Testifying at a U.S. Senate hearing on June 20 about new ways to fund much-needed national infrastructure improvements, BLET National Vice President Stephen J. Bruno discussed public-private partnerships and said that public funding must be used to supplement, not replace, current sources of funding. 

He also said, “American labor must continue to have the same protections they are entitled to and have fought so hard to acquire.” He cited a current House proposal to privatize the Northeast Corridor as an example of a misguided public-private partnership because the plan would likely lead to significant job losses for Amtrak employees

“We believe there is a role for private capital in infrastructure financing, but strong conditions must be attached and an appropriate balance must be achieved,” Bruno testified.

The hearing, titled “Building American Transportation Infrastructure Through Innovative Funding,” was called by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

“Everyone acknowledges that our nation’s infrastructure is in dire need of repair and expansion,” Bruno said. “America badly needs the economic boost infrastructure investment provides. Infrastructure investment is a proven economic stimulator and job creator and it’s an investment in the future of America.”

He used two examples related to Amtrak to illustrate the right way and the wrong way to go about infusing private money into public transportation projects. Bruno discussed Amtrak’s own plans to upgrade the Northeast Corridor using private investors while retaining control and current labor protections. He contrasted that with the recently released plan by Representatives John Mica and Bill Shuster to privatize the Northeast Corridor.

“This (Mica/Shuster) plan would, in short, saddle Amtrak with all its debt while removing the Northeast Corridor, its greatest asset,” Bruno said. “This would endanger passenger and commuter rail throughout the country, and it would cause significant job losses among Amtrak employees. It places corporate shareholder interests ahead of the interests of the general public. The Mica/Shuster proposal invites corporate locusts to swarm in, acquire and leverage the profitable assets and leaves nothing but a rotting husk.”

Bruno discussed the need for greater spending on infrastructure, and cited statistics showing that the U.S. is falling behind the rest of the world on infrastructure investment. According to a recent study by The Economist, the United States spends 2.4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on infrastructure spending, while Europe spends 5% of GDP and China 9% of GDP.  

During questioning, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D–NJ) asked Vice President Bruno how the proposals to cut transportation funding by some members of the House of Representatives would impact the economy.

“While I’m not an economist, I certainly understand the principle of supply and demand,” Bruno said. “We have a supply in labor in this country for which there is no demand. Any legislation that will fund our nation’s infrastructure – which is in dire need of improvement – has the potential to balance the supply with the demand in the labor market.”

BLET National President Dennis Pierce thanked Vice President Bruno for delivering the testimony. President Pierce was unable to appear due to a scheduling conflict.

“Vice President Bruno has again done a great job of stepping up to represent the interests of the BLET, and in this case all of rail labor, in what is certainly going to be an important debate about the future of infrastructure investment in our country,” President Pierce said. “As Brother Steve noted in his testimony, there is a concern about the proper role for private capital in infrastructure and the possibility that both labor and the public good could suffer in the pursuit of private profits.”

A copy of Vice President Bruno’s testimony can be downloaded here:

http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/Bruno_7.20.11_Testimony.pdf

CLEVELAND, July 14 — The BLET is asking all members to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for National Call Congress Days, July 14 and 15. Tell your Senators to stop the Social Security cuts, and don’t raid Social Security to give corporations another tax break!

You can participate in National Call Congress Days by calling 1-866-251-4044. Simply follow the prompts to connect to your Senators.

As background, Social Security faces an immediate threat from politicians in Washington who want to:

• Cut Social Security’s Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to reduce the deficit. But Social Security doesn’t contribute a penny to the deficit.

• Raid Social Security to give corporations a tax break, jeopardizing the Social Security benefits that 54 million Americans rely on. Corporations shouldn’t get another handout.

“These cuts and raids on Social Security could potentially damage our Railroad Retirement benefits,” BLET National President Dennis Pierce said. “I urge all active and retired BLET members, as well as members of the BLET Auxiliary, to call their Senators as soon as possible.”

Call your Senators RIGHT NOW at 1-866-251-4044.

Tell the person in the Senate office who answers the phone:

I am a voter/constituent living in [your city and state]. I am calling to tell the Senator:

NO CUTS TO SOCIAL SECURITY!

NO CUTS TO SOCIAL SECURITY’S COLA!

NO SOCIAL SECURITY PAYROLL TAX HOLIDAY!

