2018 Q4 Signalman's Journal
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VOLUME 99 • 4TH QUARTER 2018 THE SeaSon’S Greetings CREDIT CARDS Get Connected FLOWERS & GIFTS Exclusive Wireless Savings, Just for Union Members Save on the monthly service charge of qualified wireless plans, MORTGAGE take advantage of additional savings on select accessories, and get PROGRAM the activation fee waived on select devices for new lines of service. Find out more about this and other great Union Plus programs by FREE visiting unionplus.org. COLLEGE Learn more at unionplus.org Official Publication of the BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD SIGNALMEN WWW.BRS.ORG VOLUME 99 • 4TH QUARTER 2018 DIRECTORY Local 31 Retirees Visit Grand Lodge NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS: 917 Shenandoah Shores Road On October 17, 2018, a Front Royal, VA 22630-6418 group of BRS B&O Railroad (540) 622-6522 Fax: (540) 622-6532 [email protected] retirees visited Grand Lodge Floyd E. Mason, President Headquarters to view the his- (ext. 520) • [email protected] tory on display in the building, Jerry Boles, Secretary-Treasurer (ext. 527) • [email protected] and to meet some of the offi- Kelly Haley, Vice President Headquarters cers, representatives, and staff (ext. 567) • [email protected] that tend to the business of the John Bragg, Vice President NRAB (ext. 524) • [email protected] BRS ...................................6 Brandon Elvey, Director of Research (ext. 596) • [email protected] Cory Claypool, Grand Lodge Representative (ext. 595) • [email protected] RRB Retirement Board Labor Position Mike Efaw, Grand Lodge Representative In August 2018, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen along (ext. 571) • [email protected] with leaders of other rail unions, recommended Johnathan D. Bragg, BRS Vice President NRAB fill the labor member position FIELD VICE PRESIDENTS: Joe Mattingly, Vice President Midwest on the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) ...............................7 400 Contessa Lane, Trenton, KY 42286 (270) 466-0405 • [email protected] Mike Baldwin, Vice President West Season’s Greetings from the Officers and Grand Lodge Staff ............................... 2 917 Shenandoah Shores Road, Front Royal, VA 22630 Resumés Requested — Grand Lodge Representative ........................................... 5 (540) 622-6522 (ext. 531) • [email protected] BRS Raises PTC Training Concerns with Congress ............................................. 8 Jim Finnegan, Vice President Commuter/Passenger Delaware and Hudson Ratify Agreement ............................................................ 8 917 Shenandoah Shores Road, Front Royal, VA 22630 (540) 622-6522 (ext. 568) • [email protected] Fames — Fatal Accident Patterns, Hours of Day ................................................ 9 Tim Tarrant, Vice President East In Memoriam — Kenneth Dale Raney 1928–2017 ........................................... 10 917 Shenandoah Shores Road, Front Royal, VA 22630 (540) 622-6522 (ext. 565) • [email protected] Did You Know? ............................................................................................... 10 Tips to Help Keep Your Health on Track — Eat More Antioxidant Foods .......... 11 William L. Phillips, General Counsel UAW Union Built Vehicle Guide ...................................................................... 20 33 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60602 (847) 644-1901 • [email protected] AFL-CIO Don’t Buy List .................................................................................. 21 Union Plus — Hurricane Michael Assistance .................................................... 24 BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Railroad Retirement Benefits Increase in 2019 ................................................ 25 Mike Owens, Chairman 13022 County Line Road, Crown Point, IN 46307 Photo Highlights from Southeast General Committee Meeting ......................... 30 (219) 988-2393 Photo Highlights from Recording-Financial Secretary Training ......................... 31 Gus Demott, Secretary P.O. Box 888, Clinton, SC 29325 Photo Highlights from Local 110 Meeting ....................................................... 32 (864) 938-0353 Photo Highlights from Local Chairmen’s Training ............................................ 32 John McArthur, Member P.O. Box 960639, El Paso, TX 79996 Photo Highlights from B&O General Committee Meeting ................................. 33 (775) 846-1794 Photo Highlights from Norfolk Southern General Committee ............................ 33 OFFICERS EMERITUS: Photo Highlights from Local 20 Meeting ......................................................... 34 V.M. “Butch” Speakman, Jr., President Emeritus 14212 Viola Place, Huntley , IL 60142 Photo Highlights from Members of Local 183 Range Event ............................. 