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Despite the March 2, 2007 decision of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirming the FMLA victory for rail labor (including the UTU) rendered by U.S. District Court Judge Wayne R. Andersen on December 28, 2005 in the case of BMWE - vs. – CSXT, CSXT continues to charge our brothers and sisters with paid personal leave and vacation (both daily and weekly) for time taken off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
District Court Judge Andersen’s “Declaration” on December 28, 2005 stated:
“The FMLA does not allow employers to violate pre-existing contractual obligations. If CBA provisions grant employees the right to determine when, or in what manner, they utilize certain types of paid vacation and personal leave, those CBA provisions prevent employers from substituting such leave for FMLA leave.”
A timeline has been provided by CSXT payroll relative to implementation of new wage rates under the UTU National Agreement. That timeline can be accessed here. Items in brackets were entered by the General Chairperson Lesniewski to illustrate that the $2500 offset for combination engineer/trainmen who received $2500 under Article 2 of the BLET SSA only applies to retroactive wages earned between July 1, 2005 and the effective date of the BLET SSA, April 25, 2007, under an Agreement his office signed with the Carrier. Train service retroactive pay earned after April 25, 2007 will be paid to these combination engineer/trainmen regardless of whether the full $2500 bonus payment under the BLET SSA has been worked off or not.
Available here also, as a reminder, are letters dated June 16, 2008, relative to the $2500 bonus payment received by some of our combination engineer/trainmen employees, and June 23, 2008, regarding optional deferral of a portion of the employee’s back pay to their 401K account.
As the result of ratification of the current UTU National Agreement the General Committee office has entertained numerous questions regarding retroactive back pay from members who worked in both train and engine service, and received a $2500 Signing Bonus under Article 2 of the BLET Single System Agreement. These questions emanate from the fact that Article 2 of the BLET Agreement on CSXT specified that employees receiving the $2500 bonus would not be entitled to “…a second signing bonus payment, lump or retroactive payment, under a different Collective Bargaining Agreement, unless that payment exceeds the bonus…”
While the UTU is not contractually bound by the content of a BLET Agreement, the General Committee would be doing our members a disservice if we chose to ignore the above contractual provisions. The reason is simple. If the UTU were to insist on full train service back pay for a trainman/engineer who received the $2500 bonus, we could actually be costing the member money. As an example, if a member earned $1700 in train service back pay since July 1, 2005 under the UTU Agreement, the Carrier would make that $1700 payment under the UTU Agreement as demanded; then inform the BLET they are going to recover the $2500 previously paid under Article 2 of the BLET SSA because under the BLET Agreement an employee could not receive both payments. As a result, under that example, the employee would lose $800 instead of gaining anything.
The tentative UTU National Agreement has been ratified by a resounding majority of 15,313 out of 18,076 votes cast, representing a nearly 85% of those voting. A link to the UTU International website article containing the details of the election conducted and tabulated by the American Arbitration Association can be found here.
The Agreement is anticipated to be signed by July 1, 2008; with retroactive back pay checks on CSXT (back to July 1, 2005) now scheduled to be dated and received by members on August 29, 2008.
(The following article was published by the Railroad Retirement Board in June 2008):
New Benefit Year for Railroad
Unemployment and Sickness Benefits
A new benefit year under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act begins July 1, 2008. Administered by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), this Act provides two kinds of benefits for qualified railroaders: unemployment benefits for those who become unemployed but are ready, willing and able to work; and sickness benefits for those who are unable to work because of sickness or injury. Sickness benefits are also payable to female rail workers for periods of time when they are unable to work because of pregnancy and childbirth.
The following questions and answers describe these benefits, their eligibility requirements, and how to claim them.
1. What is the daily benefit rate payable in the new benefit year beginning July 1, 2008?
For Immediate Release U.S. Railroad Retirement Board
Benefit Rate Increase for Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Benefits
The maximum daily benefit rate payable for claims under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act increases to $61 from $59 in the new benefit year, which begins July 1, 2008. Benefits are normally paid for the number of days of unemployment or sickness over four in 14-day registration periods, so maximum benefits for biweekly claims will total $610.
The FRA has issued a "reminder" notice to all railroad Alcohol/Drug Program managers related to the anti-smoking drug "Chantix". A copy of that notice can be found here.
The DOT/FRA's concern for possible side effects (seizures, dizziness, heart irregularity, loss of consciousness, vision problems, diabetes, etc.) from use of Chantix is evident, so General Chairperson Lesniewski has stated he wouldn't be surprised to see at the very least mandatory oversight of persons using this drug in the railroad industry, if not an outright ban against using it while on or subject to duty. The Federal Aviation Administration has already banned the drug for pilots and air traffic controllers.
Further information on this subject can be found on the UTU International's website link here.
On April 1, 2008, V. M. Speakman, Jr., Labor Member of the U. S. Railroad Retirement Board, released dates and locations for RRB informational conferences currently scheduled for calendar year 2008. Anyone who is looking forward to retirement, or simply seeking additional information regarding unemployment benefits and eligibility, sickness benefits and eligibility, or any other Railroad Retirement Board related issue should consider attending one of these informational conferences. The schedule of conferences is attached here for all those interested. Registrations begin at 8:00 AM on the date of the conference, with the programs beginning at 8:30 AM and ending at 12:30 PM.
In the very near future each of us, as members of the United Transportation Union, will be called upon to cast a ballot for ratification of the proposed National Agreement. In an effort to assist the membership in understanding the content of the proposal, the General Committee Officers will be in attendance at meetings throughout the area under our jurisdiction as indicated on the schedule here of meetings denoting the date, time and location.
Included on the bottom of the schedule are additional informational conference dates scheduled by the International and/or the NS UTU General Committee(s) where B&O General Committee members have graciously been invited to attend also. Meetings are open to all UTU members regardless of Local membership affiliation.
It is imperative that as many members as possible be in attendance at the meetings to understand the seriousness of the vote, as well as, the content of the Agreement. The scheduled meetings are very tight in time due to the impending vote and distribution of the Agreement which should commence some time around the middle of May 2008.