Call 1-866-251-4044 now. Don’t let politicians in Washington cut or raid OUR Social Security or Railroad Retirement.

From Amtrak.

WASHINGTON — Amtrak is projecting that for the first time ever its annual ridership will exceed 30 million passengers and in the process set a new all-time record when the current fiscal year ends Sept. 30.      

“We are having a very strong year because people around the country are choosing the convenience, efficiency and hassle-free environment of Amtrak to meet their travel needs,” said President and CEO Joe Boardman.  “Amtrak has wisely invested the federal funding we have received to improve infrastructure and equipment.  Continued investment in Amtrak and passenger rail will support the further growth of this increasingly vital transportation option.”     

Amtrak is basing its projection of more than 30 million passengers on strong June ridership numbers and expected ticket sales for July, August and September. June 2011 was the best June on record with more than 2.6 million passengers for the month and marked 20 consecutive months of year-over-year ridership growth, a streak that began in November 2009.     

This strong performance is part of a long-term trend that has seen Amtrak set annual ridership records in seven of the last eight fiscal years, including more than 28.7 million passengers in FY 2010.     

Comparing the first nine months of FY 2011 (October – June) to the same time period in FY 2010, national Amtrak ridership is up 6.4 percent so far this fiscal year and all three major business lines are showing gains: the Northeast Corridor up 5.6 percent, state-supported and other short distance corridors up 7.8 percent, and long-distance trains up 3.9 percent.      

Factors contributing to the continuing success of Amtrak include high gasoline prices, continued growth in business travel on the high-speed Acela Express trains with free Wi-Fi service, the increased appeal and popularity of rail travel, and effective marketing campaigns.

(The following appeared on The Hill website on June 28, 2011)

By Keith Laing  

 A key Democratic member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said Tuesday that House Republicans’ plan to privatizing Amtrak rail service could have an unintended consequence: draining the fund for the retirement of rail employees of all stripes.

 Amtrak employees make up 10 percent of the national railroad retirement system, Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) said. Thus, they make up a provide a large percent of the money in the trust funds that pay for those retirements, the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance trust funds, she said.

 “Last week, Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman’s announced that the ‘Competition for Intercity Passenger Rail in America Act of 2011,’ introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) and Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) would ‘likely mean the end of Amtrak and the national passenger rail system that Congress authorized nearly 40 years ago,’” Brown said in a statement released Tuesday by her office. 

Full Story:   http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/railroads/168839-house-dem-amtrak-privatization-would-jeopardy-other-rail-pensions

CLEVELAND, June 23 — Rail Labor scored a major victory today as the United States Supreme Court rejected an argument by CSX Transportation that would have made it much more difficult for railroad workers to be compensated when they are injured on the job as a result of a railroad’s negligence.

The case — CSX Transportation, Inc. v. McBride — originally was brought by BLET Division 742 member Robert McBride, who was injured while working for CSX. The claim was filed pursuant to the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) by Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Designated Legal Counsel John Kujawski. Under the FELA, a railroad worker who is killed or injured on the job may recover damages if the injury or death results in whole or in part from the railroad’s negligence.

Dissatisfied with the jury’s verdict in McBride’s favor, the railroad appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, complaining that the instructions given to the jury did not include one requiring that it apply a higher “proximate cause” standard, meaning that McBride needed to prove that the railroad’s negligence was the main or direct cause of the accident. The Seventh Circuit denied the railroad’s appeal.

Writing for a 5–4 majority, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg held that the jury instruction “proper in FELA cases … simply tracks the language Congress employed, informing juries that a defendant railroad caused or contributed to a plaintiff employee’s injury if the railroad’s negligence played any part in bringing about the injury.” The Court also noted that jury instruction “sought by CSX would mislead” a jury in the proper application of the law.

“The Supreme Court today vindicated an important right for BLET members and all railroad workers,” said BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce. “Our congratulations go out to Brother Bob McBride and his family, whose 7-year struggle for justice concluded successfully today.

“I also want to congratulate BLET Designated Legal Counsel John Kujawski and the team he assembled to fight for Brother McBride’s rights,” Pierce added, “and to thank retired BLET General Counsel Harold Ross for coordinating Rail Labor’s friend of the court brief, which demonstrated the continuing need for the protections afforded by the FELA.”