1996 NATIONAL
AGREEMENT
IT IS
HEREBY AGREED this 31st day of May, 1996:
ARTICLE I - WAGES
Section
1 - First General Wage Increase
(a)
Effective upon ratification of this Agreement by the organization signatory
hereto or on
(b) In
computing the increase under paragraph (a) above, three-and-one-half (3-1/2)
percent shall be applied to the standard basic daily rates of pay applicable in
the following weight-on drivers brackets, and the amounts so produced shall be
added to each standard basic daily rate of pay:
(through
freight rates)
(separate
computation covering five-day
rates
and other than five-day rates)
Section 2 - Signing Bonus
Upon
ratification of this Agreement, each employee will be paid a signing bonus of
one (1) percent of the employee's compensation for 1994, including pay for
miles run in excess of the number of miles comprising a basic day
("overmiles") but excluding pay elements not subject to general wage
increases under Section 8 of this Article and lump sums.
Section 3 - First Lump Sum Payment
On
(i) three
(3) percent of the employee's compensation for 1995, including pay for
overmiles but excluding pay elements not subject to general wage increases
under Section 8 of this Article and lump sums, over
(ii) the
lesser of (x) one-half of the amount described in clause i) above and (y) two
times one-quarter of the amount, if any, by which the carriers' payment rate
for 1996 for foreign-to-occupation health benefits under The Railroad Employees
National Health and Welfare Plan (Plan) exceeds such payment rate for 1995.
Section 4 - Second General Wage
Increase
Effective
July 1, 1997, all standard basic daily rates of pay in effect on June 30, 1997
for employees represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers shall be
increased by three and-one-half (3-1/2) percent, computed and applied in the
same manner prescribed in Section 1 above.
Section 5 - Second Lump Sum Payment
On
(i)
three-and-one-half (3-1/2) percent of the employee's compensation for 1997,
including pay for overmiles but excluding pay elements not subject to general
wage increases under Section 8 of this Article and lump sums, over
(ii) the
lesser of (x) one-half of the amount described in clause W above and (y)
one-and-one-half times one-quarter of the amount, if any, by which the
carriers' payment rate for 1998 for foreign-to-occupation health benefits under
the Plan exceeds such payment rate for 1995.
Section 6 - Third General Wage
Increase
Effective
July 1, 1999, all standard basic daily rates of pay in effect on June 30, 1999
for employees represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers shall be
increased by three and-one-half (3-1/2) percent, computed and applied in the
same manner prescribed in Section 1 above.
Section 7 - Standard Rates
The
standard basic daily rates of pay produced by application of the increases
provided for in this Article are set forth in Appendix 1, which is a part of
this Agreement.
Section 8 - Application of Wage
Increases
(a) The
adjustments provided for in this Article (i) will apply to mileage rates of pay
for overmiles, and (ii) will not apply to duplicate time payments, including
arbitraries and special allowances that are expressed in time, miles or fixed
amounts of money.
(b)
Miscellaneous rates based upon hourly or daily rates of pay, as provided in the
schedules or wage agreements, shall be adjusted under this Agreement in the
same mariner as heretofore increased under previous wage agreements.
(c) In
determining new hourly rates, fractions of a cent will be disposed of by
applying the next higher quarter of a cent.
(d) Daily
earnings minimum shall be changed by the amount of the respective daily
adjustments.
(e)
Existing money differentials above existing standard daily rates shall be
maintained.
(f) In
local freight service, the same differential in excess of through freight rates
shall be maintained.
(g) Where
applicable, the differential of $4.00 and/or $6.00 per basic day in freight,
passenger and yard service, and 4 and/or 6 cents per mile for miles in excess
of the number of miles encompassed in the basic day in freight and passenger
service, will be maintained for engineers working without firemen on locomotives
on which under the former National Diesel Agreement of 1950 firemen would have
been required. Such differential will
continue to be applied in the same manner as the local freight differential.
(h) In
computing the first increase in rates of pay effective under Section 1 for
firemen employed in local freight service, or on road switchers, roustabout
runs, mine runs, or in other miscellaneous service, on runs of miles equal to
or less than the number comprising a basic day, which are therefore paid on a
daily basis without a mileage component, whose rates had been increased by
"an additional $.4011 effective July 1, 1966, the three-and-one-half
(3-1/2) percent increase shall be applied to daily rates in effect on the day
preceding the effective date of the general wage increase provided for in
Section 1, exclusive of local freight differentials and any other money
differential above existing standard daily rates. For firemen, the rates applicable in the
weight-on-drivers bracket 950,000 and less than 1,000,000 pounds shall be
utilized in computing the amount of increase.
The same procedure shall be followed in computing the increases
effective
(i) other
than standard rates:
(i) Where
existing basic daily rates of pay other than standard shall be changed,
effective as of the dates specified in Sections 1, 4, and 6 hereof, by the same
respective percentages as set forth therein, computed and applied in the same
manner as the standard rates were determined.
(ii) Where applicable,
the differential of $4.00 and/or $6.00 per basic day in freight, passenger and
yard service, and 4 and/or 6 cents per mile for miles in excess of the number
encompassed in the basic day in freight and passenger service, will be
maintained for engineers working without firemen on locomotives on which under
the former National Diesel Agreement of 1950 firemen would have been
required. Such differential will
continue to be applied in the same manner as the local freight differential.
(iii) Daily
rates of pay, other than standard, of firemen employed in local freight
service, or on road switchers, roustabout runs, mine runs, or in other
miscellaneous service, on runs of miles equal to or less than the number
encompassed in the basic day, which are therefore paid on a daily basis without
a mileage component, shall be increased as of the effective dates specified in
Sections 1, 4, and 6 hereof, by the same respective percentages as set forth
therein, computed and applied in the same manner as provided in paragraph (i)
above.
Section 9 - Definition of
Carriers" Payment Rate”
The
carrier's payment rate for any year for foreign-to occupation health benefits
under the Plan shall mean twelve times the payment made by the carriers to the
Plan per month (in such year) per employee who is fully covered for employee
health benefits under the Plan. Carrier
payments to the Plan for these purposes shall not include the amounts per such
employee per month (in such year) taken from the Special Account, or from any
other special account, fund or trust maintained in connection with the Plan, to
pay or provide for current Plan benefits, or any amounts paid by remaining
carriers to make up the unpaid contributions of terminating carriers pursuant
to Article III, Part A, Section 1 of the Agreed Upon Implementation of Public
Law 102-29 (1991 National Implementing Document).
Section 10 - Eligibility for Receipt
of Signing Bonus, Lump Sum Payments
The signing
bonus and lump sum payments provided for in this Article shall be paid to each
employee subject to this Agreement who has an employment relationship as of the
date such payments are payable, or has retired or died subsequent to the
beginning of the applicable calendar year used to determine the amount of such
payment. There shall be no duplication
of lump sum payments by virtue of employment under another agreement nor will,
such payments be used to offset, construct or increase guarantees in protective
agreements or arrangements.
Section 11 - Calculation of Vacation
Pay
The signing
bonus and lump sum payments provided for in Sections 2, 3, and 5 of this
Article will be included in the earnings of an employee in the determination of
vacation allowances due in the year subsequent to their payment.
ARTICLE II - COST-OF-LIVING PAYMENTS
Part A -
Cost-of -Living Payments Under 3, 1991 National Implementing Document
The
nine-cent cost-of-living allowance in effect beginning July 1, 1995, pursuant
to Article II, Part B of the 1991 National Implementing Document shall be rolled
in to basic rates of pay on November 30, 1995 and such Article II, Part B shall
be eliminated at that time. Any amounts
paid from
Part
B - Cost-of-Living Allowance Through
(a) A
cost-of-living allowance, calculated and applied in accordance with the
provisions of Part C of this Article except as otherwise provided in this Part,
shall be payable and rolled in to basic rates of pay on December 31, 1999.
(b) The measurement periods shall be as
follows:
Measurement-Periods March
1995
Effective Date March
1996
Base Month March
1997 plus March 1998
Measurement Month of Adjustment
The number
of points change in the CPI during each of these measurement periods shall be
added together before making the calculation described in Part C, Section I(e)
of this Article.
(c)
(i) Floor.
The minimum increase in the CPI that shall be taken into account shall
be as follows:
Effective
Date Minimum CPI increase
that
of
adjustment length shall be taken
into account
plus
4% of March 1997 CPI
(ii) Cap.
The maximum to be taken into account se in the CPI that will increase
shall be as follows:
Effective
Date Minimum CPI increase
that
of
adjustment length shall be taken
into account
plus
6% of March 3.997 CPI
(d) The
cost-of-living allowance payable to each employee and rolled in to basic rates
of pay on
(i) the cost-of-living allowance
effective on that date pursuant to this part, and
(ii) the
lesser of the cents per hour produced by dividing one-quarter of the increase,
if any, in the carriers' 1998 payment rate for foreign-to-occupation health
benefits under the Plan over such payment rate for 1995, by the average
composite straight-time equivalent hours that are subject to wage increases for
the latest year for which statistics are available, and (y) one half of the
cost-of-living allowance effective on December 31, 1999 pursuant to this.
