MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT
Between
THE BURLINGTON NORTHERN AND SANTA FE
RAILWAY
And
THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS
This Agreement is presented
in two parts. Part I introduces an alternative approach to discipline that
stresses training and counseling instead of punitive discipline. Part I
introduces a new safety culture that focuses on the active participation of
employees managers and the union leadership as we partner to create a safer
workplace through recognition that we must all focus as a team on safety.
Part I - Alternative Handling
I. Definition of
Alternative Handling
Alternative handling is a
non-punitive response to rule violations that includes training and other
non-disciplinary measures. An alternative handling event will be recorded on
the employee’s operational testing record rather than the employee’s personal record.
It will not be considered discipline and may only be used to determine
eligibility for future alternative handling in the event of a subsequent
violation and to document non-punitive counseling given to the employee. Where
possible, notices of investigation will contain alternative handling options.
II. Scope
Except as modified in this
Agreement, existing schedule agreements remain in effect. Nothing in this
Agreement infringes on the right of an employee to formal investigation under
the existing collective bargaining agreement. However, once the employee agrees
to alternative handling, he/she waives all rights to formal investigation and
appeal and agrees to abide by the terms specified by this Agreement, except as
contained in Part I Section VII of this Agreement.
III. Applicability
Alternative handling, if
requested, will be made available for all types of rule violations formerly
subject to company discipline except for the following:
A. late reporting of a personal injury
B. non-compliance with the company drug and alcohol
policy
C. gross negligence as defined in Federal Regulations
as a willful violation
D. rule violation resulting in very serious personal
injury to anyone (life threatening or career ending) or major property damage
($250,000 or greater)
E. violation of personal conduct rule such as
dishonesty, felony conviction, physical altercation
F. serious EEO violation
G. job abandonment as specified in applicable
agreements.
Rule violations to which
alternative handling is applicable are referred to as “covered” rule
violations.
IV. Eligibility
Each employee subject to
this Agreement is eligible for alternative handling provided he/she accepts
responsibility for the violation and does not exceed the time period
limitations described in Part I, Section VI (B) of this Agreement.
V. Exceptions
Exceptions to Part I,
Sections III & IV may be granted as part of the dispute resolution process
outlined in Part II, Section VII of this Agreement. If an exception is not granted,
the employee retains full contractual rights established under the applicable
schedule agreement, consistent with Part I, Section VII of this Agreement.
VI. Process
When the company is in
possession of information that causes it to believe that an employee has
violated a rule, the employee will be so notified and may request alternative
handling. If the employee is eligible and the rule violation is covered,
training and corrective action will be based on the “class” of the offense and
the employee’s work history.
A.
Classes of Covered Offenses Subject to Alternative Handling
(i) Class I offenses — rule violations that subject
the company or individual to FRA fines, result in an accident or injury, or result
in decertification, violations of all rules designed to protect people and
equipment (other than PPE)
(ii) Class II offenses — operations testing failures
involving rules designed to prevent Class I violations including test failures
that result in decertification
(iii) Class Ill offenses — violations of all other
rules not included in Classes I & II
B. Employee Eligibility for
Alternative Handling
Calculations for eligibility
will consider only those events that have occurred afte:
the signing of this
Agreement. Rule violations that occur prior to the signing o this Agreement
will not be used to determine eligibility for alternative handling.
(i) Class I offenses — An employee is ineligible for
alternative handling if he/she has: (I) more than three prior alternative
handling events for Class I violations, (2) three violations of any kind in the
previous 12 months, (3) a Class I violatiot in the previous 12 months, or (4) a
violation of the same Class I offense in th previous 24 months.
(ii) Class II offenses — An employee is ineligible
for alternative handling if he/she has had: (1) three alternative handling
events for Class II offenses, (2) one Class or two Class II violations in the
previous 12 months, or (3) a violation of the same rule in the previous 12
months.
(iii) Class III offenses — An employee is ineligible
for alternative handling if he/she has more than 3 events of any kind in the
previous 12 months.
