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Brotherhood's Relief and Compensation Fund
Winter 2007 Newsletter
| Summer 2007 | The Highball | Highball Archives |
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A
message from your president
The year is drawing to a close and the holiday season will be here soon. As we reflect on the past year we can be thankful that, together, we have been able to help many families. It has been a difficult year. The Fund has experienced challenges that it has not faced in many decades. The railroads have been much more aggressive in assessing discipline to our members and we have provided financial assistance to our members in record amounts. In fact, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, benefits paid to our members exceeded our dues revenue by millions of dollars. This occurs at a time when the income from our investment portfolio is at the lowest it has been in many years due to reduced rates of return. Positive steps will keep our dues affordable in spite of the railroads’ aggressive discipline. We will accept the challenge, we will adapt and we will succeed. Cost cutting measures have become necessary to maintain our dues at an affordable level. The annual and semi-annual discounts applied to dues remittances have changed, the days of benefit eligibility for new members and increases within the last five years have changed, the minimum level of participation in the Fund has changed, the frequency of our “Highball” publication has changed, the funding of the scholarships has changed, the use of promotional items has changed, the obtainer awards program has changed and our administrative practices have changed. At the October Board of Directors meeting it was decided that the $50,000 accidental death and dismemberment benefit which is provided free to all our active members will continue to be provided but, effective December 1, 2007, it will be modified to be applicable only while on duty at the railroad. This is expected to reduce the premium paid to the insurance company by approximately $700,000. Other cost-saving measures are the discontinuance of the 2008 photo contest and the 2009 wall calendar. Members will receive a 2008 wall calendar this November. Do I like all the changes? No, I don’t. Many of the things that have changed were worthwhile programs that helped return Fund profits to members. Those programs were created in a more prosperous time. We are not in the same financial position at present. Sensible action today will ensure that the Fund will continue to grow, strengthen and prosper now and well into the future. We are still financially healthy and we remain the best job income protection in the industry. I wish you and your families a happy holiday season and a safe, healthy and prosperous new year. J. M. Robb International President
March 3, 2008 Deadline for Submission of Luther G. Smith Scholarship Applications Notice of AD&D Coverage Change Terminal President Appointments Coupon Booklets and Wall Calendars to be Mailed in November Planning to Attend the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Members? Congratulations and Cash Prizes Go Out to 2007 Photo Contest Winners BR&CF Employee Ba N. Nguyen Retired August 31, 2007
The Officers, Directors and Staff of the BR&CF Join in Wishing You and Yours a Joyous Holiday Season with Peace, Happiness and Prosperity in the New Year.
REMINDER . . . March 3, 2008 Deadline for Submission of Luther G. Smith Scholarship Applications
Your son or daughter can still take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the 2008 Luther G. Smith Scholarship Program. However, we must receive the scholarship application and all related documentation in the BR&CF Principal Office no later than March 3, 2008. Twenty deserving students, who are children of active BR&CF members, will each receive a $1,000 scholarship award. Please note that in order to be considered in 2009 and subsequent years, students will be required to reapply when the program for those years is announced. This reflects a change over recent years – a change that was deemed necessary in order to ease administration and cut costs. You may obtain a scholarship application by visiting the Members Only area of the BR&CF website. Applications may also be obtained by completing and mailing us the form on the back of this newsletter or by simply calling and requesting an application. With the holidays fast approaching, hectic work schedules, school activities and the like, you have lots of demands on your time. That’s why we’re encouraging you to take a few minutes right now to obtain an application. Procrastination can be costly. Each year we receive a number of applications after the deadline, some from students who would have been strong contenders if their applications had been received on time. Please remember that in order for your child to participate in the Program, you must remain “In Good and Regular Standing,” as defined in the BR&CF Constitution, throughout the application process. Don’t deny your child an opportunity to participate in this worthwhile program by neglecting to pay your dues.
