Here's What Happened at the Meeting on Monday, January 21, 2002

Meeting opened by the President with Brother Haney filling in for the President in due form.

Members present: D St John, R Etienne, D. Haney, B. Knowles, T. Jacobs, L. Weed, G. Bryson, H. Bailey, R. Huelle.

Minutes of previous meeting read. No corrections made. Motion to accept by Brother Weed, seconded by Brother Knowles. Motion passed.

Budget Committee: Brother Haney reports we had no meeting and are still working on the budget for this year.

Legislative Chairman: Brother Knowles reports. The State chairman Mr. Ricci has been working hard for a bill for fatigue will get a number as soon as we get it. We will need to get calls out when it gets to a vote. Forms will be posted for fatigue or bad call issues please fill these out.

Finances: Presentation of current status made by sec/tres. Current membership is 109 plus one trainman. The current balances of accounts were discussed and several questions were asked from the floor. The bills due for payment were presented and discussed. Motion to pay the bills by Brother Bailey, seconded by Brother Weed. Motion passed.

Local Chairman: The following topics were discussed:

1. 7-3 change proposal. Proposed changes to take care of possible out of town the 1^st day. Instead of a restricted day, engineers will have a floating 72 hours, that starts when you get back in town. This will help eliminate sharp shooting for staying in town.  It will also help eliminate loss of time if called for work just before cycle starts. Cycle days snap back to regular cycle after days off completed, so you may have less working time between next cycle. There would be an automatic lay off (if not notified of the employees' desire to keep working) between the hours of 0001-0530. Employees would need to watch the time they were laid off, and return to the board at the same time to prevent an additional loss of a guarantee day. More will be out later, and the members will get a chance to vote on the proposal.
2. OE. Jobs back on. OE Pool back to 2 turns. Will implement new OE agreement soon. Waiting for UTU me too.
3. Black Box. UTU has agreement for black boxes. Carriers will start using them soon. The carrier was granted a court order to prevent a strike. We will have to wait and see.
4. A-Card education. Our UTU brothers need to know what an A card is, and what it will mean if they are asked to sign one. Talk to our UTU members and explain. Don't be confrontational, just informative. It's not their fault their international is doing what they are doing. Each trip, talk to the other members of the crew and explain that these things are a very real possibility:

• There is an open section six that could easily be amended to ask for only one schedule since there would be only one craft.
• Possibility of one seniority roster.
• Possibility of only one vacation roster.
• One extra board.
• One person in the cab.

5. Dues assessment. What does it mean? How long? If the petition to the NMB is not successful, there will be no assessment. If we fail at the NMB, the fight is on. The assessment will be re-evaluated each month to see if it is needed. Remember, what is your craft worth to you?
6. What does single craft mean to us? Open section 6. Can be amended for one agreement. Possible one schedule. One vacation roster. One seniority roster. One extra board. One person in cab.
7. Attendance Guidelines. Carrier is starting to get tough again. Document lay-offs that are out of the ordinary. If you have a conference with the carrier, make a note of what was said and give it to this committee. We all need to be active in protecting our jobs.
8. Peer Support. Have list to give to carrier. Will get proper training for those on list. Will notify them when it is time for training.
9. Boot policy. Carrier original letter states "Oct. 1". Carrier is going back 12 months from date of purchase to see if you have any other purchases. If you bought a pair of boots and were charged for them, be sure to give this committee documentation for claims. Spread word to others about this policy. Carrier doesn't care about safety, only cost of boots. We may have a claim based on the carrier's inability to give concise instructions to the employees.
10. CBT tests. News test very hard. Need documentation as to improper questions. Please keep me informed.
11. Vacation changes. Bids for premium weeks will be put out when any are available. Non-premium weeks can be changed on request.
12. Local conversion for flips. Do not claim "claim local rate account trip under 100 miles". This is not valid. Same 3 ways to convert to local rate as SP&S. 3 moves between initial and final terminal. Aggregate time of over 1hour 30 minutes for moves. Perform station switching. When claiming conversion, state "claim local rate acct. performed station switching at ______ from _______ to _____".

There were several questions from the floor.

Motion to close by Brother Bryson, seconded by Brother Knowles. Motion passed.

Here's What Happened at the Meeting on Monday, February 18, 2002

The following items were discussed at the meeting:

Extra board amendment: An amendment is going to be voted on at the next regularly scheduled meeting on March 18, 2002. Those unable to attend may submit their vote in writing to either the local chairman, or the secretary-treasurer (Dennis St. John). This can be done by mail or by e-mail.

This side letter will effect a change in the 7-3 rest cycle board that will allow the following:

• Allows for the possibility of working into your rest days without any loss of off time.
• Will allow an automatic lay off on rest days (if chosen) between 0001-0530 if you are called to work.
• Will eliminate the "restricted day" before the rest cycle.
• 72 hours off (if chosen) will be given following the tie up time. Early markups remain available. The work cycle will be shortened to snap back to the regular cycle days for the next cycle.
• There will exist the possibility of going out of town the day before the rest cycle is to start.
• If automatically laid off early, you will need to make sure you are marked up at the same time to prevent any additional loss of guarantee
• Sharp shooting for in town assignments will cease.

Ops Testing: The carrier has cited an employee for not saying "in between", even though the entire crew was standing on the ground within 15 feet of each other, and they were the only crew on duty at the time. This shows the intent of this rule is strictly an enforcement issue, and not a concern for safety. Be careful out there. The tone is set from the new regime. There is no longer a kinder gentler management team running the division.

Vacation Changes: There are still no premium weeks open for bid on vacations. When they become available, they will be posted.

A Cards: The BLE is still waiting for a ruling from the NMB. Depending on how that turns out, if and when the UTU comes on the property to collect A cards, we need to make sure each of the UTU people we work with are aware of what signing an A card means. Be sure to talk with your crews at each opportunity and explain that signing an A Card means they elect to become a single craft. If they still want to sign this, and become a single craft, that is their right. We need to make sure they are educated in exactly what it means to be a single craft. One agreement, one vacation roster, one extra board, one seniority roster etc. 

The special dues assessment has been suspended after 2 months. We will keep you posted on what's happening.

Remote Control: The UTU International was in such a hurry to cause harm to the BLE they rushed into an agreement with the carriers that allows the ground personnel to maintain control of the black box. Unfortunately, when the dust settles, BLE members will be on the ground and we will still have control of the black box. UTU members will be unemployed thanks to their international. There is a court injunction issued that prevents any BLE member from going on a work stoppage. Be careful! At this time, BNSF plans to start remote control in 2 locations; Kansas and North Dakota. The Organization is preparing for an arbitration hearing. We will keep you posted as more becomes available.

Peer Support: Peer Support volunteers have been picked, and will attend a peer support training meeting on February 21. Those in attendance are; CE Gonzales, PG Patterson, AD Ferguson, WC Barnes, RE Huelle, JP Johnson, DL Haney HS Bailey JD Bennett, RE Etienne, JL Schollmeyer Jeff McHenry and Chris Borne. We appreciate each of you in taking on this valuable necessity.

New OE Agreement: The new OE agreement with Sunday, Monday cycle rest days takes effect on March 4, 2002. It will work the same as the extra board cycle. The employee may or may not elect to take the days off. It affords those who want off time the opportunity to take it.

Conversion to Local Rate on Flips: Be sure to put the station times in your comments to ensure payment for local rate.

Ditch Lights: Do not let the carrier make you leave your initial terminal with a burned out ditch light (where a repair facility exists). This is a violation of federal regulations.

Complaints: Make sure you leave a copy of any complaints or unsafe condition reports to this committee. This way we make sure we have copies of all issues.