Part C - Cost-of-Living Allowance and
Adjustment After
Section I -Cost-of -Living Allowance
and Effective Dates of Adjustments
(a) A
cost-of-living allowance shall be payable in the manner set forth in and
subject to the provisions of this Part, on the basis of the "Consumer
Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (Revised Series)
(CPI-W)II (1967=100), U.S. Index, all items - unadjusted, as published by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, and hereinafter referred
to as the CPI. The first such
cost-of-living allowance shall be payable effective
Measurement
Periods:
Effective Date Base
Month Measurement
Month of
Adjustment
Measurement
Periods and Effective Dates conforming to the above schedule shall be
applicable to periods subsequent to those specified above during which this
Article is in effect.
(b) While a
cost-of -living allowance is in effect, such cost-of-living allowance shall
apply to straight time, overtime, vacations, holidays and to special allowances
in the same manner as basic wage adjustments have been applied in the past,
except that such allowance shall not apply to duplicate time payments,
including arbitraries and special allowances that are expressed in time, miles
or fixed amounts of money.
(c) The
amount of the cost-of-living allowance, if any that shall be effective from one
adjustment date to the next may be equal to, or greater or less than, the
cost-of-living allowance in effect in the preceding adjustment period.
(d) It
shall be converted into cents on the basis of one-cent equals 0.3 full points.
(By 110.3 full points" it is intended that any remainder of 0.1 point or 0.2 point of change after the
conversion shall not be counted.) The
cost-of-living allowance in effect on December 31, 2000 shall be adjusted
(increased or decreased) effective January 1, 2001 by the whole number of cents
produced by dividing by 0.3 the number of points (including tenths of points)
change, as limited by paragraph (d), in the CPI during the applicable
measurement period. Any residual tenths
of a point resulting from such division shall be dropped. The result of such division shall be added to
the amount of the cost-of-living allowance in effect on December 31, 2000, if
the CPI shall have been higher at the end than at the beginning of the
measurement period, and subtracted therefrom only if the index shall have been
lower at the end than at the beginning of the measurement period and then,
only, to the extent that the allowance remains at zero or above. The same procedure shall be followed in
applying subsequent adjustments.
(e) The
maximum increase in the CPI that shall be taken into account shall be as
follows:
Effective
Date maximum CPI
increase that of adjustment may be taken into account
less the increase from September
1999 to March 2000
Effective
Dates of Adjustment and Maximum CPI Increases conforming to the above schedule
shall be applicable to periods subsequent to those specified above during which
this Article is in effect.
(i) Cap.
In calculations under paragraph (e), the maximum increase in the CPI
that shall be taken into account shall be as follows:
Effective
Date Maximum
CPI increase that
of
Adjustment May be
taken into account
less
the increase from
September
1999 to March 2000
Effective
Dates of Adjustments and Maximum CPI Increases conforming to the above schedule
shall be applicable to periods subsequent to those specified above during which
this Article is in effect.
(ii) Limitation. In calculations under paragraph (e), only
fifty (50) percent of the increase in the CPI in any measurement period shall
be considered.
(iii) If
the increase in the CPI from the base month of September 1999 to the
measurement month of March 2000 exceeds 3% of the September 1999 base index,
the measurement period that shall be used for determining the cost-of-living
adjustment to be effective the following January shall be the 12-month period
from such base month of September; the increase in the index that shall be
taken into account shall be limited to that portion of the increase that is in
excess of 3% of such September base index; and the maximum increase in that
portion of the index that may be taken into account shall be 6% of such
September base index less the 3k mentioned in the preceding clause, to which
shall be added any residual tenths of points which had been dropped under
paragraph (e) below in calculation of the cost-of-living adjustment which shall
have become effective July 1, 2000 during such measurement period.
(iv) Any
increase in the CPI from the base month of September 1999 to the Measurement
month of September 2000 in excess of 6k of the September 1999 base index shall
not be taken into account in the determination of subsequent cost-of-living
adjustments.
(v) The
procedure specified in subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) shall be applicable to all
subsequent periods during which this Article is in effect.
(vi) Formula. The number of points change in the CPI during
a measurement period, as limited by paragraph
(f)
Continuance of the cost-of-living allowance and the adjustments thereto
provided herein is dependent upon the availability of the official monthly ELS
Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) calculated on the same basis as such Index, except
that, if the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor should,
during the effective period of this Article, revise or change the methods or
basic data used in calculating such Index in such a way as to affect the direct
comparability of such revised or changed index with the CPI-W during a
measurement period, then that Bureau shall be requested to furnish a conversion
factor designed to adjust the newly revised index to the basis of the CPI-W
during such measurement period.
Section 2 - Payment of
Cost-of-Living Allowances
(a) The
cost-of-living allowance payable to each employee effective
(b) The
increase in the cost-of-living allowance effective January 1, 2000, pursuant to
Section 1 of this Part shall be payable to each employee commencing on that
date.
(c) The
increase in the cost-of-living allowance effective July 1, 2001, pursuant to
Section 1 of this Part shall be payable to each employee commencing on that
date.
(d) The
procedure specified in paragraphs (b) and (c) shall be followed with respect to
computation of the cost-of-living allowances payable in subsequent years during
which this Article is in effect.
(e) The
definition of the carriers' payment rate for foreign-to-occupation health
benefits under the Plan set forth in Section 9 of Article I shall apply with
respect to any year covered by this Section.
(f) In
making calculations under this Section, fractions of a cent shall be rounded to
the nearest whole cent; fractions less than one-half cent shall be dropped and
fractions of one-half cent or more shall be increased to the nearest full cent.
Section 3 - Application of Cost-of
-Living Allowances
The cost-of
-living allowance provided for by Section I of this Part C will not become part
of basic rates of pay. In application of
such allowance, each one-cent per hour of cost-of-living allowance that is
payable shall be treated as an increase of 8 cents in the basic daily rates of
pay produced by application of Article I. The cost-of -living allowance will
otherwise be applied in keeping with the provisions of Section 8 of Article I.
Section 4 - Continuation of Part C
The
arrangements set forth in Part C of this Article shall remain in effect
according to the terms thereof until revised by the parties pursuant to the
Railway Labor Act.
ARTICLE III - DENTAL BENEFITS
Section 1 - Continuation of Plan
The
benefits now provided under the Railroad Employee National Dental Plan (Dental
Plan) , modified as provided in Section 2 below, will be continued subject to
the pro-visions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended.
Section 2 - Eligibility
Existing
eligibility requirements under, the Dental Plan are amended, effective January
1, 1996, to provide that in order for an employee and his eligible dependents
to be covered for Covered Dental Expenses (as defined in the Dental Plan)
during any calendar month by virtue of rendering compensated service or
receiving vacation pay in the immediately preceding calendar month (the
“qualifying month"), such employee must have rendered compensated service
on, or received vacation pay for, an aggregate of at least seven (7) calendar
days during the applicable qualifying month.
Any calendar day on which an employee assigned to an extra list is
available for service but does not perform service shall be deemed a day of
compensated service solely for purposes of this Section. Existing Dental Plan provisions pertaining to
eligibility for and termination of coverage not specifically amended by this
Section shall continue in effect.
Section 3 - Benefit Changes
The
following changes will be made effective as of
(a) The
maximum benefit (exclusive of any benefits for (orthodonture) which may be paid
with respect to a covered employee or dependent in any calendar year beginning
with calendar year 1999 will be increased from $1,000 to $1,500.
(b) The
lifetime aggregate benefits payable for all orthodontic treatment rendered to a
covered dependent, regardless of any interruption in service, will be increased
from $750 to $1,000.
(c) The
exclusion from coverage for implantology (including synthetic grafting) services
will be deleted and dental implants and related services will be added to the
list of Type C dental services for which the Plan pays benefits.
(d) Repair
of existing dental implants will be added to the list of Type B dental services
for which the Plan pays benefits.
(e) One
application of sealants in any calendar year for dependent children under 14
years of age will be added to the list of Type A dental services for which the
Plan pays benefits.
(f) The
Plan will pay 80%, rather than 75% of covered expenses for Type B dental
services.
(g) The
Plan will establish and maintain an 800 telephone number that employees and
dependents may use to make inquiries regarding the Plan.
ARTICLE IV - VISION CARE
Section 1 - Establishment and
Effective Date
The
railroads will establish a Vision Care Plan to provide specified vision care
benefits to employees and their dependents, to become effective
(a)
Eligibility and Coverage. Employees and
their dependents will be eligible for coverage under the Plan beginning on the
first day of the calendar month after the employee has completed a year of
service for a participating railroad, but no earlier than the first day of
January 1999. An eligible employee who
renders compensated service on, or receives vacation pay for, an aggregate of
at least seven (7) calendar days in a calendar month will be covered under the
Plan, along with his eligible dependents, during the immediately succeeding
calendar month. Any calendar day on
which an employee assigned to an extra list is available for service but does
not perform service shall be deemed a day of compensated service solely for
purposes of this Section.
