering any shortage questions. Payroll Department will no longer be taking any calls from Members on Wednesday asking if the clerks could see what was paid. When you pick up your check with attached printout you can then call Debbie or Val if there is a shortage. They will also require a copy of the printout to attach to the request for payment. If you have Direct Deposit and leave your printouts please go and pick them up. The printout sheets are critical in getting Members any money that they are owed.  The last three weeks, with the help of Debbie and Val, have been very beneficial financially for our Members. Please check your print outs on a weekly basis and notify them as soon as possible.

Thank You

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

2015 Uniforms

There will be no swapping of the different parts of the uniforms. This and That Uniforms have a contract with NJ Transit. They will not make changes to what that agreement states. Extra service crews may still pick and choose the items they need.

 

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

Please call about payroll shortages or problems.

On Tuesday 2/3/2015 we will have Members, Debbie Krake and Ethel Valentine, starting the next part of the operation. They will be taking your payroll issues over the phone. Hoboken members please call 1-973-491-7902. Newark members please call 1-973-491-7880. They will be staffing the phones starting at 9 AM. This service will be available every Tuesday so we can help our members get their paychecks sorted out. Please have all of your info ready so that they can get the problem identified while you are speaking to them. Again please have patience while we are attempting to solve the payroll issues.

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

An Open Letter to our Members from Mr. Soto

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Lackawanna Cutoff Update

From By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Construction has begun on the first commuter train line to Sussex County in decades as rails are being installed that will extend service to Andover.

The first 4.25 miles of track have been installed on the former Lackawanna Cutoff, as part of the first phase of the project to restore 7.3 miles of track between the Port Morris rail yards and Andover Township, said William Smith, NJ Transit spokesman.

The cutoff would connect to NJ Transit’s existing Morris & Essex lines at Port Morris Junction in Roxbury, and to Mid-Town Direct service to New York in Dover. [Read more…]

New FRA Administrator Named

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced today that Department of Transportation Chief of Staff Sarah Feinberg will serve as Acting Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). She succeeds Joseph C. Szabo who was appointed and confirmed as the agency’s twelfth Administrator is 2009. Szabo stepped down as the agency’s head last Friday. [Read more…]

Reporting Threshold Remains at 2014 Level

Federal Register /Vol. 79, No. 247 /Wednesday, December 24, 2014 /Rules and Regulations 77397

In this rule, FRA is keeping the monetary threshold for CY 2015, at $10,500, the same as the monetary threshold for CY 2014. FRA is maintaining the reporting threshold at the CY 2014 level, because, in part, wage data for the second-quarter of 2014 (the data used to calculate the threshold) was abnormally high due to large, lump sum retroactive payments of wage increases resulting from labor contract agreements affecting several railroads. FRA believes the data does not accurately reflect the changes in labor costs for CY 2014

General Chairman’s Report October 2014

GENERAL CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
October 2014

The Fall Optional displacement will be Sunday, November 9th. I remind members that they must submit the bid sheet properly according to the instructions on the Trainman Bulletin. There is a difference when bidding for an “advertised assignment” and submitting an “optional” displacement.
The 2nd contract negotiating session with the assigned mediator from the National Mediation Board, NJT and the General Committee was held on Wednesday, October 15th. Also present was Transportation Division International Vice-President Doyle Turner, who has been assigned to assist our General Committee. The mediator has scheduled (2) additional sessions for Thursday, November 6th and Wednesday, December 10th. [Read more…]