| | CLEVELAND, November 6 — Several BLET members have contacted the National Division recently regarding the status of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) court ruling last reported on in May. |
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
FMLA update: Unions waiting for Supreme Court action
Sunday, November 04, 2007
FW: Reporting Events That Can Affect Railroad Retirement Benefits
Brothers,
Please distribute this information to all members and retirees on your e-mail list.
Fraternally,
Gil Gore
From: Tolman, John [mailto:tolman@ble-t.org]
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 9:14 AM
To: _BLE Employees; _ExecStaff; _General Chairmen US GCA; _GIA; _Legislative Chairmen US GCA; _NDOfficers; _SpecialReps
Cc: Policy, Kathleen; Pontolillo, Tom
Subject: Reporting Events That Can Affect Railroad Retirement Benefits
Public Affairs 312-751-4777
For Publication November 2007
Reporting Events That Can Affect Railroad Retirement Benefits
Rights to benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act also carry responsibilities for reporting events that may affect the payment of these benefits to the employee or to members of the employee’s family. If these events are not reported, benefit overpayments can occur that have to be repaid, sometimes with interest and penalties.
Events that can affect the payment of a railroad retirement annuity and result in overpayments if not promptly reported include:
· social security or certain other benefit awards, and changes in the amount of such benefit payments;
· post-retirement work and earnings;
· the death of an annuitant;
· changes in marital status;
· a child leaving the care of a spouse or widow(er);
· a student ceasing full-time attendance.
The following questions and answers describe how these events affect railroad retirement benefits and what should be done to prevent overpayments.
1. How can the award of social security benefits result in a railroad retirement annuity overpayment?
The tier I portion of a railroad retirement annuity is based on both the railroad retirement and social security credits acquired by an employee and reflects what social security would pay if railroad work were covered by social security. Tier I benefits are, therefore, reduced by the amount of any actual social security benefit paid on the basis of nonrailroad employment, in order to prevent a duplication of benefits based on the same earnings.
The tier I dual benefit reduction also applies to the annuity of an employee qualified for social security benefits on the earnings record of another person, such as a spouse. And, the tier I portion of a spouse or survivor annuity is reduced for any social security entitlement, even if the social security benefit is based on the spouse’s or survivor’s own earnings. These reductions follow principles of social security law which, in effect, limit payment to the higher of any two or more benefits payable to an individual at one time.
Since 1975, if a railroad retirement annuitant is also awarded a social security benefit, the Social Security Administration determines the amount due, but a combined monthly dual benefit payment should, in most cases, be issued by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) after the railroad retirement annuity has been reduced for the social security benefit.
A person should notify the RRB when he or she files for social security benefits. If the Social Security Administration begins paying benefits directly to a railroad retirement annuitant without the RRB’s knowledge, an overpayment will occur. This frequently happens when a railroad employee’s spouse or widow(er) is awarded social security benefits not based on the employee’s earnings.
Also, annuitants who are receiving their social security benefits directly from the Social Security Administration must notify the RRB if their social security benefits are subsequently increased for any reason other than annual cost-of-living increases, such as a recomputation to reflect post-retirement earnings. As such recomputations are usually retroactive, they can result in substantial overpayments.
While social security benefit information is provided to the RRB as a result of routine information exchanges between the RRB and the Social Security Administration, it will generally not be provided in time to avoid such a benefit overpayment.
2. What other types of benefit payments, besides social security benefits, require dual benefit reductions in a railroad retirement annuity?
For employees first eligible for a railroad retirement annuity and a Federal, State or local government pension after 1985, there may be a reduction in tier I for receipt of a public pension based, in part or in whole, on employment not covered by social security or railroad retirement after 1956. This also applies to certain other payments not covered by social security, such as payments from a non-profit organization or from a foreign government or a foreign employer. However, it does not include military service pensions, payments by the Department of Veterans Affairs, or certain benefits payable by a foreign government as a result of a totalization agreement between that government and the
The tier I portion of a spouse or widow(er)’s annuity may also be reduced for receipt of any Federal, State or local pension separately payable to the spouse or widow(er) based on her or his own earnings. The reduction generally does not apply if the employment on which the public pension is based was covered under the Social Security Act throughout the last 60 months of public employment. (This 60-month requirement is being phased in over a 5-year period ending March 1, 2009, and there are some exceptions.) In addition, most military service pensions and payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs will not cause a reduction.