(b) Managed
Care. Managed vision care networks that
meet standards developed by the National Carriers' Conference Committee
concerning quality of care, access to providers and cost effectiveness shall be
established wherever feasible. Employees
who live in a geographical area where a managed vision care network has been
established will be enrolled in the network along with their covered
dependents. Employees enrolled in a
managed vision care network will have a point-of-service option, allowing them
to choose an out-of-network provider to perform any vision care service covered
by the Plan that they need. The benefits
provided by the Plan when services are performed. by in-network providers will
be greater than the benefits provided by the Plan when the services are
performed by providers who are not in-network providers, including
providers
in geographic areas where a managed vision care network has not been
established. These two sets of benefits
will be as described in the table below.
Plan
Benefit In-Network Other Than In-Network
one vision 100% of reasonable 100% of reasonable
examination
per 12- and customary and customary
month
period. charges charges up to
a $35
maximum
One set of
frames of 100% of reasonable 100% of reasonable
any kind
per 24- and customary and customary
month
period charges' charges up to a
$35
maximum
One set of
two 100% of reasonable 100% of reasonable
lenses of
any kind, and customary and customary
including contact charges' charges
up to the
lenses, per
24- following
maximums:
month
period.
up to $25 for
single vision
lenses
up to $40 for
bifocals
up to $55 for
trifocals
up to $80 for
lenticulars
up to $210 for
medically necessary
contact lenses
up to $105 for
contact lenses that
are not medically necessary
where the
employee 100% of
reasonable 100% of reasonable
or
dependent and
customary and
customary
requires
only one charges charges up to a lens
maximum of one-half
of the maximum
benefit payable for a set of two
lenses
of the same kind
1 Patients
who select frames that exceed a wholesale allowance established under the
program may be required to pay part of the cost of the frames selected.
2 Patients
may be required to pay part of the cost of spectacle lenses or lens
characteristics that are not necessary for the patient's visual welfare. Moreover, patients who choose contact lenses
in lieu of spectacles may be required to pay part of a contact lens evaluation
fee and part of the cost of fitting and materials.
Section 2 - Administration
The Vision
Care Plan will be administered by the National Carriers' Conference Committee,
which will bear the same responsibilities and perform the same functions as it
does with respect to The Railroad Employees National Dental Plan, including the
development of detailed plan language describing the Plan's eligibility,
coverage, benefit and other provisions.
ARTICLE V - BENEFITS ELIGIBILITY
Section 1 - Health and Welfare Plan
The
Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan ("the Plan") is
amended, effective
Section 2 - Vacation Benefits
Existing
rules governing vacations are amended as follows effective
(a) The
minimum number of basic days in miles or hours paid for, as provided in
individual schedules, on which an employee must render service under schedule
agreements held by the organization signatory hereto to qualify for an annual
vacation for the succeeding calendar year shall be increased by fifty (50)
percent from the minimum number applicable under vacation rules in effect on
the date of this Agreement. The
multiplying factors set forth in vacation rules in effect on the date of this
Agreement shall be amended to provide that each basic day in yard service
performed by a yard service employee or by an employee having interchangeable
road and yard rights shall be computed as 1.6 days, and each basic day in all
other services shall be computed as 1.3 days, for purposes of determining
qualification for vacation based on service rendered in the preceding calendar
year.
NOTE: It is
the parties' intention that, in accordance with application of the multiplying
factors set forth in existing vacation rules as amended above, commencing with
calendar year 1997 this subsection would require the equivalent of 150
qualifying days in a calendar year in yard service and 180 qualifying days in a
calendar year in road service to qualify for an annual vacation for the
succeeding year.
(b)
Calendar days on which an employee assigned to an extra list is available for
service and on which days he performs no service, not exceeding ninety (90)
such days, will be included in the determination of qualification for vacation;
also, calendar days, not in excess of forty-five (45), on which an employee is
absent from and unable to perform service because of injury received on duty
will be included. Such calendar days
shall not be subject to the multiplying factors set forth in existing vacation
rules as amended.
(c)
Calendar days on which an employee is compensated while attending training and
rules classes at the direction of the carrier will be included in the
determination of qualification for vacation.
Such calendar days shall not be subject to the multiplying factors set
forth in existing vacation rules as amended.
(d) During
a calendar year in which an employee's vacation entitlement will increase on
the anniversary date, such employee shall be permitted to schedule the
additional vacation time to which entitled on the anniversary date at any time
during that calendar year.
(e) An
employee may make up to two splits in his annual vacation in any calendar year.
(f) An
employee may take up to one week of his annual vacation in single day
increments, provided, however, that such employee shall be automatically marked
up for service upon the expiration of any single day vacation.
(g)
Existing rules and practices regarding vacations not specifically amended by
this Section, including (but not limited to) scheduling of vacations, shall
continue in effect without change.
Section 3
This
Article is not intended to restrict any of the existing rights of a carrier
except as specifically provided herein.
ARTICLE VI - PERSONAL LEAVE
Section 1
Employees
in road freight service covered by this Agreement and not covered by the
National Paid Holiday Rules shall be provided with personal leave days on the
following basis:
Years of
Service Personal
Leave Days
Less than
five years 3
days
Five years
and less than 10 years 5
days
Ten years
and less than 15 years 7 days
Fifteen
years and less than 20 years 9
days
Twenty
years or more 11
days
Section 2
No employee
covered by this Agreement shall receive in the aggregate more than eleven (11)
personal leave days and paid holidays in any calendar year.
Section 3
(a)
Personal leave days provided in Section 1 shall be scheduled with the approval
of the proper carrier officer upon forty-eight (48) hours, advance notice from,
the employee.
(b) The
employee will he paid one basic day at the rate of the last service performed
for each personal leave day.
(c) Any
personal leave days provided for herein that are requested but denied by the
carrier and not subsequently the scheduled during the calendar year or the
first quarter of the following calendar year shall be paid at the rate
specified herein. Personal leave days
carried over into another year because requested time off was denied by the
carrier shall not be bought out.
(d) To
qualify for personal leave days in any given calendar year, the employee must
have been credited with at least 150 days for work during the preceding
calendar year and have had no FRA reportable injuries during such period.
Section 4
Nothing in
this Article is intended to restrict any of the existing rights of a carrier.
Section 5
This
Article shall become effective on
personal
leave days and so notifies the authorized carrier representative on or before
such effective date.
ARTICLE V11 - ENHANCED-EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
Section 1
In the
event that a carrier sells or leases its interest in one or more rail lines to
a non-carrier pursuant to a transaction authorized under 49 U.S.C. 10901
(or any successor provision) as to which labor protective conditions have not
been imposed by any governmental authority, any employee represented by the organization
signatory hereto who (i) as a result of that transaction is deprived of
employment with the carrier because of the abolition of his position, and (ii)
does not accept employment with the purchaser shall be entitled to the benefits
set forth in Section 2.
Section 2
(a) An
employee covered by Section 1 shall have the right, in seniority order, to bid
on vacant positions or claim open locomotive engineer positions at any location
on the carrier at any time within ninety (90) days after being deprived of
employment. Seniority issues associated
with the exercise of that right shall be resolved by the carrier and the
organization representative or, absent agreement and at the request of either
party by written notice served on the appropriate representative of the other
party, by final and binding arbitration as provided in subsection (b). Solely for the purpose of this Section, a
single locomotive engineer seniority roster for the carrier shall be developed,
in accordance with applicable rules and procedures, no later than
(b) The
arbitrator shall be selected by the parties.
If they fail to agree within five days from the date notice of the
submission to arbitration is received from the moving party, either party may
request a list of five potential arbitrators from the National Mediation Board,
from which the parties shall choose the arbitrator through alternate
striking. The order of such striking
shall be determined by coin flip unless otherwise agreed by the parties. The fees and expenses of the arbitrator shall
be paid under Section 153 of the Railway Labor Act.
(c) An
employee exercising rights under this Section who relocates his residence shall
receive a relocation allowance of $5,000, provided, however, that an employee
shall be required to elect between such allowance and any carrier relocation
benefits that may be provided to such employee under other existing agreements
or arrangements. Such allowance shall be
paid in two equal installments: the first payable on the relocation date, and
the second ninety (90) days thereafter.
Such allowance (or any portion thereof) shall be payable as provided as
long as the individual has an employment relationship with the carrier and is
still at the new location at the time the payment is due.
NOTE: Employees who presently have extended
seniority and who are deprived of employment on their prior right territory(s)
as a result of a transaction covered in Section 1, will be covered by the
conditions of Section 2 (c) , provided that any exercise of seniority must be
beyond their prior right territory (s) , with a minimum of fifty (50) miles
distance.
Section 3
In the case
of any transaction authorized under 49 U.S.C. 10901 (or any successor
provision) , the arrangements provided for under this Article shall be deemed
to fulfill all of the parties' bargaining obligations that may exist under any
applicable statute, agreement or other authority with respect to such
transaction, and shall also be deemed to satisfy the standards for the
protection of the interests of employees who may be affected by such
transaction described in 49 U.S.C. 10901(e).
Section 4
This
Article shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of this Agreement
and is not intended to restrict any of the existing rights of a carrier except
as specifically provided herein.
