Burlington Northern Santa Fe General Committee

Rule 62 covers bereavement leave on the BNSF. The existing terms date back to at least the 1972 BN agreement. The rule provided 3 consecutive eight hour work days of leave for the loss of covered family members. The former ATSF agreement only provided 3 consecutive calendar days for bereavement, which was inferior to the BN rule.

BNSF Hiring and Attrition

The BNSF signal department is slowly improving its staffing shortages. While they continue to have difficulty recruiting new employees and retaining those they already have, the year-to-date numbers support the fact we are seeing some improvement. Thus far in 2023, we have lost a total of 41 members to retirement (14), resignation (25) and dismissal (2).

BNSF Rule 46H and Rule 48E Allowance

As indicated in Rule 46 H, “the daily allowance for employees assigned to mobile crews, while working on their home seniority district, will be adjusted semiannually on June 1st and December 1st.” The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October 2022 was 872.767 and the April 2023 CPI was 886.847.

2023 YTD Discipline

If you are a frequent reader of this newsletter, and we hope all members are, then you are familiar with the customary discipline analysis article we publish. The purpose of the biannual article is to identify trends, both positive and negative, and inform all members. This is done with the hope of preventing future occurrences.

July 1 GWI Increase

As a reminder, effective July 1, 2023, all BNSF and KCS members will receive the fourth of five total general wage increases for the 2020-2024 agreement. On that date, all hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly rates of pay shall be increased in the amount of four (4) percent. Please inspect your pay stubs accordingly and notify the committee if any discrepancies are detected.

Certification for Signalmen

As Grand Lodge recently announced, certification regulations for Signalmen have moved into the rule making phase and are open for public comment. Despite what was stated in the FRA’s summary report, we are told the BRS Grand Lodge has not been adequately consulted in this process.

BNSF Meal Per Diem Agreement

For as long as this author can remember, we have had a constant battle with the Carrier over the proper interpretation of the phrase “actual and necessary” where meal expenses are concerned. The Carrier has consistently been the lunchroom bully that tries to take meal money away from members.

The daily per diem rate for KCS will increase by 4.536%. The March 2023 Consumer Price Index was 881.755 and the March 2022 Consumer Price Index was 843.495. Therefore, effective July 1, 2023, the daily Travel Allowance rate per Rule 59 (KCS) will adjust as follows: 0 – 300 miles, $28.30 per day will increase to $29.58 per day. >300 miles, $38.60 per day will increase to $40.

MRL Winter Boot Lawsuit

Near the end of 2022, the non-operating coalition of Unions on the MRL, including the BRS, formally objected to the MRL’s failure to purchase winter boots for employees. That dispute culminated in a BMWE led lawsuit filed against the MRL.

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BRS Efforts to Obtain Emergency Sick Leave

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the lack of sick leave afforded our members, the Organization attempted to get out in front of the impending certainty coming our way – infections and/or exposure quarantines of our members.

Download:

GCA Letter to Carl Ice Re COVID-19 (3-16-2020) (1).pdf

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BRS Efforts to Obtain Emergency Sick Leave

GCA Letter to Carl Ice Re COVID-19 (3-16-2020) (1).pdf

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Local 156 Meeting
Sep 23, 2023
Di Napoli's Firehouse 1358 E. Main Street Barstow, CA 92311

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Sep 30, 2023
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Local 33 Meeting
Oct 21, 2023
Ottawa, KS (TBA)

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