What the hell are Trip Flip
Rates ?????
Here is our Local Chairman, Brian Bresnick of UTU
1252, to hash over some items about Trip Flip Rates
TRIP FLIP RATES
In the past few days the
company has began to pay Bakersfield Trip Rates in two separate categories:
Trip Rate and Flip Trip Rate. To help alleviate concerns and hopefully answer
your questions, I will
attempt to explain it. I realize that my explanation won’t satisfy everyone,
and there may be some unhappy individuals. If you don’t understand, or have
questions, please call and ask me, and I will explain as best as I can. Or you
can call the General Chairman, at 1-714-836-9181 for his explanation. The
issue is not completely resolved and the General Chairman and I are still
working on it. The company however, will continue to pay Flip Trip Rates. In the
mean time the union is conferring to decide if the issue should be taken to the
Dispute Committee.
What is a Flip
Trip Rate? To explain this, I thought it would help to provide some history and
background.
Pre 1985.
Before 1985,
there was no clear language in any National Agreement the stipulated the
combining of a Deadhead and a Service trip. If the carrier did so, the Union
took exception to it, and submitted penalty claims.
1985 National Agreement
When the 1985
National Agreement was negotiated and subsequently sent to the Presidential
Emergency Board, one of the items that were passed was Article VI Deadheading.
This article did two things; created parity in deadhead rates between pre 1985
and post 1985 employees, and established the right for the carrier to combine a
deadhead and service trip. Section 1(a) states:
“Deadheading
and service may be combined in any manner that traffic conditions require, and
when so may be combined employees shall be paid actual miles or hours on a
continuous time basis, with not less than a minimum day, for the combined
service and deadheading. However, when deadheading from the away-from-home
terminal to the home terminal is combined with a service trip from such home
terminal to the away-from-home terminal and the distance between the two
terminals exceeds the applicable mileage for a basic day, the rate of pay for
the basic day mileage portions of the service trip and deadhead shall be paid
at the full basic daily rate.”
The first part of that
paragraph simply states that when you deadhead form Fresno to Bakersfield and
return to Fresno on a train, without having a break in service, the trip can be
combined and paid on a continuous basis, not to be less then the miles ran,
which is 216 miles.
As far as I can
tell from talking with may individuals this practice has not been done on a
regular basis. The standard practice was to deadhead, tie up at the
away-from-home terminal, work a train back to home terminal, and tie up, being
paid two basic day trips at 130 miles basic day. I have also checked with the
past General Chairman Jack Holden, and past General Secretary, Dave Bessom, to
ensure that there were no local agreements that pertained to this. They are
aware of none, but said that as part of the 1985 agreement the company had the
right to implement the combined service. So the question remains, why didn’t
they. Unfortunately I don’t know.
The second
paragraph of Section 1(a) which starts, “However,
when deadheading from the away-from-home terminal”, is confusing to
both the General Chairman and myself as to exactly what it means. To compound
that Section 1(b) of Article VI reads:
“Employees
deadheading into their home terminal can have their deadheading combined with
service out of that home terminal only when the deadhead and service comes
within the provisions of short
turnaround service rules”.
I interpret
this to read that deadheading combined service can only be done from the home
terminal to the away-from-home terminal, not both directions. I have asked the
General Chairman to have that part of Article VI, Section 1(a) and 1(b)
interpreted by the International, and determines what it means.
2001
When negations
began on the 2002 National Agreement, the issue of deadhead-combined service was
talked about between the Company and the Union, and how it would be paid under
the proposed trip rate. On other railroads, such as Union Pacific, Northern and
CSX, trip rates were already in effect, and a term had been coined to cover
deadheading in combined service; Flip Trip Rate.
The agreement
was ratified by the membership and the birth of Trip Rates was here. I have
looked in the 2002 Agreement and cannot find mention of Flip Trip Rates, and how
they will be applied in any portion of Part B – Through Freight Service. These
are the articles that pertain Trip Rates. However, in the Question and Answer
portion of the agreements having to pertain to Trip Rates, I find the following:
Simply stated,
if you are called to deadhead in combined service, you will be paid on rate,
(Flip Trip Rate) for the entire time you are on duty.
This is when I
met with the General Chairman, Butch Young, and the Director of Labor Relations,
Roger Boldra, to discuss the Trip Rates figures for the 1st District
Pool Service. The company chose the year 1991 as a basis for obtaining data
about or pool runs. It was explained how the various pay elements were
incorporated into the trip rate, and what other elements we could choose to add,
if we so chose to. The subject of Flip Trip Rates came up and I asked what it
was. It was explained to me, as I have explained it in this narrative. I
informed Roger Boldra that we didn’t deadhead in combined service on the 1st
District, that instead we were paid separately for each trip. Roger showed me
the data he had, and it did in fact show that during the year 1991, one person
was paid for deadheading in combined service, and therefore the company thought
we did it all the time. At that time Roger excepted my position that since there
is only one instance if deadheading in combined service, it was out of the
ordinary, and not a true reflection of how the 1st Division operates.
At that time it was no longer discussed.
