Progress Through Unity

ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS

July 6, 2014 By

A 2ND MOTION WAS MOVED AT OUR LAST REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING WHICH TOOK PLACE ON JUNE 29, 2014 TO MOVE OUR MEETING LOCATION TO POST 1397-VFW WHICH IS LOCATED ON 20 PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD AVENUE IN LINDEN, N.J. 07036.  THIS MOTION WILL NEED TO COME UP AT OUR NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING ON JULY 27, 2014 FOR THE FINAL VOTE.  OUR MEETING PLACE IS THE SOMERSET, N.J. HOLIDAY INN.  IT IS LOCATED AT 195 DAVIDSON AVE. SOMERSET, N.J. 08873.  THE TELEPHONE # AT THE HOTEL IS (732)356-1700

LOCAL #60 SECRETARY

MARC F. SUSSMAN

Filed Under: Local 60 News Tagged With: ,

ATTENTION MEMBERS OF UTU LOCAL #60

April 30, 2014 By

2014 ELECTIONS OF TREASURER

UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 57 OF THE UTU CONSTITUTION, ELECTIONS OF TREASURER WILL BE POLLED AT OUR NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING OF LOCAL #60 TO BE HELD SUNDAY, MAY18, 2014 AT 10:00 A.M.  THE POLLS WILL BE OPEN FROM 10:00 A.M. – 12:45 P.M.  THE MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE SOMERSET HOLIDAY INN, WHICH IS LOCATED AT 195 DAVIDSON AVE., SOMERSET, N.J. 08873.  THE TELEPHONE # AT THE HOTEL IS (732)356-1700.  THE TWO (2) CANDIDATES THAT ARE RUNNING FOR THIS POSITION ARE CARL SCHAB AND GREG TAYLOR.

SECRETARY LOCAL #60 MARC F. SUSSMAN…

Filed Under: Local 60 News

No culture of safety at NJ Transit, union official says

April 9, 2014 By

From NJ.com

Conductors assaulted on trains.

Employee facilities that are filthy and infested with rodents.

A culture where “an on-time train is better than a safe train.”

An NJ Transit union official said Tuesday there is no culture of safety at the statewide transportation agency.

“We just go about our work every day and we’re not told anything — nobody ever talks to us about safety,” Michael J. Reilly, general chairman with the United Transportation Union, said during the monthly NJ Transit board meeting in Newark.

To illustrate his point, he referred to a monthly director’s report.

“There are 14 pages dedicated to on-time performance measures for rail, bus and light rail,” Reilly said. “On that same report, there are zero pages dedicated to safety.”

He said phones are out of date, some crew members have no radios to communicate with passengers in the event of a train delay or accident and employee morale is low after working nearly three years without a new contract.

State Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson assured Reilly that safety is a priority for him and for newly hired NJ Transit Executive Director Ronnie Hakim.

“Safety starts at the top or it doesn’t start, and I can tell you that I’m committed to safety,” Simpson said. “And you’ve got a new sheriff in town, Ronnie Hakim, who’s totally committed to safety.”

“We would like to know how many employees are getting hurt — slips, trips and falls — (and) how many customers are getting hurt, and obviously there no room for any employees to be assaulted by a customer or anybody else,” Simpson said.

“We have a lot of trains and we have a lot of bad areas,” Reilly replied. “We need cameras in those areas, but we’ve had a number of conductors assaulted.”

He also cited reports from union members about poor conditions at a facility in Manhattan where NJ Transit workers can rest between shifts.

Simpson opened up the lines of communication and urged Reilly and the union to alert him when they see safety lapses.

After the board meeting, Hakim was asked by reporters whether on-time performance has trumped safety.

“I don’t have any indication that it has,” she said.

The extended discussion on safety came during a meeting in which NJ Transit voted to hire Rail Safety Consulting of Pittsford, N.Y., for $468,000 to review its “rail inspection and maintenance procedures, work practices and overall safety culture.”

NJ Transit also has kicked off an internal committee of 17 employees to review rail safety. The review was in part spurred by a Federal Railroad Administration “deep dive” report of the deadly Metro-North Railroad accident along the Hudson River in New York on Dec. 1.

“We are doing a comparison as to how NJ transit fares, so if the FRA were to come in today and do a deep dive here, what would they find?” Hakim said.

She said the rail safety consultant will go beyond what the in-house committee is doing and use its national connections to come up with rail safety best practices.

