The REEF Act (Railroad Employee Equity Fairness Act) is a bill currently up for vote in the U.S. Senate. It deals specifically with eliminating the sequester of Railroad Unemployment Insurance (RUI) and Sick Benefits.

Legislation language is often confusing and boring, yet also important. This law is critical to railroaders, so below is a simple explanation why all railroaders should push their senators to pass this bill.

The REEF Act and how it helps all railroaders:

The REEF Act is a bi-partisan bill in the Senate introduced by U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH). This bill would eliminate the sequester of Railroad Unemployment Insurance (RUI) and Sick benefits. The RUI is the only unemployment benefit in the country that is subject to the sequester.

What is Sequester and how does it work?:

When it comes to the federal budget, sequestration is the act of cutting spending by withdrawing funding for certain government programs. Unfortunately, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) unfairly ruled the RUI and Sick benefits fell into that category.

The sequester was created in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1987. It was in the Budget Control Act through the 1990’s and 2000’s, but it wasn’t a major factor until Congress initiated the process of sequestration with the Budget Control Act of 2011. When Republicans and Democrats couldn't agree on the best way to lower the deficit, they used the threat of sequester to force themselves to reach an agreement. They never reached a compromise, so the sequester kicked in, cutting spending by $900 billion over 10 years.

With the sequester initiated, our RUI and Sick benefits reduced by as much as 9.2 percent and as low as 4.3 percent (depending on the year). That is money coming out of your pocket if you are sick or furloughed.
Railroad employees are the only workers that have their unemployment insurance reduced by sequester.

In FY 2019 the RRB received 70,065 unemployment clams. As of FY 2020, those   clams have increased to 234,441 – an increase of over 200 percent.

The REEF Act will change the longstanding unfair practice of sequestration on RUI. With the passage of the REEF Act, railroaders will see as much as $81 million back in their pockets. That’s $81 million that will come back to you when you need it the most.

The BMWED has worked hard to get this unfair treatment of our members changed. We want to thank Senator Portman (OH), Brown (OH), Kolbuchar (MN) and Fisher (NE) for their help and support on behalf of our members.

Now is a call to action: we need you to call your Senators. Ask them to cosponsor and support Senate Bill 545 and end the sequester on our hard-earned benefits. It’s your Union, let’s all work together to pass S.545.

Locate your U.S. Senator at this link:  https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

Send them an email or give them a phone call. Tell them to vote yes on The REEF Act, Senate Bill 545.

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