When I returned
form my meeting, I compiled data to show the membership how Trip Rates worked,
and how they compared to the old pay scale. Nowhere in any of the documents I
put out did I mention Flip Trip Rates, because I thought it was a dead issue.
Before the
implementation of Trip Rates on the 1st Division I was part of a
conference call that included the General Chairman, Crew Management, and
Timekeeping. In that call we discussed the Trip Rates once more to ensure that
all parties were on the same page. Timekeeping at that time brought up the issue
of Flip Trip Rates, and I informed them of the discussion that I had with Roger
Boldra. The General Chairman also said the same thing, and again the issue was
dropped.
That me month a
System General Notice came out discussing Trip Rates and when they will begin.
Once again Flip Trip Rates were discussed, and I assured everyone that we
didn’t have those, because I was under the impression, and assurance form the
Director of labor Relations that we wouldn’t have Flip Trip Rates.
During this
time crews who, under the guise of the 1985 National Agreement, were actually
deadheading in combined service, were paid to separate and equal Trip Rates.
Things were good.
All hell breaks
loose. The company decides to enforce Article VI, Section 1(a) of the 1985
National Agreement, and started paying those individuals who were deadheading in
combine service, and calling it Flip Trip Rates. Not only that but timekeeping
considered necessary to have 4 hours off, even if you were at the hotel, to be
paid two separate Trip Rates.
April 2004
During this
month and still continuing, I have had two conference calls with labor Relations
concerning Flip Trip Rates and why they were implemented 9 months after we began
Trip Rates. The answer I was given by labor Relations was that under the 1985
National Agreement they had the right to deadhead crews in combined service,
which is what they are doing. Personally, I think that someone saw how much was
being paid each start when a crew deadheads, which is higher now then last year,
due to the post 85 employees being paid a full deadhead.
The monetary
figure for a Flip Trip Rate is $283.77, which is basically 216 miles (actual
miles of a round trip), plus the elements that were rolled into the Trip Rates
(yard runaround, Initial and Final Terminal Delay, etc.). As you can see, this
is roughly a pay difference of $70.00 when you are paid two separate Trip Rates.
I explained this to Labor Relations, each time a little more forcefully, and as
a jester of good will on the side of Labor Relations, they increased the amount
to $304.22. Bless their hearts.
Needless to
say, I discussed this with the General Chairman, that the company was going to
keep paying Flip Trip Rates regardless what we say, since they have the right to
deadhead us in combined service. The General Chairman and I agreed to the amount
of $304.22 to be paid for a Flip Trip Rate. I realize this is still
approximately $50.00 less then what you were getting paid, but until we can
resolve this issue, it’s better than what was being paid.
So where does
that leave us. If you are called to deadhead to Bakersfield and work back on a
train, without going to the hotel,
then you are considered as working in combined service and will be paid
a Flip Trip Rate. Noticed I underlined
the part pertaining to going to the hotel. The company considers combined
service being busted if you go to the hotel. I understand that someone in
timekeeping was using 4 hours as a minimum time to be in the hotel, but Labor
Relations says otherwise.
Having this
situation blow up, I researched the issue as much as possible and found some
interesting and helpful information. The first comes from the 1985 National
Agreement, Question and Answers document, which is separate from the actual 1985
agreement. It states:
So,
if you are called to deadhead from Calwa to Bakersfield the crew office must
inform you that you will be working in combined service. If, when you get to
Bakersfield you are instructed not to go to the hotel, but instead to take a
train back, then you were mishandled. Therefore I want you to put a special
claim in using code 73 and write it as follows:
Claim
130 miles account crew office failed to notify me that I was to work in
combined service. I was called for deadhead on symbol _____ and upon arrival
at Bakersfield was notified that I was to work train _______ back to Calwa
without a break in service.
When
you deadhead to Bakersfield it is the responsibility of the Train Master to
notify you that you are to work back. This is where we all need to come together
and think with are head not wallet. Quit asking the Train Master if they have a
train to work on. Instead, tie up, explain the remarks section, “not notified
of train to work back on, tied up and went to hotel”.
I expect that
once we do this, the company will catch on and institute something to stop it.
Having realized this, I have asked the General Chairman to attempt and have some
time limitation put in place that a crew can sit in the terminal waiting for a
train.
The second
thing I found has to do with Initial Terminal Delay. When deadheading in
combined service, Initial Terminal Delay doesn’t end until you take charge of
the train at the point you deadheaded to. This is addressed in the Question and
Answer Agreement of 1985 and states:
This was taken
to a First Division Board and the Neutral ruled in favor of the Union.
Subsequent Board awards have also ruled for the Union and have used the First
Division Award as precedent. This means that the company is going to have to
check which trips in 1991 were, under the definition of deadheading in combined
service, were just that. Then they will have to compute how much Initial
Terminal Delay was earned, and add that into the Flip Trip Rate. How much it is,
I don’t know, but I believe it will be substantial. As to whether the carrier
will agree to re-compute the figures, again I don’t know. If they don’t I
will request from the General Chairman that the issue be sent to the Dispute
Committee for consideration.
I realize that
my explanation will not satisfy most of you, and that is understood. If you have
any questions please ask me. As things change I will post it on the bulletin
board in the yard.
Thanks,
Brian