C. Alternative Handling
Alternative handling of
operating and safety rule violations shall be accomplished through a written
plan of employee education. Each written plan will be developed based on the
following general guidelines:
(i) The plan will be tailored to the employee’s work
environment and the specific nature of offense, and the entire alternative
handling plan will, in general, be less than ten days.
(ii) An employee participating in alternative
handling will be compensated at the prescribed rate for the entire term of the
plan. If alternative handling is used for 49 CFR Part 240 event, the revocation
period will be reduced to the shortest revocation period within the company’s
discretion.
(iii) Educational and training materials, classroom
training, on-board training simulators and netsims, rules awareness training, examinations
without recorded scoring (except where required by existing rule, e.g., six
month absence). safety
awareness meetings, independent study, computer aided
learning and contractor provided training are examples of acceptable
alternative handling plan elements Alternative handling plans are to be
challenging and genuine.
(iv) Alternate handling may be accomplished at
distant locations at BNSF’ expense provided this training does not place an
undue hardship on the employee.
(v) The labor representative, or his/her designee,
will participate in the creation of the alternative handling plans and may
participate in the actual administration of the alternative handling plan
without compensation from the company.
(vi) An employee shall not have the same alternative
handling plan as administered for a previous offense within a 12 month period.
(vii) Each alternative handling plan will be
consistent with established guidelines and designed specifically to address the
offense that gave rise to alternative handling.
(viii) An alternative handling plan must be in place
and started not later than 30 days from the offense unless agreement is reached
between local management and the labor representative for cases involving
unavoidable delay such as medical treatment or other circumstances whether
related to the offense or otherwise.
VII. Time Limits
The time limits listed in
the applicable schedule agreement apply with the following exceptions: In any
case where an employee requests alternative handling, the time limit will stop
upon receipt of the request by a company officer. If, as a result of action
taken by the company, the employee is denied his/her request for alternative
handling, the employee shall be given notice of the decision, which shall start
the remaining time limit running to completion. The notice of denial by the
company must be received by the employee not later than ten days from
submission of request for alternative handling. If by action or inaction of the
employee, the alternative handling plan is stopped, aborted or otherwise not
completed by the employee, the time limits for investigation and all subsequent
time limits for appeal will start anew in their entirety at the date the
company issues notice of failure to meet the requirements of the alternative
handling plan. This notice of failure to meet the requirements of the
alternative handling plan must be received not later than ten days from the
scheduled completion date of the alternate handling plan for that employee.
VIII. Compensation
The employee will be
compensated during any training or other corrective action stemming from
alternative handling. An employee who participates in alternative handling that
lasts four hours or less, will be compensated at a minimum of one half of a basic
day at the straight time rate of the last service performed. Alternative
handling that lasts more than four hours, will be paid at a minimum of a basic
day at the straight time rate of the last service performed. When an employee
is required to miss time from his/her assignment, he/she will be compensated
for actual lost earnings. Employees withheld from service pending formal
investigation under the terms of existing labor agreements will be compensated
for all time withheld from service if admitted into the alternative handling
process, except that no compensation shall be paid for time withheld as
required by 49 CFR Part 240, except for alternative handling training as
provided fo:
iii this Agreement. Extra
board employee’s guarantee will be offset by compensation under this Section;
however, participation in an alternative handling plan will not coun as a
layoff for purposes of determining guarantee.
Part II - Safety Participation
The rail transportation
workplace is a complex environment involving employees which are mostly
self-supervised. In light of the complexity of this environment and our desire
to create a safer workplace, we have agreed that our safety culture must be
focused on safe production. One of the hallmarks of our safety culture should
be active participation by our employees, our managers, and the union
leadership. Through this Agreement and our commitment to partnership in
promoting safety, our mutual objective is to identify and eliminate risks
(physical plant risks, behavioral risks, and attitudinal risks) and create a
safer workplace through a process of continuous improvement. To that end, we
agree to the following:
I. Safety Coordinators
Positions(s)
On each operating division where
the BLE is a party to this Agreement, that division wil have at least one
full-time safety coordinator. Additional full-time or part-time safety
coordinatois may be added at the discretion of management. The appropriate BLE
General Committee(s) shall select and/or replace the Safety Coordinator(s).
