Railroad Labor responts to the Disability Issue.
The Honorable Gary L. Ackerman
United States House of Representatives
2243 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Tim Bishop
United States House of Representatives
225 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
United States Senate
476 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Steve J. Israel
United States House of Representatives
432 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Peter King
United States House of Representatives
339 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Carolyn McCarthy
United States House of Representatives
106 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
United States Senate
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Representative:
Much has been written and said regarding the occupational disability provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act in recent weeks, a large measure of which has been based on blatantly false or deliberately misleading information. Most recently, Helena Williams, President of the Long Island Rail Road, sent letters to Congress urging them to overhaul the entire Railroad Retirement System, again basing her arguments on baseless and false information. Their intent is clear, to directly attack the single most important protection rail workers and their families have against the hazards of working in a very dangerous industry.
The occupational disability program provides critical protection for rail workers and their families. The dangerous and strenuous conditions that existed in the railroad industry at the time the program was created still exist. Combined with the unique nature of most railroad jobs, it was clear that rail workers needed the protection afforded by the occupational disability program. Since its inception, any changes to the system and its standards have been the direct result of negotiations between rail labor and management. We urge Congress to reject the rail industry's pressure and the media's rush to judgment on our occupational disability protection and to continue to support the negotiated occupational disability program that is a cornerstone of the railroad retirement system.
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Ms. Williams claims that railroads are not notified when an employee files an application for disability with the Railroad Retirement Board; nothing could be further from the truth. As part of their negotiations in 1997, rail labor and management agreed that when an employee files for an occupational disability, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will request that the employee's railroad provide job duty information for the employee's last regular job. The RRB's disability rating section is required to delay making a decision for 30 days from the date the form is sent to the railroad to give ample time to return the form to the RRB. In fact, the industry as a whole returns this form to the RRB in less than 5 percent of the cases. Of the 2,566 cases awarded an occupational disability in 2007 nationwide, the industry responded in only 123 of those cases. The Long Island Rail Road itself responded to only 6 of 219 requests (2.7 percent) for information by the RRB in 2007. Even though the Long Island Rail Road chooses not to provide job information to the RRB, it certainly is notified through this process when an employee files an application for occupational disability.
Ms. Williams also states that the Long Island Rail Road is rarely asked to provide medical information to the RRB when one of its employees files for an occupational disability annuity. Regulations governing the process of rendering a disability determination clearly state that the greatest weight of evidence should be given to the employee's treating physician who has a history with the employee. The medical evidence from the treating physician must be substantiated by objective medical findings. These regulations are consistently applied for all total and permanent disability applications, and they are consistent with those used by the Social Security Administration. The Long Island Rail Road, or any other railroad employer for that matter, would not have pertinent medical information to provide the RRB to support the employee's claim to an occupational disability annuity.
Ms. Williams has also cited, incorrectly, that the Long Island Rail Road does not have any representation at the RRB. This is patently untrue. The three Board Members who oversee the operations of the RRB are Presidential Appointees confirmed by the Senate. Mr. Jerome Kever is the Management Member of the Board and as such is charged with representing the Long Island Rail Road and all other covered railroad employers. Moreover, it is clear that Mr. Kever has been working in concert with Ms. Williams to create this "crisis" which they hope will result in drastic changes in the occupational disability program to the detriment of Rail Labor.
Let us emphasize once again, the current occupational disability program has been, since its inception in 1946, the direct result of collectively bargained agreements between rail labor and the rail industry, and contrary to published reports, funding for the occupational disability program is derived solely by taxes imposed on covered railroad workers and the railroads themselves.
The recently published articles have brought certain issues regarding the private pension plan at the Long Island Rail Road to light. The impact this unique private pension plan has on the occupational disability program may be an anomaly and is not indicative of a systemic, nationwide situation.
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There is currently an investigation underway to determine if this is the case and all of rail labor fully supports this investigation. As we have already stated, rail labor would be prepared to meet with Long Island Railroad management if the investigation determines that any anomalies regarding the occupational disability program exist as a result of this private pension plan.
The occupational disability program itself is financially sound and administratively efficient. It continues to provide much needed assistance to those railroad employees who are no longer able to do their railroad jobs. In fiscal year 2007, 2,542 applicants were awarded an occupational disability annuity with an average payment of $2,213 per month. Of the approximately 575,000 individuals receiving an annuity under the railroad retirement system, less than 11 percent receive this critical annuity. Moreover, approximately 70 percent of these individuals have also been found to be totally and permanently disabled for all work in the national economy, as defined under the Social Security Act. This means that only approximately 4 percent of all employees on the rolls are receiving benefits because they are occupationally disabled.
Ms. Williams has questioned how an employee of the Long Island Rail Road can be working one day and then found occupationally disabled the next day when that person files for an occupational disability. What Ms. Williams does not understand is that many of these employees have been working despite having a severe impairment. They continue to work because it is economically disadvantageous to quit a relatively well paying railroad job with good health and welfare benefits to receive an annuity that pays roughly $30,000 a year, includes severe earnings restrictions (an employee cannot earn more than $730 a month without losing the annuity for that month), and leaves the employee and the employee's family without health insurance. The fact that the vast majority of employees found occupationally disabled are also found to be totally and permanently disabled for all work in the national economy underscores the fact that these individuals have been working under physical and/or mental duress, but for financial reasons desperately need to keep working as long as they can.
Ms. Williams and various media sources have focused much of their attention on the fact that 98 percent of employees who file for an occupational disability are approved. We do not dispute this fact but it needs to be put in its proper perspective. As previously stated, approximately 70 percent of these individuals are more than occupationally disabled, they are totally and permanently disabled for all work in the national economy. Moreover, the standards used to determine if an individual is occupationally disabled were established jointly by rail labor and the rail industry, and the program is funded solely by those two parties. But a look at the benefit itself shows that the average annual annuity amount does not come close to replacing the average railroad worker's annual salary. When combined with a severe earnings restriction, whereby an employee cannot earn more than $730 a month without losing a month's annuity, and the fact that the employee and the employee's family lose their health care coverage, it becomes apparent that this is not the overly generous benefit that is being portrayed by Ms. Williams or the media. As previously stated, the total number of employees who are only occupationally disabled constitutes a very small percentage of all railroad retiree annuitants currently on the rolls.
October 16, 2008
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It is obvious from the firestorm of media reports that are being fueled by the rail industry that railroad management is trying to circumvent decades of collective bargaining by exploiting a localized issue and attempting to suggest that there is a national problem. By changing the occupational disability program, railroad management seeks to reduce their longstanding and negotiated financial commitment to rail labor and improve their bottom line. Their hope is to get Congress to fundamentally change, outside the collective bargaining arena where it rightfully belongs, the only real protection our sick and disabled members have against the hazards of working in a dangerous and specialized industry.
Sincerely,
F. L. McCann, President Edward Rodzwicz, National President
American Train Dispatcher Association Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
and Trainmen
Freddie N. Simpson, President Robert Roach, General Vice President
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way International Association of Machinists
Employes Division and Aerospace Workers
Dan Hamilton, Director George J. Francisco, Jr., President
Railroad Division National Conference of Firemen & Oilers
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
Dewey Garland, Director of Railroad and James Little, International President
Shipyard Workers Transport Workers Union
Sheet Metal Workers' Int'l. Association
Mike Futhey, International President Robert A. Scardelletti, International President
United Transportation Union Transportation Communications
International Union
Bill Bohne, Jr., Director of Railroad Division W. Dan Pickett, International President
International Brotherhood of Electrical Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen Workers