ARTICLE VIII - RATE PROGRESSION
ADJUSTMENT FOR PROMOTION
Section 1
(a) An
employee who is subject to national rules concerning rate progression on the
effective date of this Article shall have his position on the rate progression
scale adjusted to the next higher level upon promotion to engineer. An employee covered by this Agreement who is
subject to Article IV, Section 5 of the 1991 National Implementing Document
(Rate Progression - New Hires) on the effective date of this Article shall have
his position on the rate progression scale adjusted to the next higher level on
such effective date.
(b) The
next adjustment to an employee's position on the rate progression scale after
the adjustment specified in subsection (a) of this Section shall be made when
such employee completes one year of "active service" (as defined by
the aforementioned Article IV, Section 5) measured from the date on which that
employee would have attained the position on the rate progression scale
provided pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section.
Section 2
Local rate
progression rules applicable on a carrier that is not covered by the
aforementioned Article IV, Section 5 are hereby amended in the same manner as provided
in Section 1.
Section 3
This
Article shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of this Agreement
and is not intended to restrict any of the existing rights of a carrier except
as specifically provided herein.
ARTICLE IX - ENHANCED CUSTOMER
SERVICE
Article IX
- Special Relief, Customer Service - Yard Crews of the 1991 National
Implementing Document is amended to read as follows and furthermore shall be
applicable to all carriers party to this Agreement:
Section I
(a) When an
individual carrier has a customer request for particularized handling that
would provide more efficient service, or can show a need for relaxation of
certain specific work rules to attract or retain a customer, such service may
be instituted on an experimental basis for a six-month period.
(b) Prior
to implementing such service, the carrier will extend seven (7) days advance
notice where practicable but in no event less than forty-eight (48) hours,
advance notice to the General Chairman of the employees involved. Such notice will include an explanation of the
need to provide the service, a description of the service, and a description of
the work rules that may require relaxation for implementation. Relaxation of work rules that may be required
under this Article shall be limited to:
starting times, yard limits, calling rules, on/off duty
points,
seniority boundaries, and class of service restrictions.
(c) A Joint
Committee, comprised of an equal number of carrier representatives and
organization representatives, shall determine whether a need exists, as
provided in paragraph (a) , to provide the service. If the Joint Committee has not made its
determination by the end of the advance notice period referenced in paragraph
(b) , it shall be deemed to be deadlocked, and the service will be allowed on
an experimental basis for a six-month period.
If, after the six-months has expired, the organization members of the
Joint Committee continue to object, the matter shall be referred to
arbitration.
(d) If the
parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator within seven days of the date of
the request for arbitration, either party may request the National Mediation
Board to provide a list of five potential arbitrators, from which the parties
shall choose the arbitrator through alternate striking. The order of such striking shall be
determined by coin flip unless otherwise agreed by the parties. The fees and expenses of the arbitrator shall
be borne equally by the parties.
(e) The
determination of the arbitrator shall be limited to whether the carrier has
shown a bona fide need to provide the service requested or can provide the
service without a special exception to existing work rules being made at a
comparable cost to the carrier. If the
arbitrator determines that this standard has not been met, the arbitrator shall
have the discretion to award compensation for all wages and benefits lost by an
employee as a result of the carrier's implementation of its proposal.
Section 2
This
Article shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of this Agreement
and is not intended to restrict any of the existing rights of a carrier.
ARTICLE X - DISPLACEMENT
Section 1
(a) Where
agreements that provide for the exercise of displacement rights within a
shorter time period are not in effect, existing rules are amended to provide
that, an employee who has a displacement right on any position (including extra
boards) within a terminal or within 30 miles of such employee's current
reporting point, whichever is greater, must, from the time of proper
notification under the applicable agreement or practice, exercise that
displacement right within forty-eight (48) hours.
(b) Failure
of an employee to exercise displacement rights, as provided in (a) above, will
result in said employee being assigned to the applicable extra board, seniority
permitting. (The applicable extra board is the extra board protecting the
assignment from which displaced.)
(c) In the
event force assignment is not compatible with local agreements, prior to implementation,
the parties will meet on property to determine an avenue of assignment.
Section 2
This
Article shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of this Agreement
and is not intended to restrict any of the existing rights of a carrier.
ARTICLE XI - NATIONAL WAGE AND RULES
PANEL
Section 1
(a) The
parties, realizing the complexities of the changing rail industry and
environment, and to alleviate any adversarial relationships emanating from
such, agree to establish a non-binding joint review Panel to study and examine
those unresolved subjects.
The
National Wage and Rules Panel (Panel) shall consist of three (3) partisan
members representing the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, three (3)
partisan members representing the carriers, and who shall be considered as
Chairman.
The
President of BLE and the Chairman of the National Carriers Conference Committee
(NCCC) shall be ex officio partisan members of the Panel. On any matter, the BLE, NCCC, and the
Chairman shall each be deemed to have a single vote.
(b) The
parties will assume the compensation and expenses of their respective partisan
members. The fees and expenses of the
Chairman and any incidental expenses incurred in connection with Panel meetings
shall be shared equally by the parties.
Section 2
The Panel
is authorized to comprehensively examine the following subjects:
·
System
for compensation and related alternatives
·
Quality
of Work Life
·
Inter-craft
pay relationships
·
Claim
and Grievance Handling
·
Flowback
·
Eating
en route for road service employees
·
Use
of Surplus Employees
·
Employee
Utilization
·
Common
Extra Boards
·
Standardized
Calling Rules
·
Yard
Starting Times
·
Runarounds
·
Road/Yard
·
Entry
Rates
Section 3
The Panel
shall promptly establish its operating procedures, which shall be designed to
review and evaluate the facts regarding the aforementioned subjects and to
expedite and enhance the opportunity to reach joint voluntary solutions to
matters in dispute between the parties with respect to those subjects. The Panel may, by unanimous vote of the
members and with the consent of the respective Carriers and General
Committee(s) involved, develop and implement pilot projects and similar
initiatives that would permit the Panel to test and evaluate, on a limited
basis, potential alternatives to existing arrangements that would resolve
issues of concern to the parties.
Section 4
(a) If the
parties have not reached agreement on issues pertaining to the matters covered
by Section 2 by
(b) It is
agreed that antecedent proposals exchanged between the parties relating to
those items subject to the Panel, shall not be considered precedential or cited
in further handling of any issue before any tribunal established to resolve
disputes under the Railway Labor Act.
ARTICLE XII - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1 - Court Approval
This
Agreement is subject to approval of the courts with respect to participating
carriers in the hands of receivers or trustees.
Section 2 - Effect of this Agreement
(a) The
purpose of this Agreement is to fix the general level of compensation and other
terms and conditions of employment during the period of the Agreement and is in
settlement of the dispute growing out of the notices dated November 1, 1994
served by and on behalf of the carriers listed in Exhibit A upon the
organization signatory hereto, and the notices dated on or about November 1,
1994 served by the organization upon such carriers.
(b) This
Agreement shall be construed as a separate agreement by and on behalf of each
of said carriers and their employees represented by the organization signatory
hereto, and shall remain in effect through December 31, 1999 and thereafter
until changed or modified in accordance with the provisions of the Railway
Labor Act, as amended.
(c) The
parties to this Agreement shall not serve nor progress prior to
(1) this Agreement,
(2) the proposals of the parties identified in Section 2 (a)
of this Article, and
(3) Section 2 (c) (3) of Article VIII of the National
Agreement of March 6, 1975, and any pending notices which propose such matters
are hereby withdrawn.
(d) The
parties to this Agreement shall not serve nor progress prior to November 1,
1999 (not to become effective before January 1, 2000) any notice or proposal
which might properly have been served on November 1, 1994, and any pending
notices which propose such matters are hereby withdrawn.
(e) This
Article will not bar management and committees on individual railroads from
agreeing upon any subject of mutual interest.
This
confirms our understanding with respect to the general wage increase provided
for in Article I, Section 1, and the signing bonus provided for in Article 1.
Section 2, of the Agreement of this date.
The carriers
will make all reasonable efforts to pay the retroactive portion of such general
wage increase and the signing bonus as soon as possible and no later than sixty
(60) days after the date of this Agreement.
If a
carrier finds it impossible to make such payments within that specified time
period, such carrier shall notify you in writing explaining why such payments
have not been made and indicating when the payments will be made.
This refers
to the increase in wages provided for in Section1 of Article I of the Agreement
of this date.
It is
understood that the retroactive portion of that wage increase shall be applied
only to employees who have an employment relationship with a carrier on the
date of this Agreement or who retired or died subsequent to December 1, 1.995.
This
confirms our understanding regarding Article I - Wages of the Agreement of this
date.
Solely for
the purpose of concluding this Agreement, the carriers have agreed to apply the
general wage increases provided for therein to mileage rates of pay for miles
run in excess of the number of miles comprising a basic day (overmiles) and to
compute the lump sums provided for therein without excluding overmiles.
Our
agreement to include language providing for such applications shall not be
considered as precedent for how such issues should be addressed in the future
and is without prejudice to our position that this component of the pay system
is inappropriate.
This refers
to the Lump Sum Payments provided for in Article I of the Agreement of this
date.
