Members covered under the Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan, the Plan, still have an opportunity to enroll in the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for 2014. Members who wished to enroll but failed to do so by the open enrollment deadline have until December 1, 2013 to enroll in the FSA for 2014. This
Most railroad retirement annuities, like social security benefits, are scheduled to increase in January 2014 on the basis of the rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the third quarter of 2012 to the corresponding period of the current year. Cost-of-living increases are calculated in both the tier I and tier II benefits included
Railroad retirement annuitants subject to earnings restrictions can earn more in 2014 without having their benefits reduced as a result of increases in earnings limits indexed to average national wage increases. Like social security benefits, some railroad retirement benefit payments are subject to deductions if an annuitant’s earnings exceed certain exempt amounts. These earnings restrictions
Members of Congress responsible for our nation’s transportation systems, including our national passenger rail system, are once again considering the reauthorization of Amtrak. The choice is clear: give Amtrak the resources it needs, or choose the routine ritual of starving it and wondering why we don’t have faster trains and more service. As a backdrop,
The standard Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $104.90 in 2014, the same amount as in 2013. Some beneficiaries will continue to pay higher premiums based on their modified adjusted gross income, but these amounts are also remaining the same as in 2013. The monthly premiums that include income-related adjustments for 2014 will be
The Transportation Trades Department (TTD, AFL-CIO) of which TCU is a member, Executive Committee came together recently to rally around an aggressive transportation jobs and investment agenda and to take dead aim at globalization and safety issues. They focused on the need to counter the toxic agenda of political extremists—who gave us ideas like sequestration
The Brotherhood Railway Carmen Division, TCU/IAM (BRC) requested that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) schedule a public hearing regarding the request by Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in the Powder River Basin to discontinue performing brake tests on designated trains due to the use of wayside detection technology. This is the second time UP has attempted
The agreement provides excellent compensation gains for TCU members, more than 20% in wage increases plus a $3,000 signing bonus over its six year term. The agreement rivals the historic national freight agreement in compensation produced, but employee contributions to health insurance are only introduced gradually on a staggered basis, not reaching national levels until
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be holding 11 public “listening sessions” where the public can voice their ideas and concerns regarding EPA regulation of carbon pollution. These listening sessions are directly related to regulations that have the potential to close coal fired power plants that have already been affected and refitted as a result
CSX and the TCU/IAM Carmen Division (BRC) recently signed a 4 year agreement to bring back scheduled sub-contracted work the Huntington Locomotive Shop and the Carmen workforce. This 4-year agreement includes the possibility of 20 years of work for the shop and gives Huntington Locomotive Shop the exclusive rights to perform all 4-axle rebuilds. This
