United Transportation Unions position

United Transportation Unions position

Section 6 Proposals served on the Carrier

November 1, 1994

Except as otherwise provided herein, effective January 1, 1995, the existing rules, agreements, interpretations or practices, however established, shall be amended to provide as follows:

ITEM - WAGES - APPLICATION OF PERCENTAGE INCREASES

1) (a) Mileage guarantees expressed in miles shall be increased proportionally to the basic mileage increases to the one hundred (100) mile basic day.

Example: 3,000 miles monthly guarantee will be increased to equal the miles encompassed in the daily rate - 130 miles basic day times 30 days = 3,900 miles in lieu of 3, 000 miles.

(b) All arbitraries, differentials, miscellaneous rates, special allowances, daily, weekly & monthly guarantees based upon hourly or daily rates of pay, including those expressed in terms of miles, shall be increased commensurately with the general wage increases herein provided.

(d) Existing money differentials above existing standard rates shall be maintained.

(e) In determining new hourly rates, fractions of a cent will be disposed of by applying the next quarter (1/4) of a cent.

(f) Wage adjustments shall be applied on the effective date of the Agreement. Retroactive payments will be made by separate check or properly identified if included in regular check.

(g) Wage rates resulting from the increases provided for in Section 1 of this Item 1, and in Section 1 (d) of Item 3, will not be reduced under Item 3.

Note: The provisions of this Agreement eliminate Section 2(a) (i) and (ii), the last sentence contained in Section 3 of Public Law 102-29, Attachment "A", Side Letter No. 12, dated November 1, 1991, where the UTU holds the contract for engineers.

2) Effective April 1, 1995, all basic daily rates of pay in effect March 31, 1995 shall be increased by the equivalent of 4 percent.

Effective October 1, 1995, all basic daily rates of pay in effect September 30, 1995 shall be increased an additional 5 percent.

Effective April 1, 1996, all basic daily rates of pay in effect March 31, 1996 shall be increased an additional 3 percent.

Effective October 1, 1996, all basic daily rates of pay in effect September 30, 1996 shall be increased by an amount equal to 3 percent.

Effective April 1, 1997, all basic daily rates of pay in effect March 31, 1997 shall be increased an additional 3 percent.

Effective October 1, 1997, all basic daily rates of pay in effect September 30, 1997 shall be increased by an additional 3 percent.

3) Effective April 1, 1995, mileage rates applicable to miles in excess of the basic day shall be increased in proportion to increases applied to the basic daily rates.

Effective October 1, 1995, mileage rates applicable to miles in excess of the basic day shall be increased in proportion to increases applied to the basic daily rates.

Effective April 1, 1996, mileage rates applicable to miles in excess of the basic day shall be increased in proportion to increases applied to the basic daily rates.

Effective October 1, 1996, mileage rates applicable to miles in excess of the basic day shall be increased in proportion to increases applied to the basic daily rates.

Effective April 1, 1997, mileage rates applicable to miles in excess of the basic day shall be increased in proportion to increases applied to the basic daily rates.

Effective October 1, 1997, mileage rates applicable to miles in excess of the basic day shall be increased in proportion to increases applied to the basic daily rates.

Notes: The provisions of this Agreement eliminate Section 2(a) (i) and (ii), the last sentence contained in Section 3 of Public Law 102-29, Attachment "A", Side Letter No. 12, dated November 1, 1991, where the UTU holds the contract for engineers.

In the event the parties are not in accord to the aforementioned schedule of increases being applicable to miles in excess of the basic day, the following schedule of increases shall be applicable to all mileage component jobs.

4) Effective April 1, 1995, all basic daily rates of pay in effect March 31, 1995 shall be increased by the equivalent of 4 percent.

Effective October 1, 1995, all basic daily rates of pay in effect September 30, 1995 shall be increased an additional 7.5 percent.

Effective April 1, 1996, all basic daily rates of pay in effect March 31, 1996 shall be increased an additional 5 percent.

Effective October 1, 1996, all basic daily rates of pay in effect September 30, 1996 shall be increased by an amount equal to 5 percent.

Effective April 1, 1997, all basic daily rates of pay in effect March 31, 1997 shall be increased an additional 5 percent.

Effective October 1, 1997, all basic daily rates of pay in effect September 30, 1997 shall be increased by an additional 5 percent.

ITEM 2 - WAGES - 401-K PLAN/PROFIT SHARING - STOCK PLAN

1) Growth participation: Establish a "gain-sharing" plan which allows UTU employees to share in the carrier's increased income levels.

2) Provide for the establishment of a 401(k) Pension Plan with Carrier matching employee contributions on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

ITEM 3 - COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT

Section 1 - Amounts and Effective Dates of Cost-of-Living Adjustments

(a) Cost-of living adjustments will be determined on the basis of the "Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (Revised series) (CPI-W)" (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 BLS Consumer Price Index. The first such cost-of-living adjustment shall be made effective July 1, 1995, based on the BLS Consumer Index for March 1995 as compared with the index of 251.9 for September 1994. Such adjustment and further cost-of-living adjustments will be made effective the first day of each sixth month the based on the change in the BLS Consumer Price Index during to respective measurement periods shown in the following table according to the formula set forth in paragraph (e) below.

