ARTICLE 10

The following is applicable to assignments classified as road switchers.

A. The following rules will not be applicable to conductors and trainmen working on assignments designated as road switchers:

1. The "Local Freight Guarantee" rule - Article 3.E.1. (Road Switcher Guarantee - Article 3.E.4. is applicable)

2. The "Initial and Final Terminal Delay" rules - Article 7

3. The "Car Scale" rule - Article 3.D.

4. Lapback Rule - Article 11

B. A regularly assigned five or six day road switcher crew working less than the respective five or six days per week will be guaranteed 100 miles per day for each of the respective five or six days of its assignment, except for day or days where the line is broken through the Act of Providence or as provided in this Article 10, Paragraph H.

C. Crews on road switchers may be required to operate back and forth over the territory within the limits of their assignment, and into and out of the tie-up points, as well as the points established as the limits of their assignments, as many times as desired, even though the tie-up point and the points established as the limits of their assignments are the home terminal and/or the away-from-home terminal of crews on the seniority district in which they are working, without additional pay or penalty pay therefore, any rules in the agreement to the contrary notwithstanding. In other words, when so operated as herein described, employees on road switchers will be entitled to pay on a continuous time miles or hours basis in accordance with the provisions of Article 3.A. and will be allowed overtime in accordance with the provisions of the "overtime" rule, Article 3.C.

NOTE: If the Carrier desires, it may change the tie-up point and/or the limits of road switchers, at will, but so long as an assignment continues to devote the major portion of its time on duty to the performance of switching, as was being done by such crew as of October 15, 1968, they will be considered road switchers and allowed pay under the provisions of this rule.

D. Nothing herein shall be interpreted as establishing road switchers as a different class of service within the meaning of Article 3.F. Other road crews in the same seniority district may perform any of the switching that is performed by road switchers at any time, but they will not be entitled to pay at the road switchers' rate or to penalty pay of any type because of performing such work. This shall not be interpreted to mean that other road crews will not be entitled to pay at local freight rate, if earned, under the provisions of Article 23.

E. Nothing herein shall be interpreted as prohibiting the Carrier from discontinuing one or more of the runs which are designated as road switchers.

F. None of the rules and/or working conditions of the Agreements in effect between this Carrier and its yardmen are applicable to employees engaged in road switcher service.

G. 1. Road switchers may be assigned either five, six or seven days per week.

2. When assigned five or six days per week, the assignment may begin on any day of the week.

H. REDUCTION IN WORK WEEK

1. Carriers with road switcher or similar operations, mine run or roustabout agreements in effect prior to October 31, 1985 that do not have the right to reduce six or seven-day assignments to not less than five, or to establish new assignments to work five days per week, shall have that right.

2. The work days of five-day assignments reduced or established pursuant to Paragraph H.1. of this Article shall be consecutive. The five-day yard rate shall apply to new assignments established pursuant to Paragraph H.1. of this Article. Assignments reduced pursuant to Paragraph H.1. shall be compensated in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph H.3.

3. If the working days of an existing road switcher as described in Paragraph H.1. are reduced under this Article, an allowance of 48 minutes at the existing straight time rate of that assignment in addition to the rate of pay for that assignment will be allowed. Such allowance will continue for a period of three years from the date such assignment was first reduced. However, such allowance will not be made to employees who establish seniority in train or engine service after October 31, 1985. Upon expiration of the three year period described above, the five day yard rate will apply to any assignment reduced to working less than six or seven days a week pursuant to this Article.

NOTE: In the application of Paragraph H.3. of this Article, it is understood that if a Carrier without a pre-existing right to reduce a seven day assignment described in Paragraph H.1. to a lesser number of days reduces such an assignment to six days per week, the 48 minute allowance will be payable to employees on the assignment whose seniority date in train or engine service precedes October 31, 1985. If the Carrier reduces the same assignment from seven days to five, an allowance of 96 minutes would be payable.

Conversely, if the Carrier had the pre-existing right to reduce a seven day assignment described in paragraph H.1. to six days per week, but not to five days, and reduced the seven day assignment to six days per week, no allowance would be payable. If it reduced the assignment from seven days to five days, an allowance of 48 minutes would be payable.

4. The annulment or abolishment and subsequent re-establishment of an assignment to which the allowance provided from above applies shall not serve to make the allowance inapplicable to the assignment upon its restoration.

I. Applicable to H&NE

All assignments will be classified as road switchers and will be governed by the provisions of this Agreement applicable to road switchers.

This page last updated: March 01, 2005