II. Duties and
Responsibilities of a Safety Coordinator
A. The safety coordinator
will work with employees, union leaders and the designated company officer(s)
(currently the general manager and the manager of safety) to facilitate change,
and improve the safety process.
B. The evidences of success
for this position would include: behavior changes to reduce risk, environment
improvements (e.g. walking conditions) and improvement in the percentage of
safe work practices. Continuous improvemeni is expected and quantifiable goals
will be developed jointly.
C. A safety coordinator will
not be called to testify or otherwise furnish evidence of any kind in any
formal investigation or other disciplinary proceeding involving charges against
an employee.
III. Establishment of
Safety Committees
At any location, the
division management and BLE may agree to establish a local safety committee
which will meet on a regular basis, but not less than quarterly. The number of
BLE participants will be determined by management, with the safety committee
members selected by any involved BLE division. Each BLE division retains the
option of replacing its safety committee members with thirty days’ written
notice to the appropriate company officer. All decisions and recommendations of
the local safety committee will be by consensus. (Where issues cannot be
resolved by the local safety committee, the issue in question will be
progressed to the Division General Manager and Safety Cooidinator.)
IV. Duties and
Responsibilities of Safety Committees
The duties and
responsibilities of each local safety committee will be to identify safety
concerns and make recommendations for resolution of identified issues.
V. Risk Identification
Process
At locations where local
union representatives and local management agree, a formal risk identification
process may be included as one tool in our effort to build a safer workplace.
Where the parties agree to this process, the safety coordinator will work with
the designated company officers to develop a program for training safety
observers and coordinating the information received from them.
A. Management will determine the appropriate number
of safety observers at each location, but selection of the safety observers
will be made by the involved BLE division(s). Safety observers will monitor
specific critical work tasks. They will be given the necessary training on the
process and will keep a “blind” report of specific risks identified. The blind
report should note whether the work tasks are performed properly, but make no
notation of date, time, train number, names of employees observed, or any other
identifying information.
B. At designated intervals prescribed by the
coordinator and management, safety observers will furnish the safety
coordinator a report of the tasks observed. The safety coordinator will combine
all such reports into a single report. This report will also be “blind” and not
contain the names of the safety observers or any other identifying information
as outlined in item A, above.
C. The safety coordinator will work with the
designated company officer to analyze the information contained in the report
to identify areas of risk. They will then jointly develop countermeasures
necessary to address those areas of risk and insure that risk is reduced.
D. Where the parties have mutually agreed to include
Risk Identification Process as part of the joint safety initiative, this process
may be discontinued by either party serving 10 days’ advance written notice.
VI. Compensation
A. A full-time safety
coordinator will be paid on a salaried basis, ensuring that he/she experiences
no loss of earnings compared to what he/she earned in scheduled service during
his/her highest paid six months of the previous calendar year. Lump sums and
any other unusual payments received during that six months shall be
approximately factored into his/her salary to prevent any windfall either to
the employee or company. Service as a safety coordinator shall not deprive the
employee of any element of compensation he/she would have received had he/she
remained in typical scheduled service. All normal employment benefits which the
employee would have received in typical scheduled service will remain in place
on the same basis. Full-time safety coordinators will be reimbursed for
necessary business expenses consistent with BNSF’s policy.
