Holiday Pay.
Labor Relations' stand on Holiday Pay is as follows:
Under the 1964, and 1969 National Agreement, an extra engineer must have 11 yard starts, or qualifying starts of 100 miles or less in the previous 30 days, in order to qualify for the 100 mile holiday pay on a holiday. They further insist that even if you work a qualifying job on the holiday, but do not have the 11 qualifying starts in the previous 30 days, you will be paid straight time for that shift on the holiday. This is because he carrier is also taking the stand that if you do not qualify for the holiday, you do not qualify for the time and one-half either. Thus, straight time only. This means, that while the rest of the crew is receiving time and one-half, plus the 100 mile holiday allowance, you, dear extra engineer, will be working for straight 100 mile time.
This will
also apply to any engineer who works the following:
Rules on a yard job over the holidays, but doesn't have the qualifying starts. This includes if the carrier blanks the job for the holiday, and you do not work. Zip, nada, zilch.
Becomes the regular engineer on a yard job, but doesn't have the 11 qualifying starts in the previous 30 days. Ditto on the job being blanked. No pay at all.
Has been on vacation; It then goes by what did you work the trip before you went on vacation.
Has been off injured, jury duty, sick, etc.
Has ruled onto another job that was not a yard job, but then came back prior to the holiday. Then the 11 previous qualifications apply.
Their basis for this interpretation is:
The 1964 National agreement stated that 11 yard starts in the previous 30 days was needed to qualify for holiday pay. This also applied to extra boards restricted to yard service only.
The 1969 National Agreement changed the wording to delete "extra boards restricted to yard service", and made it "combination extra boards".
A couple of board awards dating back to 1979, where the neutral upheld that the employee working another, other than yard job requested holiday pay.
Because they can.
Because they want to.
Because the RLA allows them to.
The reason why we will prevail is:
Historical past practices show a pattern of payment over the past 30 years allowing an extra board engineer working a yard job on the holiday to be compensated at the holiday rate.
There are over 10 board awards upholding "historical past practices".
The fact that eventually, a carrier officer with a higher intellect will step in and realize that the reason they have no employees on any extra boards during any of the holidays is because it is beyond comprehension to think anyone would be available to work on any holiday when they knew they would be paid less than the prevailing rate, or even, the crew they are working with.
VICTORY
In March, 2000, AVP Labor Relations Milton II. Siegele and the BLE General Chairmen agreed that when an engineer works on the holiday, he/she would be entitled to overtime (time and one half) for the time worked whether he/she qualifies for Holiday Pay (additional 100 miles) or not.
Instructions have been sent out to timekeepers.