Some of those affected by the devastation are our Brothers and Sisters of SMART Transportation Division (SMART TD) who live in and near the Houston area. The silver lining is, and will continue to be, the generosity of citizens around the country who are giving what they can to help those affected to reclaim their lives.

We are asking the SMART TD family to rise to the call and give what you can so that the daunting task of starting over and rebuilding can begin.

Your generous donation will help lessen the struggle and bring real hope and relief to our SMART TD members who are suffering from this great loss. SMART TD will administer donations sent to the UTU Disaster Relief Fund.

Contributions may be sent and made payable to:

UTU Disaster Relief Fund
24950 Country Club Blvd.
Suite 340
North Olmsted, OH 44070-5333

View Online

Questions:
Please call the Transportation Division office at 216-228-9400 referencing Disaster Relief.

Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed an anti-worker billed misguidedly labeled as the “Working Families Flexibility Act” (H.R. 1180). This harmful legislation would let employers give workers paid time off instead of being required to pay one and a half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a work week.

H.R. 1180 encourages employers to require excessive hours because overtime work would become cheaper and allow the employer to determine when the compensatory time off is allowed. This anti-worker bill would result in longer hours, less pay and more unpredictable work schedules for those who are not fortunate enough to have a union contract to protect them.

During a time when our nation’s elected leaders should be focused on creating good paying American jobs, H.R. 1180 does nothing more than provide employers with an opportunity to cheat their employees out of their earned overtime pay.

Attached is a letter I sent to every Member of Congress urging them to vote NO on this anti-worker bill. You can find out how your elected representatives voted by clicking the link below.

According to a recent report by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Actuary, the impact of such job losses would result in a long-term decrease in Railroad Retirement benefits and overall increase in taxes.

While RRB accounts could absorb the loss of 10,000 Amtrak jobs, the cumulative impact of losses in the rail industry, including approximately 30,000 jobs that have been lost in just the last two years, will take a significantly negative toll on the entire system. Attached you will find the RRB’s detailed projection in loss of jobs, loss of benefits, and major increase in railroad unemployment benefits projected for 2017 and 2018.

We must urge fellow members, friends and family to call, email and write our national elected officials  to OPPOSE any budget that would cut 10,00 Amtrak jobs, eliminate commuter rail service and irreparably harm the retirement benefits that all railroad members worked for a lifetime to secure.

Click here to urge your elected representatives to oppose any budget cuts to Amtrak’s long-distance train service via the Legislative Action Center (LAC).

Voter Turnout Rates by Local

 60       81%
710      83%
759     86%
800     78%
1390    81%
1413    83%
1445    77%
1447    74%
1558    80%
1589    78%
Retired 84%

While we just finished a major presidential election last year, you have an opportunity to elect a new governor in 2017 right here in New Jersey. Below are upcoming dates to keep in mind.

Upcoming New Jersey Election Dates
** May 16 – Last day to register to vote in the Primary Election
** June 6 – New Jersey Statewide Primary Election Day
** November 7 – New Jersey Statewide General Election Day

We’ve all heard the phrase “elections have consequences”, but sitting on the sidelines and letting others decide our future is a consequence we can avoid. The first important decision you can make this year is to ensure you and your family members are registered to vote at your current address. Use the link below to verify or update your voter registration status.

Click HERE to verify or update your voter registration by May 16th.

If you have any questions about registering to vote or the upcoming election, please contact Ron Sabol at the New Jersey State Legislative Board at (609) 396-1994.

The deadline to update your records for the June 6^th primary election is May 16, 2017.