B. A member of a local
safety committee or a safety observer who attends an authorized safety meeting
or training that lasts four hours or less, will be compensated at a minimum of
one half of a basic day at the straight time rate of the last service
performed. Individuals attending meetings or training sessions that last more
than four hours, will be paid at a minimum of a basic day at the straight time
rate of the last service performed. However, when an employee is required to
miss time from his/her assignment, he/she will be compensated for actual lost
earnings. Compensation received as a member of a local safety committee or a
safety observer who attends an authorized safety meeting or training session
will be used to calculate vacation credit for following year. Part-time safety
coordinators will be compensated pursuant to this Section B. All positions
identified in this Section B will be reimbursed with necessary business
expenses consistent with BNSF policy.
VII. Dispute Resolution
Disputes may arise between
the parties regarding issues such as whether a particular employee is eligible
for alternative handling, appropriateness of a specific alternative handling
plan, safety coordinator duties or safety committee handling. In the event such
ilisputes cannot be resolved locally, the following process will be followed:
A. In the event that an interpretation of this
Agreement causes a disagreement between local labor and management, the general
committee may request a conference with the line AVP or his/her designee.
B. If no agreement is reached, the incident will be
handled under prevailing collective bargaining agreements, company policies and
procedures. Time limits will be administered in accordance with Part I, Section
VII of this Agreement.
VIII. General Provisions
I. Cancellation Clause
This Agreement will remain
in effect for a minimum of one year, after which it may be cancelled, in its
entirety, by the General Chairman serving sixty days’ written notice to the
Vice President, Labor Relations BNSF. Otherwise, this Agreement will remain in
effect for a minimum of two years, after which it may be cancelled, in its
entirety, by the Vice President, Labor Relations BNSF serving sixty days’
written notice on the General Chairman. In the event this Agreement is
cancelled, the parties shall fully retain the same rights and prerogatives
which they held prior to this Agreement, as if the Agreement hac never been
made.
II. Savings Clause
This Agreement is made
without prejudice to either party’s right to exercise any other rights or
prerogatives that it may possess. Except in connection with efforts to enforce
any aspect of this Agreement, the existence of this Agreement shall not
constitute evidence of a course of dealing or past practice, and shall not be
cited or referred to in any other case or controversy to support any argument
that either party has a duty to bargain over any particular subject matter.
Signed this 29th
day of May, 2002
Effective on the 29th
day May, 2002
(signed)
R.C. Gibbons (signed)
JL Fleps
General
Chairman – BLE VP
Labor Relations – BNSF
(signed)M.
David Dealy
VP
Transportation - BNSF
Alternative Handling Process
An alternative handling
process has been developed to assist supervisors and local chairmen in helping
employees to consistently make the right low-risk decisions when they apply the
work rules in the performance of their jobs.
When an incident occurs,
(accident, injury, operations testing failure, and locomotive operatioi that
falls into class I, II, or ifi rules violation categories an alternative handling
process begins.
Rules violations that are
exempt from alternative handling include:
I. Late reporting of a personal injury
2. Non-compliance with the company drug and alcohol
policy
3. Gross negligence as defined in Federal Regulations
as a willful violation
4. Rule violation resulting in very serious personal
injury to anyone (life threatening career ending) or major property damage
($250,000 or greater)
5. Violation of personal conduct rule such as
dishonesty, felony conviction, physi altercation
6. Serious EEO violation
7. Job abandonment as specified in applicable
agreements.
An alternative handling
team, consisting of the immediate supervisor, local chairman and employee will meet
and discuss the class rules violation and it’s contributing factors. A complete
description is developed that thoroughly describes the incident. The team will
jointly create a safety action plan. Selections are made from the preventive
actions listed in the table below. Our team goal is to eliminate at-risk work
practice and prevent future accidents and injuries.
Preventive actions are
divided into three categories:
1. Supervisor’s Safety Activities
2. Local Chairman’s Safety Activities
3. Employee Safety Activities
Each class of incident/rules
violation safety activity plans will have a measurement period. class I, 180
days, class II, 120 days, and class III, 60 days. The General Manager and
General Chairmen through the General Manager’s Monthly Safety Report will
review safety activities.
