
As the largest transit worker political action committee (PAC) in
the United States, the Amalgamated Transit Union Committee on Political
Education (ATU-COPE) is the voice of transit workers, school bus employees
and over-the-road bus workers at all levels of government.
Since by law union dues cannot be used to fund political campaigns, voluntary
contributions from ATU members* to ATU-COPE are used to help elect
pro-labor, pro-transit candidates for local, state and federal office. Once the
election is over, ATU-COPE works closely with the officials we helped elect to
make sure that our members’ interests are well-represented.
Right now ATU-COPE is working to:
- Provide record increases in federal transit funding and expand the
availability of federal and state operating assistance for transit systems.
- Fight efforts to make it easier to privatize transit and school bus workers’
jobs and weaken their collective bargaining rights.
- Enhance security measures in America’s transit, school bus and over-the-road
bus systems.
- Preserve and expand worker health and safety laws that protect transit,
school bus and over-the-road bus employees on the job.
- Defeat state and local initiatives that seek to limit the amount of funding
available for school bus transportation.
- Promote initiatives requiring transit labor representatives on state and
local transportation boards and commissions.
Recent ATU-COPE Accomplishments
- Preserved transit worker collective bargaining and job rights in the
recently-passed federal highway and transit legislation.
- Secured federal funding for maintenance training program for transit
workers.
- Supported successful ballot initiatives to increase transit funding in
Seattle, California, Minnesota and numerous other cities and states across the
U.S.
- Defeated so-called "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" (or TABOR) initiatives that
would have limited funding for crucial public services, including transit and
school transportation, in multiple states.
ATU local 1145 is urging all members, both active and retired, to join the COPE Club. Current contributors may wish to upgrade their ATU COPE Club level. For an application, see Doug Wiser or Ron Dufford
Retirees Breakfast/Luncheon Out
Broome County Transit retirees meet for lunch at:
Niko's Restaurant Upper Court Street Binghamton, NY
1st Thursday of every month at 11:00am
All Transit retirees are welcome to join
Retirees Games and Lunch Getaway
Broome County Transit retirees meet at:
Tioga Downs 2384 W. River Road Nichols, NY 13812
3rd Wednesday of every month All Transit retirees are welcome to join
Enjoy playing the machines from 9:45am to 11:20am Then meet for lunch at 11:20am in front of the buffet
We would like to congratulate and wish good luck to the members who retired in the year 2010:
Jeff Fisher
Coach Operator
Nick Franks
Coach Operator
Steve Parmeter
Coach Operator
NEW
LONGEVITY PAYROLL INFORMATION
All
supplemental wages are taxed at 25% in the new Payroll
system. The definition of supplemental wages according to the
IRS is as follows:
Supplemental
wages are compensation paid in addition to an employee's regular wages.
They include, but are not limited to, bonuses, commissions, overtime
pay, payments for accumulated sick leave, severance pay, awards,
prizes, back pay, retroactive pay increases, and payments for
nondeductible moving expenses. Other payments subject to the
supplemental wage rules include taxable fringe benefits and expense
allowances paid under a nonaccountable plan. How you withhold on
supplemental wages depends on whether the supplemental payment is
identified as a separate payment from regular wages.
By
this definition longevity and the sick pay incentive are considered
supplemental wages. The attendance incentive quarterly
payment can be handled in two ways:
Supplemental wages combined with regular wages. If you pay supplemental wages
with regular wages but do not specify the amount of each, withhold
federal income tax as if the total were a single payment for a regular
payroll period.
Supplemental wages identified separately from
regular wages. If you pay supplemental wages
separately (or combine them in a single payment and specify the amount
of each), the federal income tax withholding method depends partly on
whether you withhold income tax from your employee's regular wages.
TO ATU MEMBERS:
SUBJECT: LUMP SUM
SUPPLEMENTAL WAGE PAYMENTS
DATE:
April 19, 2009
As you may be aware,
there have been inquiries to the
Finance/ Payroll Department from ATU members about a recent change in
tax
withholding procedures of lump sum supplemental wage payments for such
benefits
as tool allowances, attendance incentives, longevity pay, etc.
According to IRS
regulations these wages are considered to
be supplemental as they are paid in addition to an employee’s regular
wages. To comply
with IRS regulations the PeopleSoft
payroll system taxes supplemental wages identified
separately from regular wages at a rate of 25% federal tax
withholding. There are
no exceptions or other % allowed.
Supplemental wage
payments included in employees’
normal
regular wages and specified amounts separately, are subject to federal
tax
withholding at 25% as well. These
wages
would be identified as supplemental even if paid in a single check.
Based on the above, the
Finance/ Payroll Department, is
highly recommending that any lump sum supplemental wage payments be
included in
employee’s normal regular wages effective immediately, rather than be
payable
in separate checks. To
cut manual checks
in the new system requires a separate payroll to be run and is a very
tedious
process.
ATU is agreeable to
including supplemental wage payments in
employee’s normal regular paychecks and not on a separate check.
Signed:
_______________________
_________
Peter
Schiraldi
Date
ATU
Pres.
______________________
__________
Thomas
H. Behan
Date
Director
of Employee Relations
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