Sections 3
and 5 of Article I are structured so as to provide payments that are
essentially based on the compensation earned by an employee during a specified
calendar year. Section 10 provides that
all of these payments are payable to an employee who has an employment
relationship as of the dates such payments are made or has retired or died
subsequent to the beginning of the applicable calendar year used to determine
the amount of such payments. Thus, for
example, under Section 3 of Article I, except for an employee who has retired
or died, the Agreement requires that an employee have an employment
relationship on
The
intervals between the close of the measurement periods and the actual payments
established in the 1991 National Implementing Document were in large measure a.
convenience to the carriers in order that there be adequate time to make the
necessary calculations.
In
recognition of this, we again confirm the understanding that an individual
having an employment relationship with a carrier on the last day of a
particular calendar year used to determine the amount of a payment under
Section 3 and 5 of Article I will not be disqualified from receiving the
payment provided for in the event his employment relationship is terminated
following the last day of such calendar year but prior to the payment due date.
This
confirms our understanding with respect to Article III, Section 2 and Article
V, Section 1 of the Agreement of this date.
Those
provisions shall be applied effective on the first day of the calendar month
immediately following the month in which this Agreement is ratified.
This
confirms our understanding regarding Article V Benefits Eligibility of the
Agreement of this date.
This will
confirm our understanding that eligibility criteria in effect on
This
confirms our understanding regarding Article V Benefits Eligibility of the
Agreement of this date.
This will
confirm our understanding that vacation qualification criteria in effect on the
date of this Agreement shall continue to apply to employees represented by the
organization who hold posit tons as working General Chairmen, Local Chairmen,
and State Legislative Board Chairmen Local officials"). In other words, the changes in qualification
as set forth in Article V, Section 2 are not intended to revise vacation
qualification conditions for such local officials. It is further understood that by providing
this exclusion it is not intended that the total number of such officials
covered be expanded.
During
the negotiations which led to the Agreement of this date, the parties had
numerous discussions about the relationship between time worked and benefits
received. The carriers were concerned
that certain employees were not making themselves sufficiently available for
work, but due to the then current eligibility requirements such employees
remained eligible for health and welfare benefits.
As a result
of these discussions, the parties agreed to tighten one eligibility requirement
from any compensated service in a month to seven calendar days compensated
service in a month (the "seven-day rule"). However, it was not the intent of the parties
to affect employees by this change where such employees have made themselves
available for work and would have satisfied the seven day rule but for an Act
of God, an assignment of work which did not permit satisfaction of the
seven-day rule, or because monthly mileage limitations, monthly earnings
limitations and/or maximum monthly trip provisions prevented an employee from
satisfying that rule.
Also, where
employees return to work from furlough, suspension, dismissal, or disability
(including pregnancy), or commence work as new hires, at a time during a month
when there is not opportunity to render compensated service on at least seven
calendar days during that month, such employees will be deemed to have
satisfied the seven-day rule, provided that they are available or actually work
every available work opportunity.
However, in
no case will an employee be deemed eligible for benefits under the new
eligibility requirement if such employee would not have been eligible under the
old requirements.
This
confirms our understandings regarding Article VIII Rate Progression Adjustment
For Promotion of the Agreement of this date
1. Such Article is not intended to supplant
existing rules that treat employees more favorably with respect to rate
progression, including while working as or upon promotion to engineer. That is, such rules are preserved and shall
continue to apply in lieu of Article VIII.
2 Any
promotion adjustment made pursuant to Article VIII shall be applied solely on a
prospective basis.
This
confirms our understanding regarding Article IX Enhanced Customer Service of
the Agreement of this date.
In recent
years the rail freight sector of the transportation market place has taken
steps toward a more competitive discipline which, if successful, could point
the rail industry toward more growth.
The parties to this Agreement are intent on nurturing these
improvements. In this respect we
mutually recognize that an important reason underlying the recent improvement
has been enhanced focus on customer needs and improved service as the framework
for working conditions. Increased
employee productivity and more immediate responses to customer needs by
railroad employees at all levels have been and will continue to be at the very
heart of this effort.
In order to
continue these recent improvements, the parties intend to respond to customers'
needs with even greater efforts. In
Article IX, we have developed a framework for achieving our mutual goal of
retaining existing customers and attracting new business by providing more
efficient and expedient service, including relaxation of work rules specified
therein where and to the extent necessary for those purposes. we are also in
accord that these undertakings should appropriately recognize the interests of
affected employees in fair and equitable working conditions.
This will
confirm our understanding that the NCCC Chairman and the BLE President shall
promptly confer on any carrier proposal under Article IX that the BLE President
deems to be egregiously inconsistent with our mutual intent. Such proposal shall be held in abeyance
pending conference and shall not be implemented until adjusted by agreement of
the parties or, absent such agreement, resolved by expedited, party paid
arbitration as set forth in the attachment hereto.
This refers
to our discussions concerning flowback arrangements between engine and train
service positions in those situations where the BLE represents engineers. Each carrier shall meet with and obtain the
concurrence of the BLE representatives having jurisdiction over the engineer’s
seniority roster or rosters involved in any flowback arrangements on such
carrier before the flowback arrangements are implemented.
This
confirms our understanding with respect to the Agreement of this date.
The parties
exchanged various proposals and drafts antecedent to adoption of the various
Articles that appear in this Agreement.
It is our mutual understanding that none of such antecedent proposals
and drafts will be used by any party for any purpose and that the provisions of
this Agreement will be interpreted and applied as though such proposals and
drafts had not been used or exchanged in the negotiation.
The parties
agree to the following:
The
Question-At-Issue to be submitted to arbitration shall be:
·
In
light of the agreement attached and all other relevant circumstances, should
locomotive engineers receive any certification pay? If so, how much?
·
The
major dispute arbitration provisions of the Railway Labor shall govern.
·
The
parties have agreed on three impartial arbitrators to serve on the Arbitration
Board. In the event one or more of those
selected cannot serve, the parties shall agree on substitutes. The Arbitration Award may be rejected by
·
Individual
General Committees if appropriate carrier official notified within 30 days of
issuance of Award.
·
Where
negotiations on local issues have begun but not concluded between the BLE and a
carrier represented by the NCCC, the parties shall continue such negotiations
until agreement is reached but in no event later than
·
The
parties have attached a tentative timetable (Exhibit A) for processing this
matter and commit to maintaining these time frames to the best of their
abilities.
·
This
agreement is in full and final settlement of the notices served by the BLE on
or after November 1. 1994 on carriers represented by the NCCC in the current
round of bargaining and notices served by or on behalf of such carriers on the
BLE on or after
·
The
parties recognize that this agreement must be submitted by the BLE for
ratification in accordance with the BLE's Constitution and by-laws. The BLE shall notify the NCCC of the results
of the ratification as promptly as possible.
Exhibit A
TENTATIVE TIMETABLE AS AGREED TO BY
THE PARTIES
I. Reach written agreement by
II. BLE completes ratification process by
III. Agreement implemented and ratification
approval.
IV. Arbitration Board conducts hearings no later
than 14 days after ratification approval.
V. Hearings completed in two days including
rebuttal.
VI. Post-hearing briefs submitted within seven
days of hearing.
VII. Award issued no later than
This
confirms our understanding that during the arbitration process either party is
free to make whatever arguments it chooses as to the propriety or lack thereof
of offsetting any certification pay by means of granting rules relief to the
carriers. Moreover, the jurisdiction of
the arbitrators to address the merits of such arguments will not be challenged.
ARTICLE -XIII LOCOMOTIVE
ENGINEER RECERTIFICATION
Each
engineer, regardless of length of service, who is required by the Carrier to
attend periodic training in order to maintain certification pursuant to CFR Part
240, at a location other than his home terminal, will be allowed $ 233.00 for
each day of classroom training. This
allowance is not subject to entry rate reductions. One travel day prior to first day of
training, and one travel day following training, will not be compensated under
this provision. Any travel requirements
that exceed the one day, either before or after training, will be compensated
by allowance of $ 233.00 for each additional calendar day. This allowance is subject to general wage and
cost of living allowance increases.
Reasonable transportation, lodging and meal expenses will be
allowed. This provision supersedes aft
preceding provisions, agreements, understandings or practices concerning
payment for engineer certification. This
article is not intended to apply to safety meetings, rules exams or similar
activities that are conducted at the home terminal.
ARTICLE XIV ENTRY
RATES
Every
locomotive engineer will be compensated at full (100%) rates when actually
working as an engineer, including while assigned to engineers' guaranteed extra
board. All other compensation, including
but not limited to deadheading compensation, will be subject to applicable
entry rate progressions.
ARTICLE XV SPECIAL
PAY DIFFERENTIAL
On the
effective date of this agreement, all allowances paid to engineers, regardless
of length of service, for working with a reduced crew and all related
entitlement are eliminated. Payments
eliminated include payments under Article I of OPS 33-81 and OPS 34-81, dated
April 24, 198 11 Side Letter 20 of Arbitration Award 458, and Article V -
Special Pay Differential contained in Implementation of Public Law 102 -
29. The differential of $4.00 and .04
cents per mile and/or $6.00 and .06 cents per mile paid to engineers working
without a fireman is also eliminated.
