Holiday Shutdown Plan
Below is the Christmas Holiday Lay In Plan that was sent to me by the Asst. Div. Superintendent. As always, things on the railroad are subject to change.
Outbound
156 - 3am - Run on 24th. Annulled on 25th
108 - 4am - Run on 24th. Annulled on 25th
131 - 6am - Run on 24th. Annulled on 25th
16T - 11am - Run on 24th. Annulled on 25th
154 - 3pm - Annulled on 24th. Run on 25th
178 - 5pm - Annulled on 24th. Run on 25th
345 - 7pm - Annulled on 24th. Run on 25th
339 - 1130pm - Annulled on 24th. Annulled on 25th
26A - Annuled on 24th. Run on 25th
29K - Annulled on 24th. Annulled on 25th
28J - Run on 24th. Run on 25th
29S - Annulled on 24th. Annulled on 25th
355 - Tie down in Birmingham
394 - Tie down in Birmingham
Deadhead Home
Chatt to Birmingham departs at 7pm on 24th.
Meridian to Birmingham departs at 12pm and 3pm on the 24th.
Atlanta to Birmingham departs at 1pm on the 24th
Yard Jobs
AB02 - Working 24th. Annulled 25th
AB17 - Working 24th. Annulled 25th
AB01 - Working 24th. Annulled 25th
AB03 - Working 24th. Annulled 25th
18UAB - Working 24th. Annulled 25th
AB07 - Working 24th. Annulled 25th
AB21 - Working 24th. Working 25th.
AB30 - Working 24th. Working 25th.
AB20 - Working 24th. Working 25th.
AB22 - Working 24th. Working 25th.
AB29 - Annulled 24th. Annulled 25th
AB26 - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th
39UAB - Working on 24th. Working on 25th
AB41 - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th
AB48 - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th
AB40 - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th
AB42 - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th
59UAB - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th
East End Locals
A19 - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th
A46 - Working on 24th. Annulled on 25th
A64 - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th
A25 - Working on 24th. Annulled on 25th
Finley Yard Jobs
AB09 - Working on 24th. Annulled on 25th
AB10 - Working on 24th. Annulled on 25th
AB14 - Working on 24th. Annulled on 25th
AB27 - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th
AB45 - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th
A05 - Annulled on 24th. Annulled on 25th
AGS Locals
A54 - Working on 24th. Annulled on 25th
A52 - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th
A44 - Annulled on 24th. Annulled on 25th
A39 - Working on 24th. Annulled on 25th
A40 - Annulled on 24th. Annulled on 25th
A37 - Working on 24th. Annulled on 25th
A58 - Annulled on 24th. Annulled on 25th
A56 - Working on 24th. Annulled on 25th
A55 - Annulled on 24th. Working on 25th.
December Update
- 2025 Local Safety and Service Committee Applications
Each year, new employees are selected from each territory to be a representative on the LSSC. Follow THIS LINK to submit your application and view more info about the roles of an LSSC member. Applications will be accepted until 11:59pm on Dec. 31. and new members will be chosen before the January LSSC meeting. Note: All employees are welcome to submit an application, not just SMART members.
- Holding Board System Malfunctions -
There have been recent instances of pool turn employees getting a confirmation message when electing to go to the Holding Board, but the system not actually displaying that status on the Mainframe. After electing to go to the Holding Board in CrewPro, please double check that the status next to your turn also says that you’re on the Holding Board. If it doesn’t, please contact the Call Office and report the issue. If you find yourself in a situation where you should be on the Holding Board, but are getting called to work, transfer to the caller, tell them that you should be on the Holding Board and that they can see the Holding Board request in your Work History (giving the date and time that you submitted the request will help them find it). If they continue to insist that you have to take the call, ask them to transfer you to the on-duty supervisor.
I’ve talked with the Chief Caller about the technical issues and about the callers being dismissive of T&E employees, and he assures me that IT is working on the technical side, and that he will have conversations with callers to ensure that they understand the new holding board options and that they aren’t dismissive.
I’ve also made a SSP ENHANCEMENT QUCK REFERCE GUIDE for your use when trying to figure out which options are available to you, and how to elect them in the CrewPro App. This guide can also be found in the Resources section of this website.
Note that some options available to you must be submitted within 15 minutes of tie-up, so be sure to submit the relevant requests in a timely manner.
- Unavailable Taxis Leading to Limbo Time -
Due to recent cuts in the number of available PTI vans, crews have been getting an increasing amount of limbo time while waiting on a ride from the train to the washroom / hotel. The Union would like to bring this issue to the FRA, but we need documented cases to do so. Please report any instance of this happening to your Local Chairman, including the date, train symbol, the time you began waiting on a ride, the time the ride arrived, and how much limbo time was a result of the delay. Note: only report limbo time issues that are a direct result of having too few PTI vans.
- Extraboard Employees Being Called Out of Order -
I’ve been made aware of several recent instances of extraboard employees being called and asked by a trainmaster to work locals when the employee is not 1st out on the extraboard. Know that this action is not condoned by the Union. Local supervision should not be picking and choosing who gets to work and who doesn’t. The proper procedure is that vacant positions should be filled by the 1st out extraboard employee. If you are called by a supervisor and asked to work a local, you should tell them that the 1st out extraboard conductor should be called, then inform the Local Chairman of any such request so that a conversation about proper procedures can be had with Supervision.
- Accumulated (Roll-Over) PL Days Causing Forfeiture of Guarantee Payment -
The Union and Company have met recently to discuss Accumulated PL days causing Conductor’s Extraboard Guarantee Payments to be forfeited. The SMART Guarantee Extraboard Agreement states that any employee will not forfeit their guarantee if they are observing compensated leave. The Company’s stance is that Accumulated PL days should only be for payment of the accumulated PL days and not used for approved time off. The Union will continue to pursue this matter. CLICK HERE to view the correspondence between the SMART General Chairman and Labor Relations. I will update further when I have more information.
In the interim, extraboard conductors should keep this in mind when taking accumulated PL days. Until this is resolved any PL days from the current year will allow you to maintain your guarantee payment, but any mark off by using an accumulated (roll-over) PL day will result in your guarantee being forfeited.
On a related note, I’ve heard a lot of misinformation regarding PL days floating around, so I want to clear the air. PL days no longer have to be denied in order for them to roll over to next year. Due to the 2023 On-Property Agreement, any unused PL day will automatically roll-over to the following year.
- Brake Test Blitz -
We have been informed by the FRA that they will increase the number of brake test inspections to ensure that all railroads are complying with federal regulation. Please continue to perform the required brake tests when building your train or picking up cars at industries and outlying points. If you have any uncertainty about the required brake test, ask a supervisor, or perform a class 1 to cover yourself.
October Update
- 2025 Tentative Agreement -
Today, Thursday October 24th is the last day to vote on the Tentative Agreement.
Ballots for the 2025 Tentative Agreement (TA) have been mailed to all SMART members for a vote. SMART members should have received the ballot by mail and through a text message. Voting will be allowed until Thursday, Oct. 24th at 5pm ET. Only SMART members are allowed to vote. Some of the more recent members may not have been in the system in time to receive a ballot.
A copy of the TA can be found HERE, or a copy of the TA is also included in the ballots.
One thing that I think hasn’t been made clear in the discussions surrounding this TA, is that if this agreement passes, Norfolk Southern is locked out of one man crew negotiations before 2030. If this TA fails to pass Norfolk Southern would have the right to serve notice that they would like to implement one man crews, forcing us into negotiations. The TA failing to pass would also most likely mean that the negotiating process will start from scratch, going to the traditional national negotiating process under the Railway Labor Act, which would take an undetermined amount of time to complete, delaying any potential wage increases until an agreement is reached and ratified. For context, the last round of national negotiations took nearly 3 years.
Other than that, the TA includes the following:
WAGE INCREASES
17.5% wage increase (18.75% compounded)
July 1, 2025 - 4.0%
July 1, 2026 - 3.75%
July 1, 2027 - 3.5%
July 1, 2028 - 3.25%
July 1, 2029 - 3.0%
VACATION CHANGES
All new hire employees will get a week of vacation.
Since New Hire Employees won’t be able to schedule a week of vacation in prior Oct./Nov., they will receive individual vacation days, prorated depending on the month in which they are promoted:
January/February - 7 days
March/April - 5 days
May/June - 4 days
July/August - 3 days
September/October - 2 days
The number of vacation weeks each employee is awarded will be changed to accrue additional weeks of vacation 2 years earlier:
0/1 Year - 1 week
2 Years - 2 weeks
6 Years - 3 weeks
15 Years - 4 Weeks
23 Years - 5 Weeks
HEALTH AND WELFARE
Coverage for dependents of deceased employees will extend through the end of the 6th month following the employees’ death.
Vasectomies will be covered by insurance
Annual Maximum dental benefit will be increased from $1500 to $2500
Annual Maximum Orthodontic benefit will be increased from $1000 to $2500
Vision frame benefits will be increased from $115 every 2 years to $250 every 2 years.
Employees who opt out of health coverage will receive $200 instead of $100 per month
Single employees will be able to pay a reduced-rate that has higher deductibles and higher out of pocket maximums
If you have any questions about the Tentative Agreement, or about how the agreement process works, please don’t hesitate to call any of your Local Chairmen. We’d all be more than happy to answer any questions, or explain any of the processes.
- Reduced Insurance Premiums -
Regardless of how the TA is voted, insurance premiums will reduce from $309.21 to $277.54, effective Jan. 1st, 2025.
- 2024 Holiday Party -
The 2024 SMART Local 622 Holiday Party will be Thursday, December 5th 6pm - 9pm at Ferus Artisan Ales 101 Beech St Suite111 Trussville, Al
- 2025 Vacation Submissions -
2025 Vacations can be scheduled between now and Nov. 30th. In order to qualify for vacation, you must have a total of 240 total qualifying days. To look at how many total qualifying days you have accumulated, go to option 8, and hit F6. If you have 240 or more qualifying days, you’ll qualify for vacation in 2025. If you haven’t quite hit 240 yet, but are getting close, you will keep accumulating them until December 31st, and will still be able to schedule your vacation. If you don’t have 240 or more as of December 31st, then unfortunately, you won’t qualify for a vacation in 2025.
To schedule your vacation, go to the Crew Pro app on either your MTR or on a computer. (OWP.NSCorp.com) and select Schedule Vacation. From there, you have to select 12 preferences. Put your most preferred week of vacation as choice number 1 and your least preferred week as choice number 12.
If you don’t get any of the 12 weeks you’ve selected, your Local Chairman will contact you at some point in December and work with you to schedule one of the remaining weeks.
When scheduling your vacation, you can selecting “1” in the dropdown menu next to “Weeks as days” if you would like to be awarded 7 individual vacation days instead of a scheduled week of vacation.
October 15th was the snapshot date to determine what Vacation List you will fall under and are as follows:
ALBICOEE - East End Carded Jobs, Pool Turns, East End and West End Locals
ALBITRAG - AGS Carded Jobs, Pool Turns, Locals, and the Combined Extraboard
ALBITRBI - Yard Jobs
August Update
Dorm Standards - After last month’s Chattanooga Dorm inspection, a list of standards was created. You can view that list HERE. If you find any fault with the Dorm that deviates from the list of standards, or that creates an unsafe or unsanitary environment, please document the deficiency with pictures or video and report it to your Local Chairman. Unfortunately, we are stuck with the dorm and the only way to get things fixed is through documentation and constant follow-up to ensure that all issues are addressed promptly.
Locomotive Cameras - Be aware that the company is reviewing the inward facing cameras after all incidents - major and minor (Emergency Brake Application, PTC Enforcement, etc.). They are looking to ensure that everyone is complying with their rules concerning attention to duty, electronic devices, unapproved reading material.
Off Day / Vacation Agreement - I’ve had several conversations about the Off day / Vacation Agreement with the CMC and I think I have a more clear understanding of what is required when selecting to drop to the bottom of the board / start off days / vacation early.
The CMC says that the main issues with the CrewPro app are caused by the app not being up to date, and employees not logging out. So before trying to select any of the actions afforded to you under the new agreement, ensure that you manually click the logout button to log out and then log back in, and ensure that your app is up to date.
If you’re on a pool turn, trying drop to the bottom of the board 24hrs before the start of your off day, you must use the CrewPro mobile or web app to make this selection between 24-36 hours BEFORE the start of your rest days. For example: if your scheduled rest day starts at 2am on Monday, you must make the selection to go to the holding board between 2pm on Saturday (36hrs prior) and 2am on Sunday (24hrs prior). Once this selection is made, you will remain on the normal pool until 2am on Sunday, at which point, you’ll be moved to the holding board and will only be subject to call after the pool turn and extraboard is depleted.
If you tie-up at the home terminal between 24-16hrs prior to the start of your scheduled off day, you must make the selection to be placed on the holding board within 15min of tie-up.
If you tie up less than 16hrs prior to the start of your scheduled rest days, you can only make the selection to start your off days early and must make that selection within 15min of tie-up.
If you’re scheduled to start your weekly vacation with PWS at 11:01pm on Sunday, you may elect to drop to the bottom of your pool/extraboard 24hrs prior to the start of your vacation in the CrewPro app in the Employee Action tab. You can only drop to the bottom once.
You can also elect to start your vacation early at 6pm on the Sunday prior to your vacation by using a future layoff (if before 6pm), or immediate layoff (if after 6pm) and using the status code “G/EV Early Vac.”
If you made the selection to drop to the bottom of the board before your vacation and still got called to work, and you made the selection to go first out at the away from home terminal, you can use the CrewPro app’s Employee Actions tab to submit a deadhead home request and you should be deadheaded home 4hrs prior to the start of your vacation if you aren’t already called for a train.
Video instruction for each of these processes can be found HERE. If you believe you have met all of these requirements and aren’t able to make the necessary selection in CrewPro, contact the CMC to document the problem and please let your Local Chairman know so the issue can be addressed.
Note: these options are only available to Conductors.
2025 On-Property Tentative Agreement - A copy of the 2025 Tentative Agreement can be found on the ‘Agreements’ page of this website or by following THIS LINK. The tentative agreement includes a 18.76% compound wage increase over the span of the agreement, New Hires immediately get up to 7 single day vacation days (depending on their mark-up date), amending the accrual of vacation weeks to bump you up to the next step sooner, Health and Welfare increases with no increased premiums beyond what was already established in the prior agreement. We are supposed to have a Zoom call with the General Chairman about the Tentative Agreement this week, so please read through the agreement and direct any questions HERE so I can get them answered.
For those that might not fully understand how the Union or Collective Bargaining works, SMART created THIS video to explain the process.
June 2024 Update
FMLA - Brian Bailey has written a post about NS handling employees for FMLA abuse. Read it here
2025 National Agreement - The National Agreement is the working agreement between all the Class 1 Railroads and most of the Union crafts. It covers general wage increases, health and welfare benefits, and some quality of life matters for the Union Members across the Nation. Please follow this link to submit your suggestions for the 2025 National Agreement. Note: This agreement does not cover Norfolk Southern specific issues (e.g. - meals, detention time, scheduling, work rules, etc.)
Inward Facing Cameras - The Carrier has began the practice of reviewing the inward facing camera video logs for any incident (emergency brake application, PTC enforcement, etc.) and have contacted several Conductors about being on their cell phone. So far, the phones in question were proven to be the MTR device, but I want to bring this practice to everyone’s attention. Please ensure that you are following NS’ electronic device rules: OR-5.
Handbrakes - As I mentioned in the previous two monthly updates, NS is taking a firm stance on handbrakes. In the past week, two Conductors were charged with failure to properly release handbrakes. When building your train in the Forwarding Yards, please ensure that you are checking the head 6 cars for brakes, and at least 2 brakes behind the last released brake that was found. At outlying points, pick-up locations, and industries be sure to check each car as a part of your brake test/C-100. When releasing handbrakes, especially when operating the quick release, ensure that the brake is fully released and that 3 painted chain links are visible and the brake linkage isn’t bound on the end platform.
Off Day / Vacation Agreement - As I posted in last month’s update, the new rules regarding dropping to the bottom of the board / starting off time early are in effect, but I have had issues getting the Call Office to comply. Labor Relations instructed the Call Office to refuse any repositioning until the implementation of a program that will allow Conductors to reposition themselves. After escalating the issues to the General Chairman, I’m hopeful that there will no longer be any problems going forward, but if you elect to take one of the options afforded to you and the Call Office refuses, please inform a Local Chairman.
The program that allows you to enact these options without contacting the Call Office is tentatively scheduled for release by the end of the month.
Channel 2 - Concerns have been brought forward about excessive communication on channel 1. If you need to have a conversation with the PTC desk, MOC, IDS, Wayside, etc. over the radio, please tone them up on channel 2. If one of those desks call you, ask them to swap to channel 2 before having the conversation, to prevent walking on other crews trying to work.
FMLA
Members of Smart Local 622, The company is starting back up looking into FMLA pattern abuse and sending out letters to members they think are showing pattern abuse. I wanted to let each of you know what is going on with this. The company isn’t charging anyone for their FMLA but for abuse of OB-32 dated November 20, 2023. Some of the highlights of that bulletin are as follows.
Employees must provide reasonable notice to their supervision and leave administrator to minimize disruption to the business.
When it is possible and practical, at least 30 days’ notice must be given when an employee has advance knowledge of the need for FMLA leave.
When the need for leave is unknown in advance, employees must provide notice as soon as possible and practical and must comply with the usual and customary notice practice and policy.
Failure to do so may result in the delay or denial of the requested leave and potential disciplinary.