Measurement Periods Effective Date

Base Month Measurement Month of increase

September 1994 March 1995 July 1995

March 1995 September 1995 January 1996

September 1995 March 1996 July 1996

March 1996 September 1996 January 1997

September 1996 March 1997 July 1997

March 1997 September 1997 January 1998

(b) Such cost-of-living allowance will apply to straight-time, overtime, vacations, holidays and to special allowances and arbitraries in the same manner as basic wage adjustments have been applied in the past.

(c) The amount of the cost-of-living allowance, if any, which will 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) (i) Effective as of June 30 and December 31 of each year, fifty (50) of the cost-of-living allowance then in effect will be incorporated into basic rates of pay for all purposes, and the cost-of-living allowance will be reduced by fifty (50) percent except as of March 31, 1998, one-hundred (100) percent of the cost-of-living allowance then in effort will be incorporated into basic rates of pay for all purposes.

(ii) If as of June 30 or December 31 of any year prior to the incorporation referred to in subparagraph (i) the amount of the cost-of-living allowance in effect should be an odd number of cents, the amount which will be rolled into basic rates of pay will be the number of whole cents next above fifty (50) percent of the amount of the cost-of-living allowance then in effect and the cost-of-living allowance will be reduced by that amount.

(e) Formula All compensation described in paragraph (b) will be adjusted to reflect the same percentage of increase or decrease (rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one (1) percent) in the BLS Consumer Price Index during a measurement period.

(f) The concept of a cost-of-living allowance as set forth in Public Law 102-29 shall continue in effect except that it shall be without offsets, caps or limitations. Such COLA shall continue beyond the moratorium of this agreement and shall be without caps, offsets, or limitations.

Section 2 - Application of Cost-of-Living Adjustments

In application of the cost-of-living adjustments provided for by Section 1 of this Item 3, the cost-of-living allowance will not become part of the basic rates of pay except as provided in Section 1 (d). Such allowance will be applied as follows:

(a) For other than yardmasters, each one (1) cent per hour cost-of-living allowance will be treated as an increase of eight (8) cents in the basic daily rates of pay produced by application of Section 1 of Item 1 and by Section 1 (d) of this Item 3.

(b) For Yardmasters, each one (1) cent per hour cost-of-living allowance will be treated as an increase of two dollars ($2.00) in the monthly rates of pay produced by application of Section 1 of Item 1 and by Section 1 (d) of this Item 3.

ITEM 4 - PROMOTION

Employees promoted or used as Conductor, Foreman, Engineer, Hostler, C.R.O., or Yardmaster will thereafter not be subject to the provisions of Article IV, Section 6 (Rate Progression - New Hires) of the October 31, 1985 National Agreement, and will be paid 100% of the established rates of pay and all arbitraries. Employees required or electing to transfer into another craft, including engine service, shall establish a guarantee equal to the average compensation of the previous twelve (12) months in which service has been performed prior to transfer. Nothing in this Section is intended to reduce the guarantee or payments received through other Agreement provisions.

ITEM 5 - LOCOMOTIVE REMOTE CONTROL/SCOPE RULE

The carrier(s) shall not enter into any agreement(s) with other labor organizations that provide for the following without the concurrence of the UTU:

1) The operation of remote control devices (black boxes).

2) Addition to or change in crew positions on trains or engines including, but not limited to, co-engineer positions.

Nothing in this provision is intended to change, modify, or alter the specific practices or agreement provisions between the parties regarding the scope of duties held by employees represented by the UTU. Nothing in this provision is intended to alter the line of demarcation as established by existing agreements and practices.

ITEM 6 - PROTECTION

Any transaction which conveys any Carrier tracks to another rail carrier or non-railroad party by lease, sale, trackage rights or abandonment and appurtenance thereto, shall entitle the employees represented by UTU length of service protection. Such protection shall be negotiated under the terms of Article XII of the January 27, 1972 National Agreement to cover, but not limited to, displacements and/or dismissal adverse affect, re-location, or as well as, comparable housing allowances. (Carrier, as referred to in this Section, includes all properties represented by the Committee(s) signatory hereto.)

ITEM 7 - HELD-AWAY-FROM-HOME TERMINAL

1) Train & Engine employees in pool freight, assigned and in unassigned service held at other than home terminal will be paid on a continuous time basis for the actual time spent so held after the expiration of ten (10) hours from the time relieved from previous duty. Pay will be on a minute basis at the rate per hour of one-eighth (1/8) of the daily rate paid them for the last service performed.

2) When called for service after pay begins, HAFHT shall cease at the time pay begins for such service.

3) When deadheaded after pay begins, HAFHT shall cease at the time the train or vehicle in which deadheading departs the terminal.

4) Payments accruing under this rule shall be paid for separate and apart from pay or subsequent service or deadheading.

5) Train & Engine employees deadheaded to an away-from-home terminal will be paid on a continuous time basis from the time relieved from deadhead duty. Pay will be on a minute basis at the rate per hour of one-eighth (1/8) of the daily through freight rate.