Filed Under: Local 60 News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Metro-North answers state and federal directive

December 10, 2013 By

http://www.rtands.com/index.php/passenger/commuter-regional/metro-north-answers-state-and-federal-directive-with-immediate-safety-improvements.html?channel=280&utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=RGN+12.10.13&utm_content=Full+Article

Filed Under: Industry Related, Local 60 News

FRA issues emergency order

December 9, 2013 By

from UTU.org news

FRA issues Emergency Order to Metro-North
December 6, 2013

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Dec. 6 issued an Emergency Order (EO 29) to Metro-North Commuter Railroad (MNCW) to take specific, immediate steps to ensure its train crews do not exceed speed limitations. The EO requires Metro-North to modify its existing signal system to ensure speed limits are obeyed and to provide two qualified railroad employees to operate trains where major speed restrictions are in place until the signal system is updated. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Industry Related, Local 60 News

Extra Work

October 18, 2013 By

From Mike Reilly
Members:
 
This weekend will be a busy one for NJT and our members.
 
Saturday will be the Steeple Chase in Far Hills
 
Sunday will be a 1:00 PM Jets Football Game
 
Monday will be a 8:20 PM Giants Football game
 
These games and events bring our members a lot of extra work and overtime opportunity.
 
Just asking our members to protect OUR work, so we will know it will be here in the future also.
 
Thank you and be careful..
 
 
Michael J. Reilly
General Chairman – UTU/Smart

Filed Under: Local 60 News

Uniform News

October 17, 2013 By

from Mike Reilly:

 

Members:   I am very pleased that Angel Soto, Patty Siano, Cookie Doyle and myself worked together to offer the below options for our members. As you know, we had some issues with our “other than passenger” members recently pertaining to ordering of items other than passenger uniforms. You will notice that a member can now choose a passenger uniform OR use $500 in credit toward the listed items (prices are also listed below). You may choose to get a passenger uniform OR the yard clothing in any one (1) year. NJT requires all 2013 orders placed by the end of November for accounting purposes. Year 2014 orders can begin in January.   These orders for the yard items can start immediately, if you did not place your 2013 order.   Also, in spring of 2014, NJT will be requiring all yard/flagman to wear some type of hi-visibility shirt or vest on while performing duty.   The number for this & That uniform is 609-646-1522.   Please assist in getting this posted.       Michael J. Reilly General Chairman – UTU/Smart

Filed Under: Local 60 News

Meadowlands Update

September 18, 2013 By

On this week’s Trainman Bulletin, will be the additional qualifications for the NY Conductor’s Extra List to include West End-Meadowlands.
 
In preparation for Super Bowl NJT is adding this qualification. Listed below are some of the provisions:
 
A) Anyone on the NY Conductors extra list between now and January 15, 2014, will be given the opportunity to qualify from West End-Meadowlands. 
 
B) Compensation will be one day’s pay. (or earnings of current assignment)
 
C) Employees will be allowed to do this qualifying on their “relief day” and earn time and one half payment.
 
D) After the Super Bowl week, the requirement for the qualification between West End & Meadowlands, will BE REMOVED from the NY Conductor’s extra list.
 
E) Maps and Study Guides for the test are available. They can be obtained in Hoboken, or any officer and myself can email them upon request.
 
F) The NJT supervisor assigned to monitor the qualifying is Trainmaster Sean Kushnir, and he can be reached at cell – 973-951-2319, office 973-863-4640 or email skushnir@njtransit.com

Filed Under: Local 60 News

Hoboken Crews Take Note

August 19, 2013 By

Traffic nightmare? Pulaski Skyway to be closed for entire weekend

Story at NJ.com

Filed Under: Local 60 News

NJT-UTU Assignments

June 18, 2013 By

From Mike Reilly:
 
All:
 
I had discussions with A. Soto, M. Jablonskyj and L. Barone of NJT today pertaining to not filling 63 positions this past weekend. (June 14 thru June 16)
 
NJT is short of manpower which is a combination of the busy summer season with vacations and the creation of 32 assignments on the NEC due to trackwork. They want to fill these positions, however, they must protect the Conductor and Rear Brake assignments first, before the TC assignments.
 
NJT will be looking at options to protect filling all the above assignments.
 
If you desire to work your relief days, please inform the crew caller in advance. Members can apply to the supplemental list for work on their relief day(s). 
 
We don’t want to lose any assignments by not being able to fill them, and at the same time, we do not want the carrier to over hire for when times are a bit slower.
 
I understand that some members only want to work passenger, others only yard and flag  work, but if you are NOT being called for work on relief days, please let me know ASAP with the details. Please keep in mind that TC assignments will be the first to be blanked.
 
 
Thank you, 
 
Michael J Reilly
General Chairman – United Transportation Union

Filed Under: Local 60 News
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