If an employee is receiving a disability annuity, tier I benefits for the employee and spouse may, under certain circumstances, be reduced for receipt of workers’ compensation or public disability benefits.
If annuitants become entitled to any of the above payments, they should promptly notify the RRB. If there is any question as to whether a payment requires a reduction in an annuity, an RRB field office should be contacted.
3. Can earnings cause railroad retirement overpayments?
Unreported post-retirement work and earnings in nonrailroad employment are a major cause of overpayments in railroad retirement annuities. Like social security benefits, railroad retirement tier I benefits and vested dual benefits paid to employees and spouses, plus tier I, tier II, and vested dual benefits paid to survivors, are subject to earnings deductions if post-retirement earnings exceed certain exempt amounts, which increase annually.
These earnings deductions do not apply to those who have attained full social security retirement age. Full retirement age for employees and spouses ranges from age 65 for those born before 1938 to age 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Full retirement age for survivor annuitants ranges from age 65 for those born before 1940 to age 67 for those born in 1962 or later.
For those under full retirement age throughout 2007, the exempt earnings amount is $12,960. For those under full retirement age throughout 2008, the exempt earnings amount will be $13,560. For beneficiaries attaining full retirement age in 2007, the exempt earnings amount is $34,440 for the months before the month full retirement age is attained. For beneficiaries attaining full retirement age in 2008, the exempt earnings amount will be $36,120 for the months before the month full retirement age is attained.
For those under full retirement age throughout a calendar year, the earnings deduction is $1 in benefits for every $2 of earnings over the exempt amount. For those attaining full retirement age during a calendar year, the deduction is $1 for every $3 of earnings over the exempt amount in the months before the month full retirement age is attained.
Annuitants who work after retirement and expect that their earnings for a year will be more than the annual exempt amount must promptly notify the nearest RRB field office and furnish an estimate of their expected earnings. This way their annuities can be adjusted to take the excess earnings into consideration and prevent an overpayment. Annuitants whose original estimate changes significantly during the year, either upwards or downwards, should also notify the RRB.
Retired employees and spouses, regardless of age, who work for their last pre-retirement nonrailroad employer are also subject to an earnings deduction in their tier II and supplemental benefits of $1 for every $2 in earnings up to a maximum reduction of 50 percent. This earnings restriction does not change from year to year and does not allow for an exempt amount. Retired employees and spouses should therefore promptly notify the RRB if they return to employment for their last pre-retirement nonrailroad employer, or if the amount of their earnings from such employment changes.
A spouse benefit is subject to reductions not only for the spouse’s earnings, but also for the earnings of the employee, regardless of whether the earnings are from service for the last pre-retirement nonrailroad employer or any other post-retirement employment. (Effective August 17, 2007, an annuity paid to a divorced spouse may continue despite the employee’s work activity.)
4. How do post-retirement earnings affect disability annuities?
Special restrictions limiting earnings to $700 per month in 2007 and $730 per month in 2008, exclusive of disability-related work expenses, apply to disabled railroad retirement employee annuitants.
In addition, any work performed by a disabled annuitant may be considered an indication of an individual’s recovery from disability, regardless of the amount of earnings. Therefore, any earnings by a disability annuitant must be reported promptly to avoid potential overpayments.
These disability work restrictions apply until the disabled employee annuitant attains full retirement age. This transition is effective no earlier than full retirement age even if the annuitant had 30 years of service. Also, a disabled employee annuitant who works for his or her last pre-retirement nonrailroad employer would be subject to the additional earnings deduction that applies in these cases.
5. What effect does railroad work have on an annuity?
No railroad retirement annuity is payable for any month in which an employee, spouse or survivor annuitant performs compensated service for a railroad or railroad union. This includes local lodge compensation totaling $25 or more for any calendar month, and work by a local lodge or division secretary collecting insurance premiums, regardless of the amount of salary.
