ARTICLE 21

CAR RETARDER OPERATORS

Applicable to Car Retarder Operators employed at Atlanta, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Knoxville, Tennessee; and other points where Car Retarder Operators may be employed in the future:

A. Eight (8) hours or less shall constitute a day's work.

B. 1. Except when changing off where it is the practice to work alternately days and nights for certain periods, working through two shifts to change off, or where exercising seniority rights from one assignment to another, all time worked in excess of eight hours' continuous service in a 24- hour period shall be paid for as overtime, on the minute basis, at one and on-half times the hourly rate.

2. Actual time on the minute basis at overtime rates will be allowed for service performed by a CRO on a succeeding shift when the operator assigned to or filling the position on the succeeding shift fails to report at the fixed starting time. If the regular employee reports late and relieves the employee working through, the regular employee will be paid only for the actual time worked on a minute basis. Time consumed in making turnover or transfer shall not be counted as overtime.

C. 1. A separate seniority roster of CRO's will be maintained at each yard where CRO's are employed.

2. Qualified CRO's at each yard as of June 16, 1971 shall have their names listed with their present seniority date and in seniority order on the CRO roster.

3. For the purpose of securing additional qualified personnel to fill the positions of CRO, the Carrier shall promptly offer to each yardman the opportunity to train and qualify as a CRO. Any such employee desiring to train and qualify as a CRO shall so indicate in writing on a form to be made available by the Carrier of his desire to do so within 45 days from the effective date of this Agreement.

4. The Carrier shall make suitable arrangements whereby each employee who has indicated his desire to train and qualify as a CRO shall be given the opportunity to do so, such opportunity being given to those applying in seniority order. Such training and qualification shall be under the supervision of employees working as CRO's and such Carrier officers or supervisory personnel as the Carrier might direct and shall consist of not less than four hours' training on each of not less than 15 separate shifts in yard service. When an employee has completed such period of training and is certified as competent to perform the duties of a CRO by at least two employees holding seniority in that craft, he will, if approved by the Superintendent of Terminals or his designated representative, be given a seniority date as CRO which shall be the same as his seniority date as a yardman.

5. When all employees who have properly indicated their desire to train and qualify as CRO's under 3. above have been either qualified or disqualified for service in that classification, thereafter, employees who make written application to train and qualify as CRO's shall be afforded an opportunity to do so as provided in the paragraph next above, but shall be given a seniority date as CRO corresponding to his date of approval as CRO by the Superintendent of Terminals.

6. Any yardman now holding an official position with the Carrier or the UTU or any yardman not actively engaged in yard service during any part of the 45 day period referred to in Paragraph C.3., who thereafter returns to active yard service and desires to qualify as CRO, may do so by giving notice in writing to the Carrier within 15 days of such return. He will be given an opportunity to qualify as CRO in the same manner set out in this Paragraph C. and, if qualified, will be given a seniority date as CRO which shall be the same as his seniority date as yardman.

D. 1. A yardman who acquires a seniority date as CRO under the provisions of this Article will be required to protect that seniority within five days of the date of his approval as CRO by the Superintendent of Terminals, i.e., he will be required within said five days to exercise his CRO seniority and displace any junior employee working as a CRO on a regular or regular relief assignment; if he fails to protect his CRO seniority, he shall forfeit it.

2. Any qualified CRO who fails to protect his seniority as CRO when he is available and stands for service as CRO shall forfeit his CRO seniority.

3. A regularly assigned CRO will be permitted to exercise his seniority rights as CRO by displacing a junior CRO on January 1 and July 1 of each calendar year.

E. PERMANENT VACANCIES

1. When a permanent vacancy occurs in a position of CRO, it will be bulletined as such for a period of five days. At the expiration of the bulletin period it will be assigned to the senior regularly assigned CRO bidding on the position.

2. During the five day bulletin period, the permanent vacancy may be claimed by the senior regularly assigned CRO making application for same. If not claimed, the job will be filled during the bulletin period as a temporary vacancy under Paragraph F.

3. If no bid is received from a regularly assigned CRO on the permanent vacancy advertised under E.1., the senior qualified employee, unassigned as CRO, will be assigned to the vacancy. If the senior unassigned qualified CRO is not available for service, the next senior available qualified employee unassigned as CRO will be assigned to the vacancy, but the senior qualified employee unassigned as CRO will be required to fill the vacancy when he becomes available.

4. A regularly assigned CRO who is off for any reason during the bulletin period will have the right, after he marks up for service, to exercise his seniority to the bulletined job, provided he does so before performing any service.

F. TEMPORARY VACANCIES

1. During the first three days thereof, a temporary vacancy on a position of CRO will be filled by the senior available qualified employee who stands for service as a regularly assigned yardman on the shift on which the temporary CRO vacancy occurs and has eight hours to work under the Hours of Service Law.

2. If a temporary CRO vacancy cannot be filled under F.1. during the first three days, the first qualified CRO reached in order on the Extra Board who has eight hours to work under the Hours of Service Law will be used to fill the vacancy.

NOTE: If there is more than one qualified CRO on the Extra Board, each with eight hours to work under the Hours of Service Law, a qualified CRO who has not made five straight time days in the work week will be called in order and used in preference to the qualified employee who has made five straight time days in the work week.

3. A temporary CRO vacancy after a period of three working days may be claimed by a regularly assigned CRO making application for the vacancy prior to the fourth day who will hold the vacancy until the regular CRO reports. If not so claimed, the senior qualified employee, unassigned as CRO, will be assigned to the temporary vacancy on the fourth day and will hold it until the regular CRO reports. If the senior qualified unassigned CRO is not available for the vacancy on the fourth day, the next senior available qualified employee unassigned as CRO will be assigned to the vacancy but the senior qualified employee unassigned as CRO will be required to fill the vacancy when he becomes available.

G. CRO's will report and be relieved at the CRO tower.

H. CRO's will arrange their lunch period so as not to interfere with the operation of the hump. If it should become necessary to perform any operation during lunch period, CRO's will be prepared to do so, without penalty.

I. A change in off days or a change of 30 minutes or more in the starting time of a regular CRO assignment shall constitute a change in conditions and CRO's affected shall have the right to exercise their CRO seniority.

J. The provisions of the following rules of the respective agreements between the Carrier and its yardmen are hereby incorporated within this Agreement by reference and shall be applicable to CRO's.

This page last updated: March 02, 2005