On the
effective date of this agreement, each engineer regardless of length of
service, actually working in through freight service (subject to the 130-mile
basic day) will receive a flat payment of $27.00 for each such working trip or
tour of duty, in addition to normal trip payments provided for in other
agreements and not canceled by this agreement.
Each engineer in any other class of service will receive a flat payment
of $18.00 for each such working trip or tour of duty, in addition to normal
trip payments. These payments are frozen
through
ARTICLE XVI 401 (K)
A 401 (k)
plan or arrangement will be established as soon as practicable and following
ratification of this agreement, in which locomotive engineers can participate
and in which the employee contribution level is equal to the maximum Company
deduction allowable by law, based upon locomotive engineers' compensation and
assuming maximum participation by all participants.
ARTICLE XVII TERRITORIAL
QUALIFICATION
When an
engineer is required by rules to make territorial qualification or familiarization
trips, such engineer will be compensated by allowance of a basic day at the
rate of the Engineers' Guaranteed Extra List Agreement, dated
ARTICLE XVIII DIRECT DEPOSIT OF
PAYROLL CHECKS
Each
engineer shall participate in the program providing for the direct deposit of
payroll checks into the employee's bank account. This provision will become effective with a
sixty day notice by the Carrier to employees.
ARTICLE XIX TELEPHONE
SERVICE
Each
engineer must maintain telephone service, or other authorized electronic
communication device, to facilitate transmission of call information. Any rules, understandings or practices that
require a personal contact call at the employees' residence are eliminated.
ARTICLE XX TERMINAL
RUNAROUNDS
All rules
and agreements that provide for an additional payment to engineers for not
departing the terminal in proper order are eliminated, and all entitlements to
any such payment are, accordingly rescinded.
Any engineer who does not depart the terminal in proper order of call
will be entitled to restoration of turn under applicable agreements, including
local memorandums.
ARTICLE XXI MARKING
UP FOR DUTY
Each
engineer in any class of service who is authorized time off for any reason,
including for vacation, will be marked up for service upon expiration of the
period authorized unless additional time is requested and granted prior to the
expiration of the authorized period.
This provision does not preclude an engineer from marking up earlier
than the end of the authorized period.
ARTICLE
In through
freight service only all rules and agreements that provide for an entitlement
to a meal, or provide for any payment in lieu thereof, during a tour of duty in
are eliminated, and all such entitlements are accordingly rescinded.
This
agreement is effective 31st
day of May 1996, and will remain in effect until canceled or
amended in accordance with the Railway Labor Act, as amended.
Side Letters to 1996 Agreement (on Property
Agreement)
Letter #13
This refers
to our discussions regarding elements of pay referred to in Section 2(d) of the
agreement of
We further
understood that when general wage increases are applied to the $18.00 and the
$27.00 payments, respectively, the proportionate amount resulting from application
of the increase(s) to the $18.00 would, likewise, be paid in addition to the
guarantee for extra board engineers.
This
confirms our understanding regarding Article 1- LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEER
RECERTIFICATION of the agreement.
We agree
that when an engineer is scheduled to report to the training center for
recertification and such engineer stands for service on a trip which the
engineer may not be able to complete and still have reasonable time to comply
with the travel arrangements, the engineer must notify the Manager of Operating
Practices or other designated officer prior to commencement of the trip (no
later than the call time). The decision
whether to mark off or make the trip will be made by the MOP/designated
officer. When the decision of the
designated officer is to mark off, the engineer will be marked off and paid as
though having made the trip.
During the
discussions there was concern expressed by both sides regarding the potential
abuse of this circumstance. We were all
in accord that the decision made by the designated officer was to be made based
on consideration of the expected time to complete the service trip and to allow
reasonable time thereafter for the engineer to gather belongings and materials
necessary for the trip to the training center and to travel to the departure
point of the means of conveyance being utilized. We also understood that engineers who choose
not to travel to or from the training center by the means provided at Carrier's
expense (normally by air) would not be allowed payment for lost earnings in
excess of what others from the same location were given under usual travel
circumstances.
This
confirms the understanding reached relative to Article 3-SPECIAL PAY
DIFFERENTIAL of the agreement.
We agree
that the following agreements referred to in this Article 3 are of no further
force and effect:
OPS 33-81, OPS 34-81 dated
Side Letter 20 of Arbitration Award 458
Article V of Public Law 102-29.
We further
understand, however, that the provision quoted below is maintained:
Engineers
performing service with reduced train or yard crews will not be held
responsible for accidents caused by failure of radio equipment to properly
function. Carrier will be responsible
for maintenance of radios, and engineers will not be held responsible for
failure or malfunction of radio equipment unless obviously caused by employee
abuse or tampering.
This
confirms the understanding reached relative to Article 5-TERRITORIAL
QUALIFICATION of the agreement.
We mutually
intended that engineers on an extra list would not be bypassed by other
engineers from the list due to not being qualified on a particular
territory. In any event, we did agree
when an engineer assigned to an extra list is bypassed for lack of territorial
qualification he would not have the guarantee to which he would otherwise be
entitled reduced.
This
confirms the understanding reached relative to Article VII-ENHANCED EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES of the core agreement.
Specifically,
we discussed the intent and meaning of the phrase “deprived of employment”
contained in Section I of said Article VII.
We agreed that an engineer who meets all of the requirements of Article
VII would not be deprived of the benefits contained therein by virtue of any
exercise of seniority to which he was entitled pursuant to the BN/BLE Transfer
Agreement dated
This
confirms the understanding reached relative to Paragraph (f) of Section
2-Vacation Benefits of Article V-BENEFITS ELIGIBILITY of the core agreement.
We agreed
that engineers desiring to take one week of their vacation day at a time will
so indicate on the appropriate form provided by the Carrier at the time when
making application for the following years vacation.
This refers
to the Agreement between BLE and BNSF date
The parties
understand that nothing in Article XXII of this agreement (concerning road
meals) precludes the Carrier from granting an engineer's request to eat while
working in through freight service, or to stop enroute for a meal. Rather the
intent of Article XXII is that the Carrier no longer has any obligation to
grant such a request or, otherwise, to make any payment to a through freight
engineer in lieu of a meal.
This refers
to the Agreement between BLE and BNSF date, 1996 identifying several System
Agreements.
It is
understood the aforementioned Agreement is made without prejudice to the
position either party has taken in current litigation relating to the propriety
of “local” or “system” negotiations versus national negotiations”. The aforementioned Agreement will not be
referred to by either party in such litigation in support of its position.
ARTICLE
I WAGES
Q-l: How
will an employee be able to verify that he/she has received the full lump sum
to which they are entitled pursuant to Sections 2, 3 and 5?
A-l: The
carrier will provide the General Chairman with a detailed explanation of the
manner in which the signing bonus and lump sums have been calculated. Any
employee who believes that his payment is incorrect will, upon request to the
carrier, receive an explanation of how such payment was calculated.
Q-2: (1) Do
the General Wage Increases provided for in Article I apply to Reserve Board
(Fireman) payments?
(2) Also to guaranteed extra boards
and other reserve board payments?
A-2. (1)
Yes.
(2) Yes
Q-3: In
calculating an employee's compensation for the 1% signing bonus and subsequent
lump sum payments provided for in this Article, what is the basis upon which
the percentage is determined?
A-3:The
employee's "compensation" as used on such employee's carrier to
determine vacation pay entitlement in the calendar year so stated beginning
January I and extending through December 31.
Q-4: Are
the lump sum payments applicable to who are suspended, as well as employees who
are reinstated with rights unimpaired?
A-4: Yes,
because in both cases relationship is maintained.
Q-5: Does
the
A5: Yes.
Q-6: Will
payments received by employees who are available on guaranteed extra lists
and/or reserve pools, but not used, be considered when calculating the lump sum
payments?
A-6: Yes,
so long as such payments are subject to general wage increases.
Q-7: An
employee had earnings in 1994 and 1995; however, the employee is not currently
active due to disability. Is this employee eligible for the signing bonus and
1996 lump sum payment?
A-7: Yes,
so long as the employee maintains his/her employment relationship with the
Carrier, or subsequently retires or dies.
Q-8:Is it a
correct understanding that those pay elements which were frozen by the
provisions of Article IV, Section 5 of the 1986 BLE National Agreement will not
be included in determining an employee's base year compensation?
A-8: The
employee's "compensation" as used on such employee's carrier to
determine vacation pay entitlement in the calendar year so stated beginning
January 1 and extending through December 31 will be used in determining an
employee's base year compensation.
Q-9: If an
employee received a bonus payment from the Carrier when "borrowing
out" on other seniority districts, will such payment be included when
calculating the lump sum payments provided for in this Article?
A-9: The
employee's "compensation" as used on such employee's carrier to
determine vacation pay entitlement in the calendar year so stated beginning
January 1 and extending through December 31 will be used in determining an
employee's base year compensation.
Q-10: How
will the lump sums be calculated for an employee who performed service for a
Carrier not party to this contract during the years of 1994 and 1995, but
currently employed by a Carrier party hereto?
A-1O: Only
compensation earned on the carrier party to this agreement at which employed on
the date payment is due will be credited.
Q-11: What
is the definition of "foreign-to-occupation" as used in Section 10?
