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) I have spoken to Chief of Police Trucillo and Deputy Chief Clark about uniformed police officers riding our trains to help deter assaults on our Members. There will be train riding patrols starting tonight through Sunday night. The officers will be starting out in New York Penn Station and riding out with us, then return to Penn Station for later trips. I have asked for all available help in reducing the assaults.

B) The Carrier has abolished the Supplemental Extra List as of this Sunday. They have set up a call in list procedure for the day before you want to work. please refer to the weekly job bulletin for the correct phone numbers. I will be filing a grievance due to the fact that this is not proper action according to our Collective Bargaining Agreement. They have agreed to provide the us with the list daily, we will post on our site, this will help members see there position on list while seeing who is in front and behind them.

C) There is a Local 60 Union meeting this Sunday at 10 AM at the Linden VFW.

D) The Carrier has reneged on a verbal commitment concerning the AC Extra List. The 18 regular ACRL passenger assignments will continue to assist in the busing operations while remaining in AC. The AC Extra List Members were suppose to be able to use their “PICK” to any list without the junior person being displaced. The Carrier has elected not to adhere to this plan of action and junior members were displaced. I will be filing a grievance on behalf of those affected Members.

E) The RAILMEN FOR CHILDREN GOLF Outing is September 29. Please look at the flyer under EVENTS on this website for details on how to participate. The golf outing is the main source of fundraising for the annual SANTA TRAIN for disabled/underprivileged children. Please come out and support the event.

F) I met with Executive Director Corbett this morning about Sleep Apnea, Assaults, Under Staffing of Trains and expectations of the fall train service plan. NJ Transit will be revising the Sleep Apnea Policy in the near future with major improvements. The assaults were discussed and different ideas were put into place to prevent the assaults.

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

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

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) ASSAULTS on TRAIN CREWS– I spoke with Executive Director Corbett last night about the increase in frequency of the assaults. We will be working with NJTPD to have police officers riding on our trains to assist with unruly passengers. There have been 7 arrests made in connection with the latest UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE REPORTS made by our Members. I have the full cooperation of Executive Director Corbett and Chief of Police Trucillo that all areas will be investigated to protect our train crews. NJ Transit will be prosecuting all of those arrested to the fullest extent of the law.

B) I called for an emergency meeting yesterday to address the Carrier’s change in the 013 policy. I explained in the meeting that the Collective Bargaining Agreement should be adhered to and past practice is upheld was my stance. Therefore the 013 policy will remain in effect as it has been working on our property.

C) I was in Hoboken Terminal on Wednesday to meet Members and explain current events for our Local. I also did a safety inspection of the entire terminal with the NJ Transit Office of System Safety. I was particularly concerned about the amount of construction and its effect on air quality for our Members. All areas where our Members use the facility were inspected and a report will be published with the findings.

D) The weekly assignment bulletins and run-sheets that were distributed have errors and there will be new ones coming out today. The Raritan Valley assignments that were changed are only temporary and will revert back in about 6 weeks when Track 5 work is complete.

E) I want to wish all Members and their families a Happy and Safe Labor Day Holiday.

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

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

GC Burkert had an emergency meeting this morning on the 013 rule. (Thursday August 30,2018)

The carrier and organization agree that there will be no change to the application of the current claim.

Payroll will be notified to make corrections to prior denied claims, if you are still having issues after next week please submit on the “payroll Shortage” tab

The Carrier will be suspending service on the ACRL beginning on September 5 and continue the suspension until the emergency repairs are completed. The 18 full-time crew members, Conductor and Rearbrake, who presently own an assignment will continue to report for duty as your assignment is posted. The Carrier will be using the 18 full-time crew members in an emergency situation to assist passengers at rail stations to navigate their travel. Once the emergency situation is resolved on the ACRL the affected crew members will resume their normal duties.  Executive Director Corbett has repeatedly stated he feels the crews will provide much-needed assistance to the passengers in this unusual situation.   I will provide more information as it becomes available.

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

Just a reminder due to Labor Day Holiday, Payroll will be closed Monday September 3rd.

All time-cards for the week ending August 28th must be received at verification by 11:00am Thursday August 30th, that means they must be in a time-card box by Wednesday night the 29th for courier pick up.