34 Photo Highlights from Local 31 Meeting ......................................................... 35 From the President ............................................................................................ 4 The Signalman’s Journal (ISSN-0037-5020) is published Washington Report ......................................................................................... 12 quarterly by the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen 917 Shenandoah Shores Road, Front Royal, VA 22630-6418. Agency Fee Payers .......................................................................................... 14 Periodicals Postage Paid at Railroad Retirement Questions & Answers ....................................................... 16 Front Royal, VA and additional offices. Auditor’s Report ............................................................................................. 18 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Signalman’s Journal, Designated Legal Counsel ................................................................................ 22 The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, 917 Shenandoah Shores Road, Front Royal, VA 22630-6418. Benefits Directory ............................................................................................ 23 Subscription Rates: $10.00 per year, sold only in the Continuous Membership .................................................... 24 United States and Canada. Single copy price is $3.00. Obituaries ......................................................................... 26 Signalman’s Store ............................................................. 28 Photo Contest Winners for 2018 ....................................... 36 COVER: Photo taken in New Mexico of Semaphore signals on the old Santa Fe route between Las Vegas, Nevada and Springer, New Mexico. Photo submitted by: Local 161 member Danny Chaparro, Assistant General Chairman, BNSF General Committee. easons, reetings SFROM THE OF THE G S Officers & Grand Lodge Staff GBrotherhood of Railroad Signalmen Floyd MASON JERRY BOLES JOE MATTINGLY KELLY HALEY BRANDON ELVEY CORY CLAYPOOL MIKE EFAW MIKE OWENS CYNTHIA HALEY jillian LASky TERESA EMBREY DONICA BOLES easons reetings SFROM THE OF THE G S Officers & Grand Lodge Staff GBrotherhood of Railroad Signalmen JOHN BRAGG MIKE BALDWIN JIM FINNEGAN TIM TARRANT GUS DEMOTT JOHN MCARTHUR BILL phillipS GENE MOORE olivia LAMBERT MICHAELA claywell CARA Starkey WHITNEY HAMRICK FROM THE PRESIDENT PTC TRAINING FOR Technical Professionals As we near the end of the extension for Positive Train Control (PTC) Installation, Congress has held hearings to determine the progress and status of the railroads implementing the feder- ally mandated safety measure. Unfortunately, the training of Signalmen, the technical profes- sionals responsible for railroad signaling, lags behind the progress made with the installation, spectrum allocation, and interoperability of the PTC systems. These, along with some other factors, must be considered by the FRA in order to grant alternative scheduling, which is code Collision of a Union Pacific freight train and Metrolink on September words for yet another two-year extension to 12, 2008. Rescue personnel work near the front of the Metrolink complete PTC. locomotive which is lying on its side after penetrating the lead pas- The House Transportation and Infrastructure senger car on the left. (T&I) Committee, followed by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and the FRA holds out Class I railroads as the example for Transportation, two congressional committees respon- other railroads that are behind schedule, some are way sible for transportation related issues held hearings on behind. PTC completion immediately following the 10th anni- versary of the Chatsworth train crash that killed 25 pas- To qualify for alternative scheduling, a railroad must “(1) sengers and started the implementation of Positive Train install by December 31, 2018, all PTC system hardware Control. Many were injured, requiring a massive emer- consistent with the governing PTC Implementation gency response by Los Angeles city and county which Plan; (2) acquired, by December 31, 2018, all spectrum strained all the available resources. Many survivors were necessary to implement its PTC system consistent with hospitalized for an extended period. Damages were in the the governing PTC Implementation Plan; and, (3) made 100’s of millions. The accident was horrific. sufficient progress on employee training, revenue service demonstration” and other criteria, according to state- Congress, along with government agencies like ments by the FRA. Government Accounting Office and National Transportation Safety Board, testified and rightfully The tone and testimony of railroads, even those that are expressed frustration at these Hearings that PTC is not more behind than major carriers, to the questions about fully implemented as mandated