RICHMOND – Virginia State Police Superintendent, Colonel Gary T. Settle, is proud to announce the appointments of three new executive staff leaders, in the wake of the retirement of the Department’s first female deputy superintendent. Effective Aug. 19, 2022, Colonel Settle appointed Lieutenant Colonel Kirk S. Marlowe Deputy Superintendent. Effective Aug. 30, 2022, Major Tricia W. Powers, Bureau of Administrative and Support Services (BASS) Deputy Director, was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed to BASS Director. Effective Sept. 25, 2022, Captain Robert C. Holland was promoted to Major and appointed to the position of BASS Deputy Director.

Effective Oct. 1, 2022, Lieutenant Colonel Tracy S. Russillo concludes 33 years of service with the Virginia State Police. Russillo achieved many “firsts” in her advancement through the Department ranks. She was not only the first female Deputy Superintendent, but also the first female to serve as a Bureau Director and a Bureau Deputy Director. As Deputy Superintendent, Russillo oversaw all three VSP Bureaus – BASS, Bureau of Field Operations (BFO) and Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) – as well as the Office of Internal Affairs and Executive Protective Unit.

Russillo was appointed to the position of Deputy Superintendent Aug. 5, 2016. A native of Fredericksburg, she joined the Department May 16, 1989. Her first patrol assignments as a trooper were in Spotsylvania and Culpeper counties, which are within the Culpeper Division. As she progressed through the VSP ranks, Russillo served as an Academy sergeant in Richmond, area commander of the Culpeper Division’s Area 13 Office in Winchester and field lieutenant in the Culpeper Division. In 2008, she achieved the rank of captain serving as the Fairfax Division commander in the Northern Virginia region. Russillo was promoted to major in 2011 following her appointment as BASS Deputy Director, where she remained until her 2016 appointment to Deputy Superintendent.

Promoted to the position of Deputy Superintendent is Lieutenant Colonel Kirk S. Marlowe. Marlowe has served as BASS Director since Sept. 10, 2016. As the Director of BASS, Marlowe oversaw the Department’s Communications, Criminal Justice Information Services, Human Resources, Information Technology, Property and Finance, and Training divisions. BASS also includes the Office of Legal Affairs.

Prior to serving as the BASS Director, Marlowe served as the BASS Deputy Director upon his appointment to that position in Dec. 25, 2015, from division commander of the High Tech Crimes Division (HTCD) within BCI. He began his career with state police Aug. 1, 1988, and spent seven years in the Richmond Division as a trooper and special agent before he was promoted to Academy sergeant in 1996. Over the years with state police, he has supervised the Violent Crimes Unit and Staff Inspection Section as a first sergeant. In 2004, Marlowe was promoted to lieutenant of the Richmond BCI Field Office and later transferred to the Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Interdiction (CCI) Unit. He achieved the rank of captain in 2009 and oversaw the Support Services Division before being assigned to establish and supervise the new HTCD. Marlowe is a graduate of the University of Richmond with a bachelor’s degree in human resource management. He also graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security with a master’s degree in security studies and was a valedictorian of the Administrative Officer’s Graduate Course at the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville.

Prior to her appointment to BASS Director, Lieutenant Colonel Tricia W. Powers served as BASS Deputy Director since her appointment to that position Aug. 10, 2019. Powers graduated from the VSP Academy in 1994 with the 90th Basic Session. Her first patrol assignment as a new trooper was in the Culpeper Division’s Area 13 Office in Winchester. In 1997, she was promoted to special agent and advanced to the rank of first sergeant working in general investigations and drug enforcement in the Culpeper and Chesapeake BCI Field Offices. She returned to uniform as a first sergeant in 2010 as the commander of the Chesapeake Division’s Area 32 office in Norfolk/Virginia Beach. In 2012, Powers was promoted to lieutenant in the Richmond Division and transferred to the CJIS Division a year later.  In 2016, she achieved the rank of captain and served as the CJIS Division Commander until her appointment to major in BASS. A native of Luray, Va., Powers is a 2012 graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Bridgewater College and a master of criminal justice degree from Troy State University.

Promoted to the rank of major and to the position of BASS Deputy Director is Captain Robert C. Holland. Holland has served as the Training Officer at the VSP Academy since 2017. He graduated from the Academy in 2000 as a member of the 100th Basic Session. Holland’s first patrol assignment was in the Richmond Division’s Area 8 Office in Henrico County. He was promoted to sergeant in 2006 as a supervisor in the CJIS Division’s Sex Offender Investigative Unit. In 2010, he advanced to first sergeant within the CJIS Division and then transferred to BCI’s High Tech Crimes Division. In 2015, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and served the next seven years at the VSP Academy in that position and then as captain. Holland, a native of Powhatan County, is a graduate of Longwood College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, with a concentration in criminal justice.

House Passes Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act to Fund the Federal Government

Washington, D.C. – On Friday, Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) helped pass the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6833, the Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, to continue government funding through December 16, 2022. The CR extends funding for vital federal agencies, including education, health, housing, and public safety programs to allow Congress time to complete its work on Fiscal Year 2023.

“It is imperative that our government remains open and working for the American people, which is why I voted for today’s stopgap funding measure,” said Rep. McEachin (VA-04). “Not only does this bill fund our federal government, it includes important provisions to help hardworking Virginians with rising costs. Furthermore, this legislation provides necessary resources to help communities impacted from recent natural disasters and additional assistance to support the Ukrainian people, as Russia continues its aggressions. During this extension, we will continue working to advance all the necessary appropriations bills to fully fund our government for the coming fiscal year.”

The Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act includes:

• Billions in relief for New Mexico, Puerto Rico, Florida, Alaska and other communities hit by natural disasters, especially in the wake of Hurricane Ian
• $12.3 billion to power the fight for freedom in Ukraine, including new security, economic and humanitarian assistance
• More resources to respond to the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi: an emergency that poses a direct threat to the health and well-being of Mississippi families
• Bolstering funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program: this will help working families pay for higher energy bills as we enter the winter months
• Five-year reauthorization of FDA user fees: ensuring no interruption to the FDA’s life-saving work reviewing and approving new prescription drugs coming to market
• More resources to continue resettling brave Afghan evacuees

Read the one-page fact sheet here and the section-by-section summary here.

By Adrianna Lawrence,Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. – Rail workers in a union with Virginia members reached a second tentative agreement with railroad corporations days ahead of another planned strike, though some members said they are still not happy with the new terms.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 19, or IAM District 19, rejected the initial tentative agreement made between President Joe Biden’s administration, labor unions and top railroad corporations including CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern. 

The initial agreement included pay raises, better health care and an additional personal day of leave, according to an IAM District 19 press release. The negotiations helped stop a mid-September rail strike that would have shut down passenger and freight rail. 

The new tentative agreement outlines additional benefits like health care cost caps, travel reimbursement and single room occupancy, and a study on overtime pay, according to IAM District 19.

 IAM District 19 represents 92 chapter unions across the U.S. and Canada, including one in Richmond, according to the union’s website. 

Collectively, 12 unions represent about 125,000 rail workers and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee represents more than 30 railroads in the U.S., according to a statistic from the National Railway Labor Conference.

IAM District 19 members will still need to vote on the most recent agreement, which also includes the terms negotiated earlier this month, according to Eric Peters, a member of the union and a CSX roadway mechanic.

Some workers are still upset that this recent round of negotiations did not resolve the lack of sick days and days off, the request to accrue vacation time faster, and the overall feeling of not being recognized as hard workers, according to Peters.

Some of the terms in the new agreement have already existed, like the solo hotel room occupancy during travel, just not in writing, Peters said. “Mechanics have had that for 20 years for CSX.”

Rail workers are still pushing for more time off, although the agreements would mean “a healthy pay raise,” according to Peters. Workers would see a 24% general wage increase with a $5,000 service recognition bonus, according to the IAM District 19 press release. This includes retroactive pay up to almost $12,000 within 60 days of the agreement ratification date.

Train conductors get about one day off a month where they aren’t on call, according to Peters. 

“The rest of the time they’re on a two-hour recall,” Peters said. “If they don’t make it, they get in trouble and that’s not a positive way to live.”

Rail workers receive about three weeks of paid vacation and senior workers receive about 5 weeks on average, according to the Association of American Railroads, or AAR. Sick time policies and routine medical care are pressing issues but additional sick time was not implemented during the union negotiations.

Rail carriers offer a “federal sickness benefit program” to workers under existing agreements, while the new agreements recognize time-off for routine and preventative medical care, according to the National Railway Labor Conference, or NRLC, which represents railroads.

“I have no sick days at all,” Peters said, who said he has worked for the company for approximately 12 years.

Peters feels like the new tentative agreement still does not address these concerns.

Rail companies need to catch up to the rest of society and offer better benefits, Peters said.

IAM District 19 originally planned to strike on Sept. 29 if additional negotiations were not met, according to Peters. Workers are now in a “cooling off” period that expires Dec. 9. They cannot strike until that date. Some members are not happy leadership agreed to the additional cooling off period, Peters said.

“The members feel like they voted to strike, they waited their time, and they should have been given the opportunity to strike and to use their voice,” Peters said.

Workers have waited three years to strike, he said.

“We were prepared and ready and have been waiting a long time for our voices to be heard,” Peters said.

Once the member’s votes are finalized, it will dictate whether IAM District 19 accepts or rejects the new terms, Peters said. 

National rail companies are being blamed for the poor working conditions that push workers to the extremes of organized strikes, according to Madison Butler, communications manager for Rail Passengers Association. The association advocates for more rail services and quicker rides for passengers, according to their mission statement.

“There are fundamental rights that these workers should have and given the profit margins that these companies take home, there’s no reason to not return that to the workers,” Butler said. 

Cliff Dunn is co-chair of Virginians for High Speed Rail and a frequent train rider. Corporations cutting jobs by the thousands has led to the decrease in working conditions, Dunn said.

“In some ways the bad working conditions themselves are a symptom of the head-count [attendance] problem,” Dunn said.

The Railway Labor Act was drafted in 1926 to allow workers to collectively bargain to fix labor issues and help ensure the continued transport of goods, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, the overseeing agency.

Freight railroads across the country started to shut down a day ahead of the planned Sept. 16 strike, according to Dunn.

“If everybody goes on a strike, they don’t want to have a bunch of freight trains going dead in the middle of nowhere,” Dunn said.

Amtrak, a national passenger railroad company that shares freight rail tracks along some routes, preemptively canceled all long distance passenger trips prior to the tentative agreement, according to a media statement from Amtrak media spokesperson Kimberly Woods.

The Sept. 16 strike could have affected over 19 million rail travelers, Butler said.

The first tentative agreement was nearly three years in the making and involved two major unions in the country: Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and SMART Transportation Division.

All unions are expected to ratify or reject the negotiated terms in the next few months, according to the NRLC. 

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University's Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.