September & October 2007 Minutes

September 2007

Here's What Happened at the Meeting on Monday, September 17, 2007

Meeting was opened by President in Due Form.

Members Attending – R. Etienne, T. Jacob, , S. Cordes, Dave Haney, Terry Reddish, Manual Madrigal, John Blau, Jeff McHenry, Mike Cousineau, Robert Hill, William Pellens, Ron Edgar, R. M. Burns, Kelly Taylor, Ron Moore, Robert Pratt.

Minutes of the August meeting were read. Motion to accept by Brother Haney and seconded by Brother Madrigal. Motion passed.

Finances – We currently have 118 members. Secretary made presentation on current finances. The bills were presented for payment. Motion by Brother Reddish to pay the bills, seconded by Brother Jacobs. Motion passed.

A secret ballot is taken for a dues increase and will be counted by Brothers Haney, Jacobs and Sister Kelly.

Local Chairman – National Contract – Section 11 will go into effect Oct 3, 2007. GCA is looking into back pay issues, don’t know how long it will take. Back pay on profit sharing is delayed due to the original back pay being messed up. This problem was a complete surprise to everyone, we all relied on the figures submitted to us by the National Division.

Back pay on Road Switchers – New rates are being issued soon on the NP road switcher rate of pay, these rates are being tested now and will be published soon. As soon as we get them, we will let everyone know what they are.

Faulty Pay on the Camas turn- Currently there is also an issue with our Camas Turn, this is the only SP&S road switcher we have. They been shorting the job 15 miles a day for years and no one brought it to our attention until recently, hopefully we can get back pay for at least a year, we’ll keep everyone informed.

Dues Increases – We’ve talked about a dues increase for 2 month. We’ve only discussed a dues increase to cover this years increase, however last month, it was mentioned that next year there will be another dues increase due to our getting a raise. Based on our rate of increase, the National dues will go up approx $1.40, the GCA will go up another $1.00. Currently, the National dues have increased $2.32, the GCA dues have increased $1.00 and the local was looking to propose a dues increase in the amount of $1.68 for a grand total of $5.00.

Another option is to ask for a dues increase of $8.00 to be in position for the upcoming dues increase or to increase one now and then one later. A 2/3 majority will be needed for passage.

New deadhead symbol for short turn service to or from Wishram is now code 90010 instead of 90050.

Information for payroll – When you work an assigned job, you need to do an FE to let the timekeeper know when you deadhead to or from Wishram in order to get paid properly, the timekeeper doesn’t see anything other than your ticket. This goes as will for Wishram flips, you need to do an FE to let him know why you are claiming 192.2 miles.

We can’t pick and choose how we are going to claim pay for a flip to Wishram, you have to run the miles off before OT can start. Playing fast and loose can subject someone to charges of dishonesty and this is a dismissible offense.

Article 11 of On property Agreement. – Now is the time to bring up all your questions on the Bid/Bump rules that will be going into effect Oct. 3. The reason for the delay is due to the ineptness of the carrier to implement anything right the first time.

FML & The Lawsuit – Carrier admits they’ve lost the FML battle. For some reason they keep paying the day to the employee, they recently sent out a news letter to employees who have FML, advising them they will continue to pay the compensated days. Be sure to fill out a special claim asking for a basic day if they do this to you.

WPO’s – We’ve had several presentations about WPO’s, there are some plus sides to these, they are:

-They are non punitive
-All data is generic and no jobs, times, or dates are used
-May use day or night for accounting purposes
-This will give us the ability to hone in on bad practices that can lead to injuries or death
-No ops testing in whatever category of observations we are doing
-It’s all completely blind, no identification process at all
-When trends or patterns are seen, marathons can zero in on those areas

These are done by members while doing their ordinary duties and can only benefit our employees.

