Description: News on Railroad Retirement - 01/18/2000

BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS
BROTHERHOOD OF MAINTENANCE OF WAY EMPLOYES

January 14, 2000

All Rail Labor Chiefs

Dear Brothers,

On March 20, 1997, Congressman Jack Quinn of New York introduced H.Con.Res. 52, which resolved, in pertinent part, that "because of the self-sufficient and unique nature of the Railroad Retirement System, Congress urges and exhorts all parties of the railroad community, including rail labor, management and retiree organizations to find a suitable way to fund an amendment that would improve the survivor benefits component to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974." At subcommittee hearings held on the Resolution, all relevant constituencies stated their support for the position espoused by Congress, and pledged their best efforts to achieve the goal articulated by Congressman Quinn.

Nearly three years have passed without relief for surviving spouses, who have seen their standards of living diminished appreciably. The issue currently is tied up with the disagreement over reforming Railroad Retirement tax rates and the retirement age. Given the fact that this disagreement is not close to being resolved - in fact, the positions of BMWE, BLE and TWU are being misrepresented publicly - we believe it is unconscionable to further defer action on the commitment we made in 1997.

Accordingly, we propose that the issue of improving survivor benefits be segregated from the more general question of tax rate and retirement age reform, and that we agree to support immediate enactment of legislation that would implement the changes to survivor benefits currently on the table. Since we now know that upwards of 6 1/2 % of the current tax structure is available for benefit improvements and tax relief, there should be no difficulty scoring this improvement for inclusion in the eventual comprehensive reform package that is adopted.

By copy of this letter to Bob Allen, we also are extending our proposal to the NRLC for its consideration. Anticipating a positive response, we remain

In Solidarity,

Edward Dubroski

Mac A. Fleming

cc: R. F. Allen, NRLC Chmn.
The Hon. Jack Quinn

Building Solidarity ... Strengthening Craft Autonomy