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UTU 298 BALLOTS SENT OUT FOR MERGING OF COMMITEES
Brothers & Sisters,
This is to advise you that you will be receiving ballots in the mail regarding the merging of our Committees (49A – Conductors & 49B – Engineers).
A motion was made and then passed to send ballots out to the membership in order to merge Committees’ 49A and 49B. The merger, if ratified by the membership, will take effect January 1, 2011. The merger will not change the way our local represents the membership; if anything it will help us grow, by allowing more of our leaders to take on more responsibilities without sacrificing all their time.
The change will also allow our two separate funds to be consolidated into one. The consolidation of funds will allow all expenses to be paid from one fund instead of two. I don’t have to tell you that managing one fund is less work than managing two.
With the above said, the current Local Committee of Adjustments’ (49A/49B) are in full support of the merger and we hope you share the same vision. We ask that all members take the time to vote, whether they vote for or against the merger.
As always, let democracy prevail!
Fraternally,
Jamie Modesitt
UTU-E LC 298
North Baltimore Yard To Be Switched By UTU
General Chairperson John E. Lesniewski announced today that the B&O General Committee has negotiated a series of four (4) agreements dated June 24, 2010 giving our UTU trainmen the work in the new North Baltimore, Ohio, CSXI facility being constructed (contingent upon passage of the tentative Northern Mid-Atlantic Agreement). This is a HUGE victory for our members and this Committee since most CSXI facilities in recent years have been contracted to a short line carrier (possibly non union) to switch. In fact, in this case also all preliminary data and presentations depicted the Evansville Western Railroad as performing the switching at the Northwest Ohio (NWO) facility.
Hopefully these agreements will set a pattern for the future.
Copies of the Northwest Ohio (NWO) Agreements governing the factility at North Baltimore, Ohio, may be viewed here.
Tentative Northern Mid-Atlantic Coordination Agreement Reached
The UTU B&O General Committee, along with the former Conrail Northern District General Committees, have reached a tentative agreement in settlement of the December 2, 2009 Coordination Notice served upon us by CSXT to form a new seniority district, under a single agreement, to be known as the Northern Mid-Atlantic Seniority District. This Agreement was reached to satisfy the terms of the New York Dock provisions relative to reaching an implementing agreement governing the coordination notice. The most important thing for our membership to remember is that we will remain in National handling and this is not the Agreement wherein you should anticipate wage increases, Health & Welfare, entry rates and other issues related to National handling to be addressed. That tentative Agreement, when it is reached, is yet to come! Nevertheless, after reading the information and the agreement provided, you will find several enhancements to the B&O Schedule Agreement that we believe you will find most agreeable.
As with any new agreement, there will be many questions and answers. If possible, we encourage all Local 298 Members to attend the June 14th union meeting at the RR Inn for any questions or concerns that need answered.
For a synopsis of the tentative agreement click here.
FRA proposes permanent cell-phone ban
The Federal Railroad Administration is moving to make permanent an October 2008 emergency order restricting the use by on-duty train crews of cell phones and other electronic devices.
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published Tuesday, May 18, in the Federal Register, indicating a final rule, supplanting FRA Emergency Order No. 26, is to go into effect not prior to a 30-day public comment period. The comments will be used by the FRA to make adjustments to the proposed final rule.
Until a final rule is in effect, the FRA’s Emergency Order No. 26 will remain in force. Read more.
CSXT Submits PTC Implementation Plan
Released: May 11, 2010
CSXT has submitted its Implementation Plan for positive train control (PTC) to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), detailing an ambitious schedule to roll out the new technology across the network.
The Plan describes how PTC will be deployed between now and the December 31, 2015, deadline. PTC will be installed on 3,600 road and local locomotives, starting this year. Approximately 10,300 wayside devices in both signaled and non-signaled territory will start being installed in 2011.
The goal is for the PTC system to become active on approximately 16,300 track miles (representing about 76% of the CSXT network), starting with the pilot installation in 2012.
As part of the Implementation Plan, CSXT set annual goals for the number of locomotives to be equipped with PTC by the end of each calendar year between now and 2015. Similar annual goals were established for the number of track miles to become active or cutover as well.
In addition, the Plan spells out goals for the percentage of operative PTC equipped trains running on cutover PTC territory annually. CSXT previously submitted a development plan, outlining the technical aspects of the PTC system, to the FRA for review and approval.
The Implementation Plan is subject to FRA approval. FRA has 90 days to review the plan.
“Our project team has worked very hard to create Development and Implementations Plans that put CSXT on the right path to achieve a PTC system that will implement the requirements of the Rail Safety Improvement Act by the end of 2015,” said Frank Lonegro, president of CSX Technology and leader of the PTC team. “I commend everyone involved for their commitment to keeping the project on time and on budget, while determining how to introduce PTC as smoothly as possible to our rail network.”
The pilot installation will occur on the Aberdeen and Andrews subdivisions in 2012. After that, the overall rollout will take place in eight phases.
The PTC team’s next FRA submission will be the PTC Safety Plan, which will explain how CSXT’s PTC system described in the Development Plan will be safely tested and applied on the CSXT network. It is expected to be provided to the FRA in stages, beginning later this year.
LOCKER UNDERSTANDING
Click here for to view a letter concerning the final settlement of outstanding locker claims, from John Lesniewski, along with a self-explanatory Understanding regarding future locker requests. We have listed some key points below:
· The Agreement will become effective on December 14, 2009.
· If you have no locker, a request must be made in writing to the Terminal Trainmaster (email is acceptable). Note: include your LC.
· If a locker is not provided within 30 days, a 2 hour penalty claim should be submitted for each day that a locker is not provided.
· Use con code “NL” for locker claims.
A Locker Request email template is provided here for Trainmen and here for Engineers. The template contains instructions and information on all individuals the request should be directed.
Click here to view the CSX/BLET Locker Understanding.