Car Insurance When Deadheading – There is no law requiring a certain amount of liability on the part of contract drivers. It’s a good idea to have your own car insurance “stacked” with a high amount of insurance to cover yourselves in the event of being hurt in an accident. You can “stack” under-insured and no insurance. The cost is small when compared to not being able to pay your bills when hurt.

FELA is “fault based”, this means you need to show fault. If the accident is caused by the contract company, the carrier can claim they did nothing wrong, this puts the liability on the contract company.

If the accident is caused by some other driver, the contract company can say they did nothing wrong and this then puts the liability on the other driver. What if he/she doesn’t have insurance, or not enough?. Stacking your own insurance would take care of the problem. Check it out with your insurance company. It may be worth it.

The vote count was presented before the membership and was greater than 2/3 vote for an $8.00 increase.

Motion to close meeting by Brother Haney, seconded by Brother Reddish. Motion passed.

Meeting adjourned at 1453.

October 2007

Here's What Happened at the Meeting on Monday, October 15, 2007

Meeting was opened by President in Due Form.

Members Attending – R. Etienne, T. Jacob, Dave Haney, Jeff McHenry, Robert Pratt, Ron McCartney, K. L. Huelle, R. E. Huelle, Skip Barnes.

Minutes of the August meeting were read. Motion to accept by Brother Haney and seconded by Brother Madrigal. Motion passed.

Finances – We currently have 116 members. Secretary made presentation on current finances. The bills were presented for payment. Motion by Brother Haney to pay the bills, seconded by Brother Huelle. Motion passed.

Local chairman:

Bid Bump rules – Things seem to running good, LRC PREs have been a problem over the weekend. If you get called during the night on the morning your rest cycle is starting, be sure to let your rep know.

Be sure to keep an eye on your engineer bid sheet. With all the moves for vacations, you may get a job you don’t really want.

Claim Code WL – When claiming code WL, be sure to tell the timekeeper what time you got to the motel. WL pays time less the first 30 minutes after arriving at the motel also claim code FE to let them know.

If you tie up at the motel, be sure to let the timekeeper know this by an FE. Some engineers don’t think they need to do FE to get paid properly, but history shows you get paid sooner and properly more often than not if you do an FE.

More Back Pay – Carrier’s web site is now saying December for the re-gross of the back pay, retro profit sharing will also be paid then.

Back pay on Road Switchers – New rates have been established on the NP road switcher rate of pay, when we get them we will pass on the you.

Article 11 of On property Agreement. – Any questions. Please be sure not to let your bump expire before using it. If you have any problems with the lay off between 0001-0730, let your rep’s know.

FML & The Lawsuit - Keep filling out a special claim asking for a basic day if they pay you a compensated day’s pay when you take FML.

Claims – All claims require a working ticket, delay report and 816 for the period in which the decline happens. A copy of the declination and an explanation of what happened is also necessary. 60 days is the time limits for working a claim. If this committee has to play email or phone tag to get the info, time may run out before the claim is worked. It’s your money, if you want the money, you’ll provide the paperwork.

Motel Lodging – Late stories of waiting for rooms at the motel in Pasco keeps trickling in, It doesn’t do any good to say something days and weeks after it happens, we need timely info when this happens. Voice mail, text messaging and email, the word should get out pretty quickly.

RCO Eyes & Ears – Please keep and eye out to make sure RCO operators are doing their job as specified. Don’t confront them just get the info – Date, time, engine #, Location and employee if possible, Let the rep know and we will deal with this issue. Watch for RCO operators sitting in the engineer seat or operating in conventional mode and watch for pitch and catch.

Vacation Request – Please fill out a vacation request form and turn it in, either leave it in the box or fax it, but not both. Don’t enter bids in the computer. Please be as plain as possible when filling out the forms. Allocations will be put in soon.

WPO’s – We’ve had several presentations about WPO’s, there are some plus sides to these, they are:

These are done by members while doing their ordinary duties and can only benefit our employees.

Motion to close meeting by Brother Haney, seconded by Brother McCartney. Motion passed.

Meeting adjourned at 1420.