Final reminder: Deadline for online collective bargaining survey is April 30

CLEVELAND, April 21 — BLET members still have the chance to participate in the online survey the National Division is conducting to prepare for the upcoming round of national contract negotiations.

Two-thousand members were randomly selected to participate in a written survey, and that deadline was April 15. However, members have just over a week to participate in an identical online survey, which seeks their input on a variety of issues related to the national contract.

Labor contracts or collective bargaining agreements do not expire under the Railway Labor Act, but become amendable at the end of their term. The current BLET National Contract was ratified in June of 2007, and the wage increases were retroactive to July 1, 2005. Part of the 2007 National Agreement was a standard moratorium clause under which the parties agreed not to seek any changes for a defined period of time. The National Agreement becomes amendable on January 1, 2010, and the parties agreed in 2007 that notices can be served 60 days before the Agreement becomes amendable.

The 2,000 members chosen for the random survey are not eligible to participate in the online survey.

The survey is located on the BLET website at:
http://www.ble-t.org/survey

Access to the online survey is password protected. Those interested in participating can use the same password they normally use to enter the Members’ Area of the BLET website. A registration area for those who do not have a password is provided at the link above. Those who don’t have a password must register using their seven-digit membership identification number (found on the mailing label of the monthly Newsletter) or their Social Security Number and their date of birth.

“I thank those who completed the written survey, which will help to shape our bargaining goals for the upcoming round,” BLET National President Ed Rodzwicz said. “Also, thanks in advance to those who will participate in the online survey in the coming days.”

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

BLET Triennial elections coming soon

CLEVELAND, April 22 — Triennial elections for BLET Divisions will be held later this year, with nominations being held at each Division’s first regular meeting in September.

To be nominated or to nominate anyone for a division election you must have paid your dues for 24 months prior to the election. This includes all dues — National Division dues, General Committee of Adjustment dues, Division dues and State Legislative Board dues.

In other words, only members who have 24 months of consecutive good standing may be nominated to run for office. This means a member must have paid full dues to any BLET division from August 2007 through August 2009.

However, there is an exception. Those in active duty in a reserve component of the military or the National Guard for a period lasting more than 30 days but not more than 24 consecutive months are not required to pay dues to maintain their continuous good standing.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Constitution provides that members are eligible to run for election only if they are “in continuous good standing . . . and actively employed in the craft . . . for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months prior to the month of nomination” (IBT Constitution, Article II, Section 4(a)(1)).

In general, “continuous good standing” means the timely payment of dues for each of the twenty-four months during the applicable period together with no interruptions in active service during that period.

If you are a Division Secretary-Treasurer, you will also serve as an election official for your Division. A package of election material, including a booklet titled “On The Right Track,” will be mailed to you in the near future.

Should you have any questions, please contact the BLET National Division, Office of the National Secretary-Treasurer.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

North of Waycross, Georgia on either CSX or NS track.
Evidently this railroad’s motto is “bridges, we don’t need no ‘stinkin’ bridges.” These photographs were taken from the head end of a train whose crew was ordered to go across a bridge that is about 100 feet long, normal standing about 30 feet above the river bed (the bridge is there: you just can’t see it because of the height of the flood waters).
I would think this situation would call for empowerment.

Run-through Balance Report

Run-through: SELIGMAN
Checking Period: 02/01/09 thru 02/14/09

Read more »

Guys,

There is a new key function in the extra board view. PF5-Compr will compress the view. Once on the compressed view, PF5 Expand will go back to the original screen.

Chris