Notice of AD&D Coverage Change
The BR&CF has been providing a twenty-four hour a day accidental death and dismemberment insurance policy, free of charge to our active members, on or off the job, since 1999. This coverage has greatly increased in cost since first being made available to our members.
Consequently, at the Board of Directors meeting in October, the Board decided that the $50,000 accidental death and dismemberment benefit, which is provided free of charge to all active members, will continue to be provided but will be limited to coverage only while on duty at the railroad. We anticipate this will reduce the cost of the premium by about $700,000 and expect the effective date to be December 1, 2007.
In more prosperous years, we were able to provide our members with more generous “frills” that now must be reduced in order to remain true to our purpose of providing members with the best job income protection at the most affordable price.
Terminal President Appointments
Effective: June 1, 2007
Michael A. Smith Terminal #125 East North Platte, NE
Effective July 1, 2007
Jason E. Thornburg Terminal #352 Heavener, OK
Robert D. Thornburg Terminal #234 Muncie, IN
Coupon Booklets and Wall Calendars to be Mailed in November
Coupon booklets were mailed to monthly payers in early November. If you are a monthly payer and you do not receive your booklet by the end of November, please give us a call.
Also in November, a copy of the BR&CF wall calendar is slated to be mailed to each active member.
Please be sure to send us a change of address if you are moving or have recently moved!
Planning to Attend the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Members? Call us now to make your hotel reservations!
The 2008 Annual Meeting of the Members will commence at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on April 26, 2008 in the BR&CF office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. As a BR&CF member, you are both welcome and entitled to attend.
If you do plan to attend the Meeting, we ask that you notify us. Seating requirements must be set up in advance, making it necessary to have an accurate count of attendees.
If you would like assistance in scheduling hotel reservations, now is the time to give us a call. The world-renown Spring Carlisle Collector Car Swap Meet and Corral will be held in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a neighboring community, during the same weekend, making accommodations difficult to find.
We are holding a block of hotel rooms at a local hotel in anticipation of this event. You may reserve one of these rooms at a slightly reduced rate by giving us a call. Since you will be responsible for your own expenses, please be prepared to provide us with your credit card number to hold the room.
You may want to extend your trip to visit some local areas of interest, such as the Gettysburg Battlefields, the Strasburg Railroad and the National Civil War Museum. We are located just 45 minutes from the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country and 15 minutes from Hershey. If you are a collector car aficionado, you might even want to spend some time at the car swap meet and corral in Carlisle.
Congratulations and Cash Prizes Go Out to 2007 Photo Contest Winners
W. G. Brown, of Powhatan Point, Ohio, recently received the good news that he was the grand prize winner of this year’s BR&CF Photo Contest. Brother Brown received a letter of congratulations and a $300 cash prize for his winning entry. Other winners in the contest each received $150 in prize money for their winning photographs.
In addition to monetary rewards, winners will have the honor of seeing their work in print in the 2008 BR&CF wall calendar, along with photo credits.
The judges had their work cut out for them, as we received a number of top quality photographs again this year. A special thank you goes out, not just to the winners of this year’s contest, but to all those who submitted entries in the contest. Your participation in the contest and your overall support of the BR&CF are very much appreciated.
BR&CF Employee Ba N. Nguyen Retired August 31, 2007
Ba Nguyen came to work at the BR&CF as a maintenance man in 1988, just a few years after immigrating to the United States from Vietnam. After 19 years of service to the BR&CF, Ba has decided to embark on a new life – retirement.
With a soft-spoken presence, Ba was a friend to all employees. Co-workers remember Ba’s elation when his wife and family joined him in the United States and also one of his proudest days when he became a United States citizen.
Ba will certainly not be idle in his retirement, as he has plans to work in the Vietnamese store he and his wife own together. We wish him well.
November 2007
January 21, 2008
January 28, 2008
March 1, 2008
March 3, 2008
April 16, 2008
April 21, 2008
April 26, 2008
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December 05, 2007
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