I was asked to publish the letter from SMART TD Auditor Justin Fougerousse which was discussed at Saturday’s Local meeting.

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Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

Governor-elect names full slate of members for transition committees

Governor-elect Phil Murphy has announced memberships to his transition committees, naming more than 500 people who will make recommendations on state policy, issues and initiatives as the new administration prepares to take office in two months. Earlier this week he announced transition committee leadership positions.

Several Princeton area residents were appointed to committees, including Princeton lawyer Paul Josephson, Jess Niederer of Chickadee Creek Farm, Steve Jany of Rustin Farms, and former Trenton mayor Doug Palmer.

“New Jersey needs an administration ready to hit the ground running in January, and through the work of the transition committees my administration will not take office blind to the challenges and opportunities before us,” said Murphy in a statement about the appointments. “I am grateful to everyone who accepted the call to serve our transition. From analyzing and prescribing policy to taking a fresh look at the basic organization of government, these committees have a lot of work to do. I am confident they will put my administration in a position to begin delivering results for the people of New Jersey from day one.”

The committees will meet throughout the state over the course of the next two months and will then submit reports and recommendations to the governor-elect and his leadership team prior to the inauguration.

Transportation and Infrastructure

Anthony Attanasio, Utility and Transportation Contractors Association of NJ; Janine Bauer, Szaferman Lakind; Scott Braen, Braen Stone Industries; Jon Carnegie, Voorhees Transportation Institute; Janna Chernetz, Tri-State Transportation Campaign; Jim Cobb, New York Shipping Association; Dan Dagget, International Longshoremen’s Association Atlantic Coast Council; Larry English, AirRail; Joe Fiordaliso, New Jersey Department of Transportation; Mike Fischette, Concord Engineering; Kelly Ganges, Office of County Executive Brian Hughes; Ray Greaves, Amalgamated Transit Union State Council; George Helmy, Office of Senator Cory Booker; Woody Knopf, Knopf Automotive; Kris Kolluri, Former New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner; Jerome LaFroglia, Transport Workers Union; Jamie LeFrak, LeFrak Organization; Ian Leonard, IBEW Construction; Cathleen Lewis, AAA; Bob Medina, Medina 43 Business Strategies; Frank Minor, Mayor of Logan Township; Sami Naim, Lyft; Paul Nunziato, Port Authority Policeman’s Benevolent Association; Atilla Pak, ASTM Consulting Engineering, LLC; Jason Post, Uber; Fred Potter, Teamsters 469; Ronald Rios, Middlesex County Freeholder; Tim Rudolph, IFPTE State Council; Ron Sabol, SMART; Bob Salmon, Former Inspector General at the Department of Transportation; George Schnurr, Freehold Council President; Monica Slater Stokes, United Airlines; Revered Ronald Slaughter, St. James AME Church; Mike Soliman, Mercury, LLC; Bill Sumas; Joe Taylor, Matrix Development Group; Gary Toth, former Project Manager at the Department of Transportation; Mike Travostino, Associated Construction Contractors of New Jersey; Jan Walden, Former New Jersey Transit Executive; Aaron Watson, Mercer County Park Commission; Woody Weldon, Weldon Materials, Inc; Tom Wright, RPA.

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

A) Gas Mile Check computer issues have been resolved and actual checks have begun to be mailed out to Members earlier this week.

B) Our Local 60 meeting is this Saturday at 10AM in Linden at the VFW Hall adjacent to the train station. I have fielded numerous calls about the Local’s financial issues. I urge any member who has questions concerning dues refunds, insurance refunds or any other matter on money please come  to the meeting. The International Auditor will be at the meeting answering all the questions. I have no information on these accounts, they are the Local accounts not the General Committee account. Please come to the meeting and ask your questions directly to the auditor. I can not answer the question about whether your MONTHLY LOCAL DUES will go up, this is a question/answer for the meeting on Saturday.

C) The Carrier will be starting a new audit on submission of 1155 forms on a daily basis. Weekend crews along with weekday crews are required to submit the forms. Please list all mechanical defects and delays on the form and submit daily.

