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Rail transit unions reject need to tighten disability

BY ALFONSO A. CASTILLO | alfonso.castillo@newsday.com

October 18, 2008

Leaders from a dozen transit unions have written New York's congressional delegation urging members to reject an overhaul of the federal pension system that has allowed nearly all railroad workers who apply for disability benefits to receive them.

The letter, which was obtained by Newsday, was signed by the presidents of such unions as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the Transport Workers Union, and the United Transportation Union.

Edward Rodzwicz, National president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, confirmed that the letter has been sent and said he hoped it would clear up "erroneous" and "misleading" information in the public.

The offices of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) confirmed that they had received the letter.

"Two things are clear here - first, taxpayers got ripped off, and second, no one can agree on who is responsible," Israel said. "We need to get to the bottom of this, and that's why I've called for oversight hearings and additional investigation into the matter."

The union leaders said recent issues involving the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, which grants disability benefits to railroad workers instead of Social Security, "has been based on blatantly false or deliberately misleading information."

The letter also blasted Long Island Rail Road president Helena Williams, who has called for reforms, saying she was trying 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 pension system came under fire after reports that the federal retirement board grants 98 percent of all disability claims, and that there is a disproportionately high rate of claims made by LIRR retirees.

The letter said that the high disability applications by LIRR retirees do not reflect a "systematic, nationwide situation. ... Railroad management is trying to circumvent decades of collective bargaining by exploiting a localized issue," the letter said.

In a statement Friday, Williams said she and the unions shared a common goal of disability benefits being reserved "for those who truly deserve them."

Several federal and state agencies are investigating the retirement board, and federal lawmakers met with board members last week to discuss some reforms.