To All,

All NJ TRANSIT Rail employees are eligible for two pairs (one clear pair and one tinted pair, or two clear pairs) of prescription safety eyewear during the calendar year January 1^st through December 31^st 2018. As you may know, U.S. Safety was bought by Essilor and this company now provides us with prescription safety eyewear. The procedures are the same as in the past. Take your new form (which is attached) with your name, phone number, employee number and work location to one of the 23 approved eye care providers. Your glasses will arrive back to your provider in 2-3 weeks. Essilor will not provide on-site opticians.

I know 2018 has been challenging and frustrating regarding prescription eyewear. I have been assured by Essilor that all issues have been resolved. Please let me know as soon as possible if there are issues that I am not aware of. Please share this information with anyone who does not have e-mail and keep the forms at your location.

Thank you for your patience.

Betsy Stern

Manager of Safety Compliance

Office of System Safety

Rail Division

NJ TRANSIT

One Penn Plaza East

Newark, NJ 07105

973-491-7953

bstern@njtransit.com

Download (PDF, 780KB)

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) Monday August 13th I attended a meeting with NJTPD and the Carrier. I was assisted in the meeting by 2 Members, one from each division, and we discussed past events that involved NJTPD and Crew-members. The meeting produced a couple of examples of where communication was lacking and further explained what NJTPD can do and what they can not do, when called to assist us. There will also be better communication on what happens after an incident either on investigation, arrest or in the court system. All UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE FORMS that involve an assault or crews alerting to unruly passenger behavior are sent to NJTPD for review the following morning. NJTPD is required to investigate and produce a document detailing what was the resolution to the UOR. All incidents that police are called for generate an “event number”, please ask the responding officer for the number or call the Chief Dispatcher or supervision and request the “event number” this will help all parties track the event. I want to thank Jesse Fitzimmons and Matt Maxwell for their insight and questions during the meeting.

B) The National Mediation Board is in the process of updating their files and cases that have not been heard yet. They asked both myself directly and the Carrier to try and clear up some cases that were older and have not been heard yet. I met with the Carrier on Tuesday and cleared some cases that were outstanding from 2013/2014. The Members whose cases were settled will be getting a letter in the mail shortly and a check to follow.

C) I met with Executive Director Corbett on Wednesday of this week. I let him know that the way our Members, myself included, found out about the possible suspension of the ACRL was unacceptable and unprofessional. He agreed it was handled very poorly and it was not their intention to slight our Local. I did discuss with him the options of our affected Members working the ACRL and the impact of a suspension would have on them. I discussed Sleep Apnea and gave him an update on how our Members should be handled differently. I produced the MISSED TRANSPORTATION FORMS that were submitted by Members for the last 15 months that totaled 250,000+ missed fares. I explained that the fares should be collected but we need to properly staff the trains and safety is the top priority for both our crews and the passengers.

D) Yesterday in Trenton I testified in the Capitol Building at a Joint Legislative Committee on behalf of our Members. I explained in full detail about the horrific assaults on our Members by passengers for no other reason than the passengers were angry at NJ Transit service. I hope to have new legislation in the coming months that will make it a MANDATORY JAIL TERM if you assault anyone in uniform working for NJ Transit. I discussed the NJ First Act which includes the residency law which is ineffective and harmful to our Members. I was assured that my efforts in the last 2 years to get rid of the law will become a reality very shortly. I discussed that NJ Transit is having a hard time filling conductor positions and then keeping those Members because of the low hourly wage compared to other neighboring railroads. I suggested that talks should happen asap to try to bring up the wages to industry standards for our Members. I explained that our roster is even more shorthanded than the engineers but due to under-staffing it is hidden. I explained that to properly staff our trains we should have a minimum of 2 crew members for every 3 coaches open, this would allow proper safety for the passengers and the fares to be collected.

E) I have been approached by the media in television, newspapers and online to try to explain and clarify what has been going on with the service at NJ Transit. I put forth the OPEN LETTER TO THE PASSENGERS to give some detailed information. The letter is posted on our website if any of your passengers are asking about a copy. I will continue to protect our Members safety at all times.

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

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/08/15/why-nj-transit-njtransit-problems/#.W3SlsMkq8mg.email

“I am now in the arms of my father”

A celebration of life for “Mikey” Michael Richert Jr. will be held on Thursday, August 16, 2018 from 5:00pm – 9:00pm at Our Lady of Peace Church, North Brunswick, NJ 08902.