6) Upon return to the home terminal, an employee that qualifies for HAFHT payments may elect to receive a commensurate amount of time off duty between turns at the home terminal. Such time shall not be computed as off time or unavailable time for guarantee purposes.

7) Mandatory union approval on all lodging facilities.

ITEM 8 - NEW HIRES

1) Abolish all entry rates of pay.

2) Abolish entry rate for those employees with seniority on date of Agreement. - Shorter entry rate period for new hires with seniority after date of Agreement.

3) Training allowances for employees who must train new hires.

4) Upon promotion to Conductor or Engineer, or use as foreman or CRO, all new employees receive 100% of rate schedule.

5) New hires upon promotion to conductor, engineer or use as foreman or CRO will receive the same benefits & arbitraries payable to protected employees.

The requirement contained in Article XIII, Section 4, Items 2 and 3 of the October 31, 1985 National Agreement that Trainmen/Switchmen who established seniority on or after November 1, 1985 must accept promotion to engine service or forfeit seniority in train/yard service is eliminated.

ITEM 9 - TRAINING NEW EMPLOYEES

1) A training Agreement will be negotiated on the individual properties prescribing working conditions and compensation for new employees including a training allowance for employees working on a crew with a trainee.

2) Establish guidelines on a National Basis.

3) Option to accept National Guidelines or negotiate different conditions on a trial basis.

ITEM 10 - ENGINE SERVICE

1) The carrier shall meet with Chairperson(s) on the individual properties for the purpose of developing a procedure whereby trainmen entering or holding engine seniority shall maintain the right to exercise seniority in train or engine service at any time without losing seniority in any craft.

2) Provide for pre-1985 differential to include all arbitraries on a daily basis.

ITEM 11 - INTERDIVISIONAL SERVICE

Improve Article IX, Section 3 (e) of the 10/31/85 National Agreement to increase the $1.50 "no-stop" allowance to $8.00 with future wage and COLA increase to be applied.

ITEM 12 - VACATION

1) During a calendar year in which an employee's vacation entitlement will increase on the anniversary date, the employee will be permitted to schedule the increase, and all or part of the previously earned vacation, to start anytime between January 1 and December 25.

2) Allow 3 weeks' vacation for 7 years' service, 4 weeks' vacation for 14 years' service, 5 weeks' vacation for 20 years' service, and 6 weeks' vacation for 25 years' service.

3) Yardmaster vacations will be paid at 1/52nd previous years earnings or current rate of pay, whichever is greater.

ITEM 13 - LOCOMOTIVE STANDARDS

Provide for UTU input regarding the purchasing and maintenance of locomotives.

ITEM 14 - SICK LEAVE

A plan under which the Carrier shall provide sickness and/or accident benefits supplemental to those provided under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act entitling each employee temporary disability indemnity of not less than eighty (80) percent of the adjusted basic daily rate for the last service performed for a minimum period of twelve (12) calendar months.

ITEM 15 - HOLIDAYS

1) Increase the number of paid holidays to include Martin Luther King's birthday, employee's birthday, and Veteran's day.

2) Any UTU craft employee that does not currently qualify for either holiday pay under the UTU National Holiday Agreement, or personal leave days under various system agreements will come under the provisions of and qualify for holiday pay under the National Holiday Agreement.

ITEM 16 - BEREAVEMENT LEAVE

Add the following to existing agreement: Grandfather, Grandmother, Grandson and Granddaughter, Step-son and Step-daughter, Brother-in-Law, and Sister-in-Law.

ITEM 17 - OFF-TRACK VEHICLE ACCIDENT BENEFITS

Update the monetary benefits of Article XIII - Off-Track Vehicle Accident Benefits of the August 25, 1978 National Agreement to today's standards.

ITEM 18 - SENIORITY ACCUMULATION

Employees accepting positions in engine service will be required to pay dues to the UTU in order to continue to accumulate seniority as a conductor, trainman, hostler or hostler helper. Employees who accept positions in engine service electing not to pay dues to the UTU will no longer accumulate conductor, trainman, hostler and/or hostler helper seniority.

ITEM 19 - MISCELLANEOUS

1) PAY FOR INSPECTING UNITS: Employees whose duties require servicing, inspecting and/or cleaning unit(s) commensurate with their tour of duty, shall be allowed one (1) hour yard rate.

2) Three (3) days paid leave when involved in a crossing or pedestrian fatality; also relieved from duty at the time of the occurrence and deadheaded to home terminal under pay.

3) Any employee covered by FRA certification and is decertified shall be allowed to exercise any seniority, including minor positions, which is not covered by the reason of decertification.

ITEM 22 - SAVINGS CLAUSE

Any Committee that has an agreement in place that is identical, similar or in conflict with any provision contained herein, may elect to retain their current agreement upon notification of the Carrier.

ITEM 23 - MORATORIUM

1) Settlement of National Wage & Rules Notices to be effective only upon settlement of local notices on each individual property.

2) Contract shall remain in effect until January 1, 1998.