All crews are to report to work tomorrow at their normal times and locations. New Jersey Transit is requesting all crews who are slated to work please show up on time to your normal sign up locations. Managers will be on site to give further instructions as the events unfold as per the weather forecast.

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

Due to possible flooding the Hoboken sign up room will be relocated upstairs to the previous sign up location, please use that area to sign up and retrieve paperwork.

They are hoping to have SU location downstairs reopened by Sunday

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) As per our Collective Bargaining Agreement with New Jersey Transit, starting today March 1, 2018 we have a general wage increase of 2%. The next wage increase will take affect on November 1,2018.

B) There will be a Local 60 union meeting this Sunday March 4 in Linden at the VFW starting at 10AM.

C) Working in conjunction with Anthony Stevens GC of TCU, NJTRO and myself, we will be getting additional help in the payroll department. The extra help will be tasked with eliminating the backlog of gas mileage payments. The extra help will be starting within the next week or so and results are expected to reduce the turn around time of submitted gas sheets to under 4 weeks.

D) On June 1, 2018 there will be another gas mileage amnesty period. I will provide more details when we get closer to that date but please start to collate any gas slips that were mailed back to members. Please start to gather all documents for gas mileage that are still missing or were not paid.

E) The Railroad Retirement Board will be having a seminar on Friday April 13, 2018 in Paterson for any Member who is looking to retire within the next 5 years.  The seminar will provide information on what you and your spouse should be doing now so you are prepared to retire. Please print and fill-out the paperwork and return it to the RRB if you plan on attending the seminar.

F) If any Member is interested in working their relief day this Saturday please call the crew callers and notify them. The Hoboken LEPRECON is taking place Saturday. I have requested extra help on the regular trains and all of the extra trains. There will be extra police officers available for any incidents on our trains and also in Hoboken Terminal.

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) On Tuesday February 20th I was in Hoboken crew base talking with Members. One of the main talking points had to do with the loss of tax deductions, overcrowding and the poor condition of the train equipment.

B) I am waiting on word from the Carrier about when the revised OPEN DOOR POLICY will go into effect. The information about an accelerated LETP program for conductors is also waiting on the Carrier.

C) I have had discussions with SMART TD in Cleveland about the loss of tax deductions and what recourse we have at this point. They are working the issue and will get back to me shortly with a game plan for going forward.

D) I have a meeting set up for next week with the new NJT Executive Director Kevin Corbett. I will be discussing all of the important issues that are effecting our Members now and the issues that will present themselves in the future.

E) I have requested our Safety Department to be fully engaged in the ASBESTOS removal in Hoboken Terminal. They will be posting updates of progress and monitoring air quality while this construction is in progress. The issue was brought to light at our last Union meeting and I immediately requested answers from the Carrier.  This is a perfect example of letting me know of an issue so I can correct it for our Members. Thank You! 

F) There has been no notification from the Carrier on when ROLLOVER will happen. They are required to let me know 30 days in advance.

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) I met with the Carrier this week over the attempt to have an accelerated Engineers Training Program consisting of members from our roster. There will be more information to review on next weeks job bulletin.

B) I am very pleased to report that the AC Line service for the Eagles parade went off without incident. I did work with the Carrier in the planning phase such as bigger train sets and extra TC help. I insisted on police presence at terminals and platforms but also police officers riding with our crews. I believe the added police made everyone’s day that much more enjoyable. Thank you to all of the crews who worked the line on parade day.

C) Attention Hoboken bound crews this weekend!!! Route 7 into Hoboken will be closed all weekend for construction.

D)  All Members as a reminder if you are short weekly wages or gas miles please go to our utulocal60.com Home Page and list your shortage. We have been getting very good results in correcting the issues.

E) THIS and THAT UNIFORMS has the New Jersey Transit contract again for this year. I would urge all Members to please order your uniform online https://www.njtuniforms.com/ rather than calling the store. The online orders give a clear tracking line if there are any issues.

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) I met this week with Labor Relations about claims that were already listed for arbitration with the National Mediation Board. These claims had to deal with dual service or irregular service at end of shift. These claims were settled in favor of the Members and will be paid in the coming weeks. these claims were from 2013 and 2014. These claims were retracted from the NMB pool so more urgent claims could be heard.

B) All Members who have already sent me an email about being taken OOS for sleep apnea I would like you to call David Leibensperger. David works for Matt Darby DLC and is spearheading our sleep apnea cases. He can be reached at 410-769-5406. Please call ONLY if you have already sent me the first email.

C) If there is any Member who has been taken Out of Service for Sleep Apnea, whether positive or negative, and HAVE NOT sent an email please send me an email with the following details included. Name, address, phone number,job title,date taken OOS,date returned to service, whether positive or negative,date of diagnosis, complete doctor information, your hire date and total lost expenses including deductibles.

D) I would suggest that all passenger crews wear disposable gloves while performing your daily assignments. The CDC has put out alerts that state the less contact with the virus on surfaces such as our tickets will lessen your chance of contracting an illness. Any of the box stores such as Home Depot, Loews or Harbor Freight carry gloves in a color of black to abide to our rules. Please take precautions, this issue is very severe this year.

E) If you have a rest day on Monday February 5th and want to work please let the crew callers know early on Sunday the 4th. I hope all members enjoy the Superbowl and get home safely from their destinations. Monday February 5th is a normal train schedule and all crews should report as their assignments are listed.

F) Our Local 60 monthly meeting will be this Sunday at 10am at the Linden VFW. The VFW is on the East bound side street from Linden platform.

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) This past Monday I was in NY Penn Crew base to meet with Members and address their concerns. Gas mileage, overcrowding, understaffing, Governor Murphy’s effect on NJT and assaults were all topics that were discussed. I appreciate all of the Members who took the time to discuss these issues and I am actively working to correct the issues for the future.

B) I have received a few emails from Members about transferring into an engineer’s training program. I do have an Agreement already in place that states if for any reason you can not complete the program, your seniority would remain intact on our roster. I am waiting on further information that Members raised to be answered by the Carrier. If you are interested please send me an email at sburkert@utulocal60.com

C) I urge all Members to please list all mechanical defects on your 1155 forms. If the train is delayed without the explanation that “ door stuck open” or train “wouldn’t take power” it is being listed as Crew Error. I will not stand for anyone making unfounded or derogatory remarks against our Members but I do need information that will prove it was a mechanical defect that caused the delay. Please list also how long the defect has been reported.

D) I met this week with the Carrier about yard and passenger assignments. I have concerns about both areas and spoke about needed changes in the near future. The Carrier is under an audit from Governor Murphy in all aspects of operations including this topic. There will be no changes made until that audit is completed. The Carrier was not opposed to ideas brought to the table that concerned crew utilization and safety. I look forward to meeting again and putting some of the new ideas into fruition.

E) I met with Chief Trucillo and Deputy Chief Clark of the NJTPD this week over current events. We discussed recent events in NYC and how our CODE BLACK needs to be updated for our Members. There is a new poster being sent to local communities with restaurants or bars near our stations. This is a proactive measure to decrease assaults on our train crews. We will see an increase in police patrols onboard our passenger trains to assist in situations that require it. The matter of a NJTPD substation in NY Penn Station was also discussed and I fully support the idea. Our crews that work in that terminal welcome a police presence while boarding. It is a fact that in Hoboken where our own Police officers assist boarding late night trains the assaults and incidents have fallen dramatically.

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

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman