Here's What Happened at the Meeting on Monday, July  21, 2003

Meeting opened by the President in due form.

Members present: D St John, R. Etienne, R. Balkowitsch, T. Reddish, T. Jacobs.

Minutes of previous meeting were read. Motion to accept as read by Brother Jacobs seconded by Brother Reddish. Motion passed.

Reports of Committees:

Finances: Presentation of current status made by sec/tres. Current membership is 107 plus two trainmen. The current balances of accounts were discussed with questions asked from the floor. The bills due for payment were presented and discussed. Motion to pay the bills by Brother Reddish, seconded by Brother Jacobs. Motion passed.

Brother Reddish presented a power point presentation regarding the Safety Participation half of the Alternative Handling Agreement. It was discussed among the members. Terry is the BLE Safety Coordinator for the NWE Division.

Local Chairman: 

0700 am Vacation markup Agreement: Back in 2001, this division voted in an 0700 am vacation markup agreement. Due to the carrier's inability to implement this agreement with the exalted TSS, it was placed on hold. Finally, Crew seems to think they have a handle on it (hah), so, this agreement was modified to a small degree to accommodate some special circumstances in other areas. Therefore, this agreement was sent out to the divisions for another ratification. This agreement was discussed and voted on. The vote was unanimously for ratification. Therefore, this division will send word to the GCA advising them that we have voted to accept the 0700 am vacation markup agreement. We will inform the division of the inception date as soon as we find out. To see a copy of this agreement, click here.

Upcoming safety marathon was discussed. Topics will include Heat exhaustion; crossed drawbars, industry ops testing; unsafe condition reports; West Nile Virus; and other items.

New terminal supt:We are in line for a new Vancouver Terminal Supt. Mr. Anderson is going back to Engineering in Northern California.

New system general order on using PDA's and Laptops. Please familiarize yourselves and comply.

Empowerment: Remember you have the right to empower yourselves. Please don't let yourselves be bullied into unsafe acts.

Isolating for HPT: Be sure to do so. The two biggest offenses on BNSF at this time are getting injured and wasting fuel. Please remember that you are being tracked in everything you do, and how you operate.

Missing Calls/Laying off on call: The carrier is holding investigations for these events. Please ensure you are available and ready for work when you are marked up. Don't be one of those cited for this offense. Carrier is getting pretty steamed over the increase in these offenses.

NetSim: Netsims are coming to Vancouver, probably in August. It will go where the old CBT room was.

TVA's: Crew is having problems with TVA capabilities. Please be aware of the A-700 rules, and don't let the carrier buffalo you with erroneous information and their interpretation of the rules. If you are denied a TVA, please document the event and forward to this committee. Remember, without documentation, there can be no recourse. Also, please remember to allow the job to go to the XBD for the first 7 days. Days off don't count unless the layoff occurred prior to the days off.

Ops testing in indursties: The carrier has informed us that they will begin ops testing for rules compliance in industry and stub tracks. Please remember that the ground person is required to stop you at least 150 feet from the end of the track, get down, and precede the movement on foot to protect the shove. Our obligation is to comply with car counts, stopping in 1/2 the range specified. The carrier will not use banners in the yard tracks where crews are kicking and shoving cars, but you may expect them on yard to yard shoves, and industry spots. Please protect yourself. Comply with car signs and don't move without proper car counts.

Rules Test: Please be sure to take your rules test prior to the due date to ensure payment. There seems to be a problem getting paid if the test is taken late.

The floor was opened for discussion.

Please list unsafe acts or conditions. If you don't write it up it isn't unsafe. Carrying a camera is in your own best interest. You can document anything with this prior to their cleanup or obstruction of the facts.

Motion to close by Brother Reddish, seconded by Brother Jacobs. Motion passed.