A-11:
Foreign- to-occupation" is defined in Article I, Section 9 to mean
"other than on duty".
Section 1-
Health and Welfare Plan
Q-1: In
situations where employees are assigned to Reserve Boards or observe Personal
Leave Days, will such time be counted toward fulfillment of the seven (7)
calendar day requirement for benefit eligibility in the succeeding month?
A-l: This
Article does not change existing definitions of the term "render
compensated service" for purposes of Plan eligibility.
Q-2: Does
the seven (7) day qualifying requirement in the previous month apply to those
employees who take a period of family or medical leave authorized and provided
for under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
A-2: No.
Such period of authorized leave will be treated as if it were a period during
which the employee rendered compensated service, subject to the limitations
contained on Page 21 of the current Summary Plan Description of The Railroad
Employees National Health and Welfare Plan.
Q-3: If an
employee has two (2) starts in one calendar day, how many days will he/she be
credited with for purposes of fulfilling the seven (7)-calendar day qualifying
requirement?
A-3: The
employee receives credit for each calendar day worked.
Q-4: How
are employees treated with reference to benefit eligibility in cases of
off-the-job injury and/or illness?
A-4: In the
same manner as currently being treated by the Plan without change.
Q-5: How is
benefit eligibility handled for employees who are absent?
A-5: The
employee must meet the eligibility requirements to be eligible for benefits in
the following month.
Q-6: How
are the provisions of the Health and Welfare Plan affected by the changes in
benefit eligibility?
A-6: There
is no change.
Q-7: What
was the intent of the parties when increasing the number of qualifying days for
health benefit eligibility?
A-7: The
intent was for the employee to render a more proportionate amount of service in
a given month so as to be eligible for health benefit coverage in the succeeding
month.
Q-8:
Existing rules on some properties contain monthly mileage limitations, monthly
earnings limitations, and/or maximum monthly trip provisions so as to possibly
preclude an individual from satisfying the seven (7) day qualifying requirement?
A-8: Under
these circumstances, it was not intent of the parties to disqualify individual
for health care benefits, nor was it the parties' intent for the individual to
expend vacation days so as to otherwise meet the service requirements.
Q-9: Will mileage
equivalents and overtime hours be used in calculating the seven {7) day
requirement?
A-9: No
Q-1O: In
situations where employees return to work after periods of extended absence as
a result of but not limited to, disability, furlough, suspension, dismissal,
leave of absence or pregnancy at a point in a calendar month so as to make it
impossible to satisfy the seven {7) day requirement, but make themselves
otherwise available or work all of the remaining days in that month, will they
qualify for medical benefit coverage in the month next following their return
to work?
A-1O: This
is addressed in and will be determined in accordance with the provisions of
Side Letter #7.
Q-l1: Does
the term "local officials" as used in Side Letter #5 include division
presidents secretaries/treasurers and legislative representatives who may also
be required to lose time from their assignments due to union obligation?
A-l1: No,
local officials are limited to working General Chairmen, Local Chairmen, and
State Legislative Board Chairmen.
Q-12: Will
regular assigned road freight service employees and/or pool service employees
who may be prevented from performing service in a calendar month equal to or
exceeding the seven {7) calendar days due to, but not limited to acts of god,
catastrophe, inclement weather, related industry shutdowns or other traffic
pattern conditions be deemed ineligible for health benefits in the succeeding
month?
A-12: This
is addressed in and will be determined in accordance with the provisions of
Side Letter #7.
Q-13: Is it
correct that in the event of an employee and/or dependent(s) losing coverage
under this rule, such individual will be eligible to continue coverage in
accordance with the COBRA rules?
A-13:
Eligibility for COBRA coverage remains unchanged.
Q-14: When
does a newly hired employee first become covered for employee and/or dependent
health benefits?
A-14: This
is addressed in and will be determined in accordance with the provisions of
Side Letter #7.
Q-15: Will
paid holidays be counted in meeting the qualifying requirement?
A-15: This
Article does not change existing definitions of the term "render
compensated service" for purposes of Plan eligibility.
ARTICLE V - BENEFITS ELIGIBILITY
Section 2-
Vacation Benefits
Q-1: In situations
where employees are assigned to Reserve Boards or observe Personal Leave Days,
will such time be counted toward fulfilling the qualifying requirements for
vacation to be taken in the succeeding year?
A-l: Yes,
with respect to Reserve Boards and Personal Leave Days, if that is the current
practice on the individual railroad.
Q-2: Is it
correct that an employee who works six (6} months in yard service and six (6)
months in road service will qualify for a vacation after rendering service
amounting to the equivalent of 150 qualifying days commencing
A-2: There
is no change from existing applications concerning employees with road and yard
rights.
Q-3: How
many days must an employee work in 1996 to qualify for a vacation to be taken
in 1997?
A-3: There
is no change in the National Vacation Agreement, which will increase the
qualifying days in 1996 for a 1997 vacation period.
Beginning
in 1997, however, employees must meet the new qualifying criteria for a 1998
vacation.
Q-4: Are current
system agreements providing more than two splits in annual vacations affected
by this agreement?
A-4: No.
Q-5: Are
current system agreements providing for more than one week of annual vacation
to be taken in single day increments changed by this agreement?
A-5: No.
Q-6: What
procedure should be followed when requesting a single day of vacation?
A-6:
Employees should follow the established procedure for assigning vacations on
the property. Where there is none, the procedures used for scheduling personal
leave days should be used.
Q-7: Must
the Carrier allow the request made by an employee to observe a single day of
vacation?
A-7: Yes,
employees should follow the established procedure for assigning vacations on
the property. Where there is none, the procedures used for scheduling personal
leave days should be used.
Q-8: Will
employees be automatically marked up for service upon return from vacation
periods of more than a single day?
A-8: The
new provisions for automatic mark-up apply only when taking vacation in less
than one-week increments. Otherwise, existing rules and practices continue to
apply.
Q-9: There
are many questions raised with regard to the change in the number of qualifying
days.
The
questions include, but are not limited to, the application of the 1.6 and 1.3
multiplying factors and the determination of the number of accumulated days of
service for qualification for extended vacation. How might these questions be
resolved?
A-9: The
parties commit to the formulation of a Vacation Synthesis so as to fully
incorporate the changes made in this Agreement 'and to serve as a guide to
resolve these qUestions and issues.
Q-10: When
an employee elects to observe one (1) week of vacation in single day increments
as provided for in paragraph (f) does that constitute one (1) of the allowable
two (2) splits in his/her annual vacation as provided for in paragraph (e)?
A-1O: Yes.
Q-11: Does
the term "local officials" as used in Side Letter #6 include division
presidents, secretaries/treasurers and legislative representatives who may be
required to lose time from their assignments due to union obligations?
A-11: No,
local officials are limited to working General Chairmen, Local Chairmen, and
State Legislative Board Chairmen.
Q-12: In
application of paragraph (f), how many days of single day vacations maya yard
service and road service employee be permitted to take;
five, six
or seven days?
A-12: This
question should be decided on each individual property in accordance with the
past practice as to what appropriately constitutes one (1) week of annual
vacation.
Q-13: Can
the employee elect to take vacation in periods of two (2), three (3), or four
(4) days, rather than single day increments?
A-13: Yes,
employees should follow the established procedure for assigning vacations on
the property. Where there is none, the procedures used for scheduling personal
leave days should be used.
Q-14: If an
employee observes a single day of vacation and subsequently becomes ill so as
to be unable to work the next day, what must he/she do inasmuch as they are to
mark-up for service automatically?
A-14: The
employee should follow the procedure established for marking off sick.
Q-15: Are
an employee's obligations under existing rules and practices with respect to
protecting service on his assigned off/rest days changed if the employee
observes a single day of vacation immediately prior to such off/rest day?"
A-15: No.
Q-16: May
an employee request a single day of vacation to be taken immediately following
a day where he/she was off sick or observing a personal leave day?
A-16: Yes.
ARTICLE VI - PERSONAL LEAVE DAYS
Q-l: Are
passenger and local freight service engineers entitled to personal leave days
provided for in the Article?
A-l: Yes.
The intent of Article VI was to provide personal leave days to all engineers
who were not entitled to paid holidays.
Q-2: Is the
time in service in other crafts counted when determining years of service?
A-2: Yes,
if that is the current practice on the individual railroad.
Q-3: May an
employee eligible for personal leave days accumulate days he is not allowed to
take during the year?
A-3: Yes,
up to a maximum of (30) thirty days.
ARTICLE
VII - ENHANCED EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Q-l: Should
a subsequent separate transaction occur after an initial relocation would the
affected employee be allowed to again apply under Section 2?
A-1: Yes.
Q-2: What
does "deprived of employment" mean for the purposes of the
application of this Article?
A-2: The
inability to obtain any possible position to which entitled.
Q-3: Will
the resultant seniority roster established per Article VII, Section 2, cause
any employee to suffer a loss of seniority on any roster to which they
currently have seniority?
A-3: No.
Such employee establishes seniority as of the date of service in the vacant,
must fill or claim open, must fill position. All existing seniority remains
intact.