6. What should be done when a railroad retirement annuitant dies?
The RRB should be notified immediately upon the death of any retirement or survivor annuitant. Payment of a railroad retirement annuity stops upon an annuitant’s death and the annuity is not payable for any day in the month of death. This is true regardless of how late in the month death occurs and there is no provision for prorating such a payment. Any payments received after the annuitant’s death must be returned. The sooner the RRB is notified, the less chance there is of payments continuing and an overpayment accruing. The RRB would also determine whether any survivor benefits due are payable by the RRB or the Social Security Administration.
7. What are some other events that can affect payments to auxiliary beneficiaries, such as spouses and widow(er)s?
A spouse or divorced spouse must immediately notify the RRB if the railroad employee upon whose service the annuity is based dies. A spouse must notify the RRB if her or his marriage ends in divorce or annulment and a widow(er) or divorced spouse must notify the RRB if she or he remarries.
Also, benefits paid to spouses, widow(er)s and surviving divorced spouses that are based on the beneficiary caring for an unmarried child of the employee are normally terminated by the RRB when the child attains age 18 (16 for a surviving divorced spouse) or if a disabled child over age 18 (16 for a surviving divorced spouse) recovers from the disability. Therefore, the RRB must be notified if the child leaves the beneficiary’s care or marries.
Benefits are also payable to an unmarried child age 18 in full-time attendance at an elementary or secondary school or in approved home schooling until the student attains age 19 or the end of the school term in progress when the student attains age 19. (In most cases where a student attains age 19 during the school term, benefits are limited to the two months following the month age 19 is attained.) These benefits will be terminated earlier if the student marries, graduates, or ceases full-time attendance. Therefore, the RRB must be notified promptly to prevent an overpayment.
8. Can an annuitant contest a decision that he or she has been overpaid?
Annuitants who believe a decision regarding a benefit overpayment is incorrect may ask for reconsideration and/or waiver of the overpayment. If not satisfied with the initial review, the annuitant may appeal to the RRB’s Bureau of Hearings and Appeals. Further appeals can be carried to the three-member Board itself, and beyond the Board to Federal courts.
Annuitants are told about these appeal rights any time a decision is made regarding a benefit overpayment.
9. How can an annuitant find out if an event might affect his or her railroad retirement benefit payments?
Annuitants should contact the nearest field office of the RRB for information. In any situation, the best rule is “If in doubt, report.”
Annuitants can find the address and phone number of the RRB office serving their area by calling the automated toll-free RRB Help Line at 1-800-808-0772. They can also get this information from the agency’s Web site at www.rrb.gov. Most RRB offices are open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays.
John P. Tolman
Vice President & National Legislative Representative
Washington, D. C. 20001
office 202-624-8776
DC fax 202-624-3086
direct fax 216-694-0241
cell 216-272-1246
tolman@ble.org
bletdc.org
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
DEADLINE OCTOBER 26, 2007 for Flexible Spending 2008 Enrollment
From: Gores, The [mailto:thegores1@cox.net]
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2007 10:15 AM
To: All Local Chairmen BLET UP Southern Region
Subject: DEADLINE OCTOBER 26, 2007 for Flexible Spending 2008 Enrollment
Brothers,
As a follow up to my message below regarding the flexible spending option of the 2003 BLET National Agreement, I wanted to provide this additional message of encouragement for our members to enroll in this program. The pertinent language of side letter 8 is quoted and annotated below for your ready reference. It is imperative that we encourage our membership to enroll for at least the minimum amount offered ($120) which can easily be covered by over the counter medication purchases for your family during the year. With the rising costs of healthcare, this program will become more valuable to our membership as time goes on. We must get them to engage in order to preserve the benefit for all members for the future.
We have received several questions regarding what procedures qualify for reimbursement. Those rules are governed by the IRS regulations on Flexible spending. A good rule of thumb is if the procedure is medically required, then it is covered under the IRS rules. If the procedure is cosmetic only, it might not be covered. I have attached a PDF printout that contains the limited list of covered procedures from the UHC website. If you are considering a major procedure that is not covered by our health insurance, I suggest that you make direct contact with UHC (regardless of who handles your benefits) at 877-311-7849. With the use it or lose it provision in the agreement, you don’t want to make a maximum commitment ($3600) guessing if the procedure is covered or not. I know the purchase of prescription eye glasses not covered by our vision plan is covered by Flexible Spending as my family has used that provision to reach our maximum benefit a couple of years when we were a little short of our $2400 yearly goal.
Your assistance in encouraging our members to participate in this program is appreciated.
Fraternally,
Gil Gore
Click HERE to view a PDF copy of Side Letter 8 of 2007 National Agreement covering Flexible Spending
Click HERE to view a PDF copy of Flexible Spending Information from UHC
Click HERE to view a PDF copy of flex spending qualification info from UHC
From: Gore, Gil [mailto:gilgore1@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 07, 2007 10:02 PM
To: All Local Chairmen BLET UP Southern Region
Subject: Flexible Spending 2008
Brothers,
Enrollment opportunity for a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) should have arrived in your mail box from United Health Care. This program is set up to allow you to pay for co-pays and other medical expenses with pretax dollars. Below is a partial list of items that qualify for this type of payments:
Doctor Co-pays
Drug Co-pays
Dental Co-pays or other dental expenses not covered in our dental plan.
Vision Co-pays or additional cost for eye care not covered under the national plan
Over the counter medications, IE cold medicine, decongestant medicine, aspirin, Tylenol or their generic brand, etc.
With the recent increase in Dr and Drug Co-Pays, this benefit can put real dollars in your pocket. As an example, if you have some major dental work scheduled (such as braces for your kids) up to $3600 of that expense can be paid with pretax dollars. If you are in a 25 – 33 % tax bracket, that amounts to as much as a $1200 reduction in the federal taxes that you pay. Your payments to the plan are spread out over 12 monthly payments (ie: if you elect the maximum you would place $300 per month into your flex spending account). If you elected the minimum $120 deduction you would have $10 per month deducted from your pay and placed into your flex spending account. You can receive payment from the account when you present a bill via the attached claim form. You must furnish receipts to be reimbursed for the expense. The plan also has a use it or lose it provision, ie, if you sign up for $2000 in flex spending deductions and only have expenses equal to $1900 then you would only be able to collect $1900 of the $2000 you put into your account. If you were in a 33% tax bracket, that would still net you $533 in savings for the year ($633 tax savings minus the $100 left in the account = $533 net savings).
While I know the use it or lose it function of the plan can be scary, you can easily meet the minimum deduction of $120 for the year just on over the counter medications which would yield you a net savings of $40 for the year if you were in a 33% tax bracket. My wife and I have put the maximum in her flex spending account for the last 8 years ($2400) and been able to provide receipts to receive a total refund every year. Our over the counter medicine for our family in the year 2006 came to $217. If you are on maintenance medications this program can put real dollars into your pocket allowing you to pay your co-pays with pretax dollars.
There is also a plan that will allow you to pay for dependant care (DCAP). I am not as familiar with this plan. The major difference as compared to the FSA plan is that you cannot collect more money than you have in your DCAP account. .
Additionally, I have attached Side Letter 8 of the 2007 BLET National Agreement. We must reach at least 5% participation by the year 2009 in order to retain this benefit. We need to reach this threshold. This is a benefit that will put real dollars into our members pockets and I encourage you all to enroll at an amount you are comfortable with to see how the plan works.
If you have any specific questions, I encourage you to contact UHC at 877-311-7849. Also please note that you must make this decision and return the form and HIPPA authorization no later than October 26, 2007.
Hoping you find this information useful and decide to participate, I remain.
Fraternally,
Gil Gore
Friday, July 27, 2007
Reroute Miles Livonia - Houston
Brothers,
I just got off the phone with Gary Taggart regarding the reroute miles on the long pool B372 RE47 running between
Those payments should begin effective today. Any crews that made trips over this territory prior to June 27, 2007 should fax a list of those trips and trains worked to our office so we can present a list to Labor Relations for payment. Fax 504-371-4756.
Please distribute this to all of our membership so they can be properly compensated for this service.
If you have any questions, please give me a call.
Fraternally,
Gil Gore
BLET - CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION
This message is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521, and is legally privileged. The content of this message is for informational purposes only; provided to the membership of the BLET and should not be construed as any official position on the application of any contract language discussed in this communication and should not be used or referenced by anyone in future proceedings. Any use of this information by anyone other than intended recipients is prohibited.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Effective Date of New Rates BLET 2007 National Agreement
From: CLIFFJOHNSON@UP.COM [mailto:CLIFFJOHNSON@UP.COM]
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 9:09 AM
To: Gil Gore
Cc: 'BDMac'; 'Mike Young'; 'D. W. Hannah'; 'C. R. Rightnowar'; larrybumpurs@utugo577.com; PGKENNY@up.com; Tim Donnigan; tjutu27@hotmail.com; TAZABAWA@up.com; ROROSCO@up.com; TERRYOLIN@UP.COM
Subject: Re: Rates on new BLET National Agreement
Gil,
In TCS, the new rates (other than trip rates) will go into effect immediately for all jobs called 7/1/07 or later. We are making the final updates today and tomorrow so they can be viewed via the RJ R function anytime after Saturday. The TCS trip rates have been computed but we cannot put them into the TCS system until after we close out the last half of June. Once we close June (on July 5th), we will immediately start putting in the new trip rates with this process being completed by Saturday the 7th. Employees will start being paid the new trip rates as soon as we load them, some as early as the 6th. Because TCS is a very old, outdated system, the loading process is manual, cumbersome and time consuming. Once we get the new trip rates loaded in TCS, we will run a repay program to go back to reprocess all trip rated timeslips from 7/1/07 to the date the final load was completed. This is the process we run for each increase.
For those territories that are fortunate enough to be cutover to CMTS, the new rates, including trip rates, will go into effect immediately on 7/1/07. The regular, non-trip rates, have already been entered and we are completing the trip rates today. All will be available for viewing starting tomorrow.
The report of trip rates and offsets that we maintain on the timekeeping web page which is available to all employees, should be on-line by the end of next week.
With regard to the back pay, this is a very complex and time consuming process and we want to make sure we get it right. It is our goal to make the payments by the 60 day time line referenced in the agreement , if at all possible. That would put us near the end of August. We have meetings scheduled with Labor Relations at various stages along the way to keep them updated on our progress. If there is some unforeseen delay, it will be communicated to you by their office.
Thanks,
Cliff Johnson
Sr. Director - Timekeeping Operations
Phone: 402-591-2003 Fax: 402-591-2122
Email: cliffjohnson@up.com
Gil Gore" <thegores1@cox.net>
06/28/2007 08:10 AM
Cliff,
Can you shed some light on when UP expects to have the new rates in effect established under the 2007 BLET National Agreement? It is my understanding that the effective date of the agreement is July 1, 2007. Is the UP computer system going to begin paying those rates effective July 1, 2007 or at a later date?
Additionally, does the timekeeping dept have any projected information or timeline regarding the payment date and method of payment regarding the back time contained in the agreement?
Thanking you in advance for your effort to gather this information, I remain.
Sincerely,
Gil Gore
Thursday, June 21, 2007
BLET Members Vote YES for New Contracts
| | By a majority of 2-1, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen members nationwide voted in favor of the new freight rail contract negotiated by the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition. The BLET members’ votes were the first in the coalition to be counted. Later in June the votes from the other unions: Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division; Firemen and Oilers; Sheetmetal Workers; Train Dispatchers; Railroad Signalmen; and Boilermakers will be counted. Tuesday, June 19, 2007 http://www.ble.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=4493 © 1997-2007 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen |
Monday, May 21, 2007
BALLOT ON TENTATIVE NATIONAL CONTRACT IN THE MAIL AND AVAILABLE ONLINE AT BLE-T WEBSITE
Tentative national contract in the mail, available online
Per the BLET bylaws, a synopsis of the agreement and a ballot were mailed to all active BLET members today. The ballots are due by June 15, and results will be announced shortly thereafter.
The tentative agreement includes general wage increases totaling 17 percent (18.2 percent compounded over the life of the agreement), which will remain effective until December 31, 2009.