Alternative Handling Process
|
Rules Violations Class I Offenses – Rule
violation that: Subject
BNSF or individual to FRA fines Result in
engineer decertification Violate protection
of people and equipment Results
in significant injury (not life threatening or career endining) Result in
significant property damage (less than $250,000) |
Preventive Actions/Activity Plans -- Supervisor activities -- 1
Conduct rules violationsanalysis using the 5 whys problem solving
process 2 Operations testing: Class I violated rules Related Class I, II, and III rules 3
Training and Education: Net Simms Computer Based Training (CBT) Safety Skills Training Classroom Instruction On-the-job Training 4
Workpalce hazard correction 5
Mentorship of employee based on rules violation category – 180 days 6
Analysis of job / rule related tasks to determine risk areas 7
Communicate rule violation injury risks through Job Safety Briefing / Job Planning Marathon Safety Meetings Site safety Meetings Safety Conference Call 8
Train check-out rides 9
Safety subject contacts 10 Development of Safety Alert /
Bulletin -- Union Leadership Activities -- 1
Participate with supervisor in rules violation analysis using the 5
whys problem solving process 2
On-the-job coaching and mentoring of employee based on rules violation
category 3
Jointly develop Safety Alert / Bulletin -- Union Leadership Activities -- 1
Participate with supervisor in rules violation analysis using the 5
whys problem solving process 2
Training and Education: Net Simms Computer Based Training (CBT) Safety Skills Training Classroom instruction On-the-job coaching Required training or certification 3
Workplace hazard identification / correction 4
Communicate rule violation injury risks through: Job Safety Briefing / Job Planning Marathon Safety Meetings Safety Conference Call 5
Train check-out ride / safety subject contacts 6
Development of Safety Alert / Bulletin |
Plan Duration 180 days |
Participants |
Alternative Handling Process
|
Rules Violations Class II Offenses – Operation testing failures
designed to prevent Class I violations: 201-Restricted
Speed 202-Blue
Signal-Trains 203-Dark
Signals 204-Block System rules Restricted speed 205-Block
Signal-Stop 206-Automatic Interlocking 207-Banner-Trains 208-Block System-Stop and proceed Rule violaitons considered
serious: 101-On/Off moving equipment 102-Between cars and locomotives 103-Failing to provide 50ft
between cars 104-Riding end of freight car 105-Fouling adjacent track 106-Running while switching 107-Riding freight cars to joint 108-Utlity employee (Consequence related rules
violations) 601-Speed
requirements 602-Trains, engines, cars, left
unattended 607-Signal awareness form 608-Releasing authority 609-Whistle signal General
Code of Operating Rules Violations: 6.5-Handling cars ahead of engines 7.1-Switching safely-fouling
adjacent tracks 7.2-Communication between crews
switching 7.13-Protection in bowl tracks BNSF Air Brake and Train Handling
Rules-any violation of an existing air brake test rule Locomotive Engineer Deficiencies
Requiring Alternative Handling noted through autoscan exceptions: 1
Engineer induced emergencies-2 2
Conductor induced emergencies-2 3
Power braking >10 seconds >20 mph-25 4
Heavy reductions >10 seconds >20 mph-Engineers with incidents in
top 10% for division 5
Indpendent brake >10 seconds >30 seconds-5 6
Stalls >2 mins-5 7
Train handling with train mishandling cause (200 code)-2 8
Human factor derailments attributed to train handling-1 |
Preventive Actions/Activity Plans -- Supervisor activities -- 1
Conduct rules violationsanalysis using the 5 whys problem solving
process 2 Operations testing: Class I violated rules Related Class I, II, and III rules 3
Training and Education: Net Simms Computer Based Training (CBT) Safety Skills Training Classroom Instruction On-the-job Training 4
Workpalce hazard correction 5
Mentorship of employee based on rules violation category – 120 days 6
Analysis of job / rule related tasks to determine risk areas 7
Communicate rule violation injury risks through Job Safety Briefing / Job Planning Marathon Safety Meetings Site safety Meetings Safety Conference Call 8
Train check-out rides |