Q-4: In
order for an employee to receive the relocation allowance under Section 2{c),
is it required that the employee:
{a) Sell
his/her existing residence?
{b)
Stay/work a minimum amount of time at the new location?
{c) Move
thirty {30) or more miles from his former residence?
A-4: (a)
No.
(b) To receive the full allowance, the
rule requires that the employee be at the new location
at the time the second payment is
due.
(c)Yes. The note to paragraph (c)
requires an exercise of seniority a distance greater than
50 miles.
Q-5: What
is the definition of "prior right territory(s)" as set forth in the
'note to Section 2(c)?
A-5: This
is determined on the individual properties in accordance with the applicable
rules and/or practices governing seniority.
ARTICLE VIII - RATE PROGRESSION
Q-1: What
rate of pay is applicable to employees who are promoted to conductor (foreman)
and/or engineer but are working as brakemen (helpers) and/or hostler?
A-1: Once
an individual is promoted to conductor (foreman) and/or engineer, that employee
receives the applicable rate percentage, regardless of the craft in which they
are working, until such time as they reach the next rate step in accordance
with Article IV, Section 5 of the 1991 Implementing Document.
Q-2: An 80%
entry rate employee promoting to engineer
A-2:
No. The employee goes to 90% on
Q-3: An
employee is elevated to the next step in the rate progression upon promotion
from brakeman to conductor. Does that employee elevate to the next step upon
subsequent promotion to engineer?
A-3: Yes.
Q-4: Where
existing promotion rules or practices provide for the automatic promotion to
conductor and engineer upon promotion to either conductor or engineer, will an
employee be elevated two (2) steps on the wage scale?
A-4: Yes.
ARTICLE IX - ENHANCED CUSTOMER SERVICE
Q-l: What
is the intent of the parties with respect to the provision in paragraph (b)
which states, "… the Carrier will extend seven (7) days advance notice
where practicable but in no event less than forty-eight (48) hours advance
notice..."?
A-l: The
intent was for the Carriers to routinely give as much advance notice as
possible to the involved BLE General Chairmen(s) prior to implementation of the
proposed service under paragraph (a).
Q-2: Should
the Carrier notify the General Chairmen(s) in writing when and where it intends
to establish such service and identify the involved customer?
A-2: Yes,
and such notification should include the specific rule(s) where relief or
relaxation is requested.
Q-3: What
will prevent the Carrier from routinely furnishing the minimum notice under the
rule, i.e., 48 hours, prior to implementing the desired service?
A-3: The
intent was for the Carriers to routinely give as much advance notice as
possible to the involved BLE General Chairmen(s) prior to implementation of the
proposed service under paragraph (a).
Q-4: Is it
the intent of the parties that the Joint Committee referred to in paragraph (c)
will be established and meet at the location where the proposed service is to
be implemented?
A-4: The
Committee will confer by whatever means are appropriate and practical to the
circumstances, including telephonically.
Q-5: Can the
Carrier require a yard crew from one seniority district to meet the service
requirements of a customer if such customer is located in road territory in
another seniority district on that Carrier within the combination road-yard
service zone?
A-S: The carrier's
rights under this Article are limited to certain identified rules under defined
circumstances, provided that the carrier has complied with all applicable
requirements set forth therein. Any carrier proposal under this Article which,
in the opinion of the BLE President, is egregiously inconsistent with the
intent of the rule will not be implemented without conference between the BLE
President and the NCCC Chairman.
Q-6: Does
this rule permit the use of road crews to perform customer service within switching
limits?
A-6: The
carrier's rights under this Article are limited to certain identified rules
under defined circumstances, provided that the carrier has complied with all
applicable requirements set forth therein. Any carrier proposal under this Article
which, in the opinion of the BLE President, is egregiously inconsistent with
the intent of the rule will not be implemented without conference between the
BLE President and the NCCC Chairman.
Q-7: Can
the Carrier be considered a customer in the application of this rule?
A-7: The
word "customer", as used in paragraph (a) , was not meant to apply to
the Carrier.
Q-8: Is
there any limitation as to the number of miles a yard crew may be required to
travel iD road territory in order to provide the customer service contemplated
by this rule?
A-8: Yes.
Yard crews are limited to the minimum number of miles necessary to accomplish
the service consistent with the spirit and intent of the parties.
Q-9: Where
customer service can be accomplished by a road crew, is the Carrier within the
intent of the rule to estab1ish the use of a yard crew to perform this work?
A-9: The
Carrier's use of yard crews must meet the requirements of the rule.
Q-10: Does
this Article IX supersede the Road/Yard Service zone established under Article
VIII, Section 2(a) (iii) of the May 19, 1986 National Agreement or the agreed
upon interpretations pertaining thereto?
A-I0: No,
this Article amends Article IX - Special Relief, Customer Service - Yard Crews
0£ the BLE Implementing Document of November 7, 1991.
Q-11: Does
Article IX contemplate the use of yard crews from one seniority district or
Carrier to perform service for a customer, which is located on the line of
another Carrier?
A-11: It is
not the intent 0£ the rule to permit yard crews from one Carrier to substitute
for yard crews of another unrelated Carrier.
Q-12: Are
any employee protective provisions applicable to employees adversely affected
by the institution of service under Article IX?
A-12: As
set forth in paragraph (e).
Q-13: Does
Article IX contemplate the establishment of split shifts in yard service?
A-13: No
Q-14:
Paragraph (e) requires that the Carrier show a "bona fide” need for the
rule relief requested or that it cannot provide the service at a "Comparable
Cost" under the existing rules.
Will the
Carriers burden of proof in this regard be met simply by showing that the
customer service can be accomplished at reduced cost?
A-14: No, a
carrier will also have to demonstrate compliance with Section l (a).
Q-15: If a
yard crew is providing particularized service to a customer under this rule,
may the Carrier properly require the yard crew to provide service to other
industries located in the area or along the line?
A-15: The
carrier's rights under this Article are limited to certain identified rules
under defined circumstances, provided that the carrier has complied with all
applicable requirements set forth therein. Any carrier proposal under this
Article which, in the opinion 0£ the BLE President, is egregiously inconsistent
with the intent 0£ the rule will not be implemented without conference between
the BLE President and the NCCC Chairman.
Q-16: May
the Carrier use a road crew to provide service to a customer within the
switching limits of a terminal?
A-16: The
carrier's rights under this Article are limited to certain identified rules
under defined circumstances, provided that the carrier has complied with all
applicable requirements set forth therein. Any carrier proposal under this
Article which, in the opinion of the BLE President, is egregiously inconsistent
with the intent of the rule will not be implemented without conference between~
the BLE President and the NCCC Chairman.
Q-17: Will
a yard crew used in accordance with this Article have its work confined solely
to meet the specific service requirements?
A-17: The
carrier's rights under this Article are limited to certain identified rules
under defined circumstances, provided that the carrier has complied with all
applicable requirements set forth therein. Any carrier proposal under this
Article which, in the opinion of the BLE President, is egregiously inconsistent
with the intent of the rule will not be implemented without conference between
the BLE President and the NCCC Chairman.
Q-18: Can
Employees of a Carrier who may be restricted by physical disabilities or for
disciplinary reasons from performing road service on that Carrier be used to
perform such service under this Article?
A-18: No.
Q-1.9: If a
carrier fails to comply with the provisions of Article IX, what remedy is
available to employees adversely affected by the carrier's implementation of
its proposal?
A-19: The
arbitrator is authorized to fashion a remedy appropriate to the circumstances
under Section l (e).
ARTICLE X – DISPLACEMENT
Q-1: On
those properties where employees have less than 48 hours to exercise
displacement rights, are such rules amended so as to now apply a uniform rule?
A-l: No,
the existing rules providing for less than 48 hours continue, unless the parties
specifically agree otherwise.
Q-2: Is an
employee displaced under Section 1, electing to exercise seniority placement
beyond (30) thirty miles of the current reporting point, required to notify the
appropriate crew office of that decision within 48 hours?
A-2: Yes.
Q-3: How is
an employee covered by this Article hand1ed who fails to exercise seniority
placement within 48 hours?
A-3: Such
employee is assigned to the applicable extra board, seniority permitting,
pursuant to Section l (b) and subsequently governed by existing rules and/or
practices.
Q-4: How
long a period of time does an employee have to exercise displacement rights
outside the boundaries specified in Section 1{a)?
A-4: The
rules governing exercise of displacement rights as currently contained in
existing agreements continue to apply in this situation.
Q-5: What
happens if the employee notifies the Carrier that it is the employee's intent
to displace outside of the 30-mile limit then after 72 hours the employee is no
longer able to hold that assignment?
A-5: A new
48-hour period begins.
Q-6: Is it
intended that employees who fail to displace within 48 hours be assigned to an
extra list where local or system agreements prohibit such assignment due to
extra board restrictions and or seniority consideration?
A-6: See
Section l(c) of Article x.
Q-7: Is it
the intent of Article X to impose discipline on employees who fail to exercise
seniority within 48 hours?
A-7: No,
Section .1(b) provides that in these circumstances the employee will be
assigned tc the applicable extra board, seniority permitting. The employee will
then be subject to existing rules and practices governing service on such extra
board.