For BNSF members, the BNSF tentative agreement will be enclosed with the National proposal. Those members will have two ballots — a blue ballot for the National and a green ballot for the BNSF vote. Both ballots can be returned in the same postage paid envelope.
The tentative agreement provides members with retroactive pay. To help the members calculate what their back pay might be based on past earnings, the National Division has posted a “pay estimator” on its website. It should be noted, however, that not all compensation is subject to general wage increases, therefore, the dollar amounts that are generated from the back pay estimator may be different from actual back pay amounts.
The BLET reached the agreement through the auspices of the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition (RLBC), which represents seven rail labor unions whose contracts cover nearly 85,000 rail workers (or 65 percent of the carriers’ employees). In addition to the BLET, the unions participating in the RLBC are the American Train Dispatchers Association, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, National Conference of Firemen and Oilers/SEIU, and the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.
Members who do not receive a National ballot may call the office of National Secretary-Treasurer Bill Walpert at (216) 241-2630, ext. 227, or e-mail: ballotrequest@ble-t.org. Those who do not receive a BNSF ballot can also call NST Walpert’s office, but should e-mail: ballotrequest-bnsf@ble-t.org.
Copies of the BNSF agreement are available on the BNSF-MRL General Committee’s website: http://www.blet-bnsfmrl.org.
To download the National agreement and synopsis, or to use the back pay estimator, please visit the BLET website at:
http://www.ble-t.org/2007contract
2007 Tentative National Contract
Per the BLET bylaws, a synopsis of the agreement and a ballot were mailed to all active BLET members on May 17. The ballots are due by June 15, and results will be announced shortly thereafter.
The tentative agreement includes general wage increases totaling 17 percent (18.2 percent compounded over the life of the agreement), which will remain effective until December 31, 2009.
For BNSF members, the BNSF tentative agreement will be enclosed with the National proposal. Those members will have two ballots — a blue ballot for the National and a green ballot for the BNSF vote. Both ballots can be returned in the same postage paid envelope.
The tentative agreement provides members with retroactive pay. To help the members calculate what their back pay might be based on past earnings, the National Division has posted a “pay estimator” on its website. It should be noted, however, that not all compensation is subject to general wage increases, therefore, the dollar amounts that are generated from the back pay estimator may be different from actual back pay amounts.
The BLET reached the agreement through the auspices of the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition (RLBC), which represents seven rail labor unions whose contracts cover nearly 85,000 rail workers (or 65 percent of the carriers’ employees). In addition to the BLET, the unions participating in the RLBC are the American Train Dispatchers Association, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, National Conference of Firemen and Oilers/SEIU, and the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.
Members who do not receive a National ballot may call the office of National Secretary-Treasurer Bill Walpert at (216) 241-2630, ext. 227, or e-mail: ballotrequest@ble-t.org. Those who do not receive a BNSF ballot can also call NST Walpert's office, but should e-mail: ballotrequest-bnsf@ble-t.org.
Copies of the BNSF agreement are available on the BNSF-MRL General Committee’s website: http://www.blet-bnsfmrl.org.
NATIONAL CONTRACT 
SYNOPSIS OF AGREEMENT
BACK PAY ESTIMATOR
(Pops up in new window)
2007 National Contract News
Thursday, May 17, 2007
bentley@ble.org
http://www.ble.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=4474
© 1997-2007 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
http://www.ble.org
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Urge Congress to put a stop to limbo time
Urge Congress to put a stop to limbo time
Limbo time is one factor that aggravates fatigue. The industry’s manipulation of the Hours of Service Act by leaving crews stranded for unconscionable lengths of time began with the Supreme Court’s 1996 “limbo time” decision.
In order to eliminate limbo time, your member of Congress must demand an end to limbo time be included in rail safety legislation. For the next two weeks, your member of Congress will be in your home district for the Easter recess. The BLET is asking all members and their families to contact their members of Congress during these two weeks to urge them to include the limbo time provision in the bill.
During the Easter recess, members will likely be in their home districts. Now is the time to visit, call, email or write your Member of Congress to tell them that you want limbo time eliminated as part of any rail safety bill. BLET members can give their Representatives first hand knowledge about the problem of limbo time.