D) This past Monday I attended a morning meeting with Congressman Bill Pascrell in Saddlebrook. The Congressman is fully behind the effort to bring NJ Transit back to the #1 status in the nation. He has continually been by our side on issues that affect our Members.

E) Next week payroll time cards must be in box by 11:00 am Wednesday account Thanksgiving Holiday

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

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

This week, the Department of Transportation published a final rule that expands DOT’s current drug testing panel for safety-sensitive employees to include certain semi-synthetic opioids: hydrocodone, oxycodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone. A list of common names for these opioids include OxyContin®, Percodan®, Percocet®, Vicodin®, Lortab®, Norco®, Dilaudid®, and Exalgo®.

Last March, SMART-TD filed joint comments to DOT requesting the proposed cutoff levels for a positive test, additional training for Medical Review Officers (MROs), clear guidelines regarding the definition of a valid prescription, and the implementation of a process to challenge MRO findings, all which DOT rejected. (see attached)

The DOT rule is scheduled to go into effect on January 1st, 2018. You can find a summary of the drug testing changes and how they may affect you by clicking the link below. You can also read the final rule as published in the Federal Register by clicking HERE.

Click HERE to read a summary of the recent DOT Final Rule on drug testing.https://www.transportation.gov/odapc/Part_40_Final_Rule_Summary_of_Changes

In solidarity,

John Risch
National Legislative Director
SMART Transportation Division

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

A) Phil Murphy is the winner in the NJ Governor race and is already investigating the proper course to bring NJ Transit back to the #1 railroad in the nation. Funding and proper leadership in key positions are his top priorities. I, along with Ron Sabol NJSLD were in attendance in Asbury, on Tuesday night, for his acceptance speech.

B) The Carrier has informed me, the GAS MILE computer issue is fixed. They will be working over the weekend to process our forms and are hopeful checks will be going out on Monday.

C) On Wednesday I represented 3 of our Members at their SPECIAL BOARD of ADJUSTMENT hearings. The hearings were conducted in front of an arbitrator from the NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD. The decisions in these cases could take 120 days to be returned.

D) If you have not received a ballot as of today please call the Netcong office at 973-527-7018 to request a duplicate. If you have gotten a ballot please vote. Remember to place your return address on envelope and mail it asap.

E) There seems to be a misunderstanding about the SMART TD Green travel cards that were given out by Local 60 Treasurer Greg Taylor. The cards are to be used by the Local 60 Member when visiting other SMART TD property’s to identify yourself as a SMART TD Member. This card is not intended for any type of transportation allowance.

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

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS

THE PREPARATION OF THE BALLOTS HAS BEEN COMPLETED. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR PACKAGE OR IF THERE IS ANYTHING MISSING BY THE END OF DAY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10^TH, 2017 PLEASE EMAIL THE OFFICE SECRETARY ERICA MITCHELL AT EMITCHELL@UTULOCAL60.COM OR CALL HER AT 973-527-7018.

THE PACKAGE CONTAINS A STAMPED ADDRESSED ENVELOPE, BALLOT INSTRUCTIONS, BALLOT, AND “A” ENVELOPE. PLEASE PLACE THE COMPLETED BALLOT MARKED WITH YOUR CHOICE OF CANDIDATE INSIDE OF THE “A” ENVELOPE, SEAL AND PLACE INSIDE OF THE STAMPED RETURN ENVELOPE. BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND RETURN ADDRESS ON THE RETURN ENVELOPE ONLY. THIS IS HOW YOUR ELEGIBILITY WILL BE VERIFIED AS A CURRENT DUES PAYING MEMBER. DO NOT ADD ANY UNNECESSARY MARKINGS ON THE BALLOT OR ENVELOPES.

THE BALLOTS MUST BE PUT IN THE MAIL WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE PICKUP ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18^TH, 2017 AT 9:00 A.M.

THE BALLOTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED THE DAY OF OUR MEETING AND ELECTION WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18^TH, 2017 AT 9:00 A.M. AT VFW POST-1397 WHICH IS LOCATED AT 20 PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD AVE., LINDEN, N.J. 07036. THE TELEPHONE # IS 908-862-7191.

THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE STAMPER WHILE PREPPING THE BALLOTS. A LOT OF THE INNER ENVELOPES ARE MISSING SOME INFO. IF YOU ENCOUNTER ANY, PLEASE USE BLACK INK TO FIX IT. IT SHOULD READ: SECRETARY LOCAL NO.0060 C/O POSTMASTER P.O. BOX 2170 LINDEN, N.J. 07036.

SECRETARY LOCAL #0060

MARC F. SUSSMAN

11/05/2017

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

A) I had an emergency meeting on Monday morning 10/30 to discuss the huge backlog of GAS MILEAGE that is owed to the Members. The issue is a new computer program that was recently purchased and put into use. The issue is NOT the clerks, but the new program being used at this time. The new program will take an entire sheet of entries but only give a grand total without an explanation. They are working on a solution to this issue but as of this report nothing in a positive light.

B) I have also been working on 3 separate cases that are going through Special Board of Adjustment next week. I need to have the written submissions done before meeting the arbitrator from the National Mediation Board. 

C) I have gone through all of the FAIL TO MEET SLIPS, from January through September 2017. The total number of tickets that were missed or not collected due to no Ticket Collectors, overcrowding or other issues was tallied as 146,625(approximate). The number is definitely “on the low side” for several reasons. The beginning of this year there was a shortage of forms for employees to submit. I also have forms filled out with date , train and why the tickets were not collected but, no passenger counts on the form. Lastly, I only get the last copy of the form and some numbers are not clear enough to post a number on how many tickets were missed or some forms were not sent to the Union office. The majority of forms list the reason as ” Ticket Collector was blanked” for why the tickets were not collected.  If I use $16.25 as an average ticket price, the 146,625 tickets not collected equal $2,382,656.20 in lost revenue in the last 9 months. This averages out to $264,739.57 per month or $3,176,874.80 per year. Again these numbers are, averages on the low side, but it is clear that blanking TICKET COLLECTORS is not the way operate.

D) I met with the Carrier again and discussed WORK RULES that need to be clarified, updated or abolished. Many of the items that are being discussed are things in our Green Book that has changed due to how we work, where we work, changes in service, changes in equipment or crew caller related issues.I will continue to meet with the Carrier in these discussions until such point as I can put out something for the membership to vote on.

E) Election Day is next Tuesday, November 7, please vote. I have several meetings set up in the next few days with elected officials to discuss issues that affect our members. I will continue to speak on your behalf to the officials who need further information about difficulties encountered while we perform our daily assignments.

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

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

Attention Members the letter below is for your information concerning our audit and the results of the audit. The phone number has been deleted due to HOS incursions. Please email any questions you may have on the audit.

Download (PDF, 145KB)

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

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

A) As a reminder ROLLOVER is this weekend, please check the assignment bulletin and the new train schedules.

B) The Carrier is having a major issue with GAS MILEAGE forms. A new computer system that was recently installed is having trouble analyzing the information on the forms for payment. Please retain all gas mile submissions, currently the Carrier is behind at least 4 months in payments. I have secured an emergency meeting with the Carrier for this coming Monday October 30, 2017 to discuss the issue. Details to follow.

C) I have attached a letter from the International Auditor concerning our Local 60 account balance. All expenses and salaries are on hold due to a negative account balance. This means that the election for LOCAL TREASURER  is also on hold until further information becomes available.

D) The Carrier has committed to the C3RS Program to complete “CORRECTIVE ACTIONS” that have been stalled for some time. The “CORRECTIVE ACTIONS” are such as CAR MARKER SIGNS on platforms or the proper instructions for “CLEARING TRAINS at FINAL TERMINAL”. The Carrier has pledged that CORRECTIVE ACTIONS  will no longer be prioritized by cost alone.

E) All ACTP/CTP Students please check your emails for correspondence concerning your DH and Gas Mileage issue. If you have not been contacted yet by a Union Officer please email sspratt@utulocal60.com  

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

Fraternally,

Stephen J. Burkert

General Chairman

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