A question that continues to come up in connection with the proposed national agreement settlement is the concern that Article XI – Off-track vehicle benefits somehow affects our members’ rights under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). In one recent “summary” of the Agreement proposal, the unidentified author suggested that UTU has completely wiped out FELA by agreeing to these benefits. Actually, these benefits are nothing new, and all that has changed in the past 30 years or so is that UTU and BLE members’ benefits under this coverage have increased.

Most railroaders are aware that FELA is a fault-based system in which an injured employee must prove negligence on the Carrier’s part in order to receive compensation. However, if an employee is driving his own automobile or deadheading in a contract van and is injured due to circumstances completely beyond the railroad’s control, then there is no negligence and there is no recovery under FELA. Thus, the unions bargained for and secured certain benefits for their members (and their families) who suffer the loss of life or limb under these circumstances. These benefits have been part of our UTU national agreements since 1968, and the BLE got the same benefits in 1969. Those rules both specifically provide that “… receipt of payment thereunder shall not bar the employee or his personal representative from pursuing any remedy under the Federal Employers Liability Act or any other law…”

These off-track vehicle benefits are just one more example of the protection afforded to union members and their families through the collective bargaining process. These protections do not show up in your check each payday, but they provide immeasurable help to the families of our brothers and sisters who suffer injury or death in these specific circumstances. It is disappointing to see uninformed “experts” misuse these important benefits as a scare tactics.