BLET UP Southern Region Members can find their Representative by reviewing the list below.
It is these first hand accounts provided by BLET members that can be most effective in persuading Congress to act on limbo time, Vice President Tolman said.
“Members of Congress are elected by the people,” Vice President Tolman said. “They respond to their constituents’ stories. BLET members are the best advocates for their position.”
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FW: Urge Congress to put a stop to limbo time
| | Urge Congress to put a stop to limbo time
Tuesday, April 03, 2007 http://www.ble.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=4448 © 2006 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen |
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Summary of tentative RLBC/NCCC agreement
CLEVELAND, March 5 — The following is an outline summary of the major elements of the tentative agreement reached February 28, 2007, between the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition (RLBC) and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC). This outline is not intended to provide a comprehensive description or analysis of the Agreement.
The BLET will hold a meeting the week of March 19, 2007, to provide detailed information to the General Chairmen. Additionally, a packet of information explaining the tentative agreement in detail will be sent to each member as part of his or her ratification ballot. It is expected that the agreement will become effective June 1, 2007, if ratified by the membership.
WAGES
· General wage increases on the following schedule.
July 1, 2005 – 2.5%
July 1, 2006 – 3.0%
July 1, 2007 – 3.0%
July 1, 2008 – 4.0%
July 1, 2009 – 4.5%
HEALTH & WELFARE
· Expansion of in-network benefits and co-pays to employees who cannot obtain them today effective on July 1, 2007.
• In-network availability for over 90% of all employees, up from 75% today.
• Changes to in-network co-pays to pay for network expansion as follows:
• Visit to family doctor from $15 to $20.
• Visit to specialist from $15 to $35.
• ER visit (when not admitted as patient) from $30 to $50.
Prescription drugs:
• Retail - $10 generic; $20 brand name; $30 non-formulary.
• Mail order - $20 generic; $30 brand name; $60 non-formulary.
· Employee cost-sharing payments are 15% of monthly premium (employees currently pay about 14-15% through employee contributions starting on January 1, 2007 to pay for enhanced network coverage.
· Cost share adjustments will be made on January 1, 2008; January 1, 2009 and January 1, 2010.
· Employee cost sharing on January 1, 2010 will be capped at $200 per month, or 15% of the January 1, 2009 rate whichever is greater. There will be no increase during the period unions and railroads bargain over next contract.
· Elimination of the “Harris COLA.”
· Carriers will withdraw all work rules proposals regarding staffing/consolidation, manpower utilization and productivity improvements, and job actions.
Monday, March 05, 2007
bentley@ble.org
http://www.ble.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=4440
© 2006 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
http://www.ble.org
Saturday, March 17, 2007
2006 BLET BYLAWS AVAILABLE ONLINE
The Bylaws, available for download and printing as a PDF, are in effect as of today — March 15, 2007. The new Bylaws reflect changes approved by delegates at the BLET’s First Quadrennial Convention in June of 2006.
The BLET National Division is providing an electronic copy of the Bylaws to the membership while the document is being printed. The current bylaws provide that the National Division will furnish a copy of the bylaws to each member without cost upon request from the division Secretary-Treasurer.
The Bylaws are available at:
http://www.ble-t.org/members/bylaws
Thursday, March 15, 2007
bentley@ble.org
http://www.ble.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=4446
© 2006 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
http://www.ble.org
Sunday, February 18, 2007
BLET Health and Welfare Summary Plan Description
From: Gil Gore [mailto:thegores1@cox.net]
Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 9:33 AM
To: All BLET Southern Region Local Chairmen
Subject: BLET H&
Brothers,
Attached in PDF format is our Summary Plan Description (SPD) for the BLET Health and Welfare Benefits for 2007. Please distribute this to our membership and I will post the same to our website for future reference and use.
To view a PDF copy of this file click HERE
Fraternally,
Gil Gore
Sunday, February 11, 2007
TRIP RATES FOR BLET UP SOUTHERN REGION EFFECTIVE 01-01-07
ORIG | POOL | DEST | TRIP | FLIP | OT OFFSET |
AX340 | RE46 | AX171 | $262.70 | $542.50 | 0:00 |
AX340 | RE35 | AX494 | $239.35 | $480.64 | 0:00 |
AX340 | RE42 | B372 | $316.95 | $649.34 | 0:00 |
AX340 | RE34 | CC150 | $263.35 | $524.72 | 0:00 |
AX340 | RE33 | SO387 | $254.24 | $507.47 | 0:00 |
AX340 | RE33 | TO384 | $254.24 | $507.47 | 0:00 |
B119 | RE04 | B000 | $187.28 | $333.81 | 0:00 |
B219 | RE07 | AX171 | $263.77 | $554.16 | 0:00 |
B219 | RE07 | B119 | $185.86 | $284.42 | 0:00 |
B372 | RE03 | AX171 | $189.64 | $352.96 | 0:00 |
B372 | RE15 | B219 | $237.33 | $482.41 | 0:00 |
B372 | RE28 | B372 | $207.09 | N/A | 0:08 |
B372 | RE06 | BH000 | $209.92 | N/A | 0:00 |
B372 | RE47 | C625 | $292.88 | $662.72 | 0:00 |
B372 | RE47 | LS609 | $306.34 | $610.73 | 0:00 |
B372 | RE47 | TB114 | $454.86 | $842.90 | 0:15 |
B372 | RE23 | TP090 | $403.24 | $834.08 | 0:14 |
B372 | RE23 | TS316 | $403.24 | $834.08 | 0:14 |
B461 | RE21 | B372 | $199.86 | $246.19 | 0:00 |
B461 | RE22 | C625 | $204.83 | $446.77 | 0:00 |
B461 | RE22 | LS609 | $191.62 | $376.47 | 0:00 |
B461 | RE22 | TB114 | $275.84 | $565.80 | 0:06 |
BA110 | RE76 | B372 | $197.75 | $297.83 | 0:00 |
C806 | RE54 | LS609 | $282.29 | $547.97 | 0:13 |
C806 | RE54 | TB114 | $194.66 | $297.14 | 0:00 |
HM436 | RE45 | H186 | $273.18 | $593.03 | 0:00 |
HM436 | RE45 | HM379 | $273.18 | N/A | 0:00 |
L158 | RE16 | L324 | $272.95 | $517.62 | 0:00 |
L324 | RE13 | MK468 | $231.00 | N/A | 0:00 |
L324 | RE12 | MK566 | $266.58 | $531.67 | 0:00 |
MO486 | RE40 | H186 | $270.67 | $555.19 | 0:00 |
SO387 | RE21 | SO605 | $304.99 | $654.99 | 0:00 |
TP090 | RE01 | AX171 | $287.38 | $565.24 | 0:00 |
TP090 | RE11 | TP215 | $199.64 | $402.47 | 0:00 |
TP090 | RE13 | TP250 | $254.42 | $496.14 | 0:00 |
TP202 | RE81 | TP448 | $348.49 | $734.77 | 0:00 |
TP215 | RE85 | AX171 | $198.33 | $450.72 | 0:00 |
TP215 | RE81 | TP448 | $342.21 | $684.77 | 0:00 |
TP250 | RE65 | AX171 | $249.79 | $520.96 | 0:00 |
TP250 | RE65 | AX226 | $299.26 | $558.81 | 0:00 |
TP250 | RE66 | BA084 | $385.10 | $790.02 | 0:00 |
TP250 | RE65 | BA110 | $311.25 | $653.72 | 0:00 |
TP250 | RE46 | HM436 | $259.56 | $538.71 | 0:00 |
TP250 | RE45 | MK566 | $280.79 | $579.48 | 0:00 |
TP250 | RE47 | RR220 | $282.63 | $652.93 | 0:00 |
TP250 | RE50 | TP250 | $201.56 | N/A | 0:00 |
TP448 | RE51 | TP570 | $188.28 | $354.27 | 0:00 |
TP448 | RE50 | TP647 | $278.99 | N/A | 0:00 |
TS316 | RE86 | TB114 | $292.48 | $600.44 | 0:06 |
TS316 | RE84 | TP090 | $219.10 | N/A | 0:19 |