Make sure that if you have a need to use your FMLA to send your supervisor a text message telling them you are about to mark off FMLA. Make sure that you are keeping documentation when you take off and when you have to see your healthcare provider get a doctors excuse
OB-32
All NS Employees:
As you are aware, employees who have been approved to take FMLA leave may only use that leave for the reason(s) specifically identified by the physician/healthcare provider who certified the leave. When using leave for a serious personal health condition, the expectation is that the employee will spend the leave time as specified by their medical provider. Likewise, an employee using leave to care for a family member is expected to use the leave providing such care, rather than engaging in recreation or other personal pursuits.
Employees must provide reasonable notice to their supervision and leave administrator to minimize disruptions to the business. When it is possible and practical, at least 30 days’ notice must be given when an employee has advance knowledge of the need for FMLA leave. To help with planning, Crew Management is now able to use FMLA future mark-off coding for medical appointments for employees and/or their family member for which the leave is needed. When the need for leave is unknown in advance, employees must provide notice as soon as possible and practical and must comply with the usual and customary notice practice and policy. Failure to do so may result in the delay or denial of therequested leave and potential discipline.
Norfolk Southern recognizes that employees have a legitimate need for FMLA leave from time to time and will support and assist employees in those situations. Unfortunately, however, a few employees try to misuse this benefit by marking off for reasons that are not covered by the FMLA or not providing reasonable notice. Misuse of FMLA includes using leave to avoid certain work assignments, to extend other periods of time off (e.g., rest days, vacation, or the like), to avoid working on holidays or weekends, or to avoid working overtime. Misuse of FMLA negatively impacts the business, contributing to train delays and similar problems. Our customers suffer as a result. Moreover, employees who misuse FMLA are hurting their coworkers. Misuse of FMLA forces other employees to work additional hours and/or on days that they were not otherwise scheduled to work. This has a negative impact on morale. And perhaps most importantly, abuse of FMLA benefits is a form of personal fraud that is wholly inconsistent with our policies, procedures, expectations with respect to employee conduct and integrity, and the NS Code of Ethics.
For these reasons, Norfolk Southern has never tolerated and will not tolerate misuse of FMLA. Norfolk Southern is and will remain committed to full compliance with all aspects of employee FMLA rights. However, it diligently monitors FMLA usage to identify and address – through discipline, if need be, including termination – those who abuse this benefit or fail to comply with the required notice practice and policy. If you become aware of instances of potential misuse by your coworkers, you are encouraged to report it to your supervisor or to the Ethics & Compliance Hotline (800) 732-9279. Reports to the hotline may be made anonymously.
May 2024 Update
Hotel Complaints - Notify your Local Chairman about any inadequacies / complaints you have about AFHT Lodging. We’ve heard several complaints recently and the easiest way to get the issues resolved is by having documentation.
Handbrakes - I’m sure everyone has seen the new bulletins about Inspecting Trains (OB-14) and Handbrake Communication SOP (OB-15). In the wake of several incidents involving handbrakes that have been left on, NS is on a major push to prevent any further incident. As mentioned in last month’s update, they are handling handbrake issues with START Letters, so ensure all handbrakes are released when you’re doing a line of road pick-up and comply with all the relevant rules / bulletins regarding handbrakes. Now is also a good time to familiarize yourself with specified handbrake locations at various yards. This info can be found in the Division Timetable.
Track Authorities - We’ve had a few Track Authority Violations lately, so I want to remind everyone to take the time to read their Track Authorities before accepting a new TA or releasing an old one. If you are in a situation where having the TA pulled up is going to be a hinderance to the operation of your train, tell the dispatcher that you’ll have accept / release the TA at a latter time.
I also want to point out that if you’re running on Track Authority # 9999, any TA issued after that will roll back around to Track Authority #0001 or greater. The PTC system displays Track Authorities in sequential order and not in the order that they were received, so in that situation, the newest TA would be listed on top, instead of at the bottom as many are accustomed to seeing. If everyone takes the time to read their TA’s before accepting / releasing, there should be no issue.
Off Day / Vacation Agreement - The 2023 On-property Agreement brought some changes to Conductor Rest Days / Vacations that I haven’t seen anyone take advantage of yet, so I’d like to bring everyone’s attention to them. Listed below is a short description of the rules regarding starting your Weekly Vacation and Scheduled Rest days. A more in depth description can be found in the 2023 On-property Agreement (listed in the Agreements page of this website). And a Flow-chart can be found HERE.
Home Terminal
If you are at the Home Terminal within 24 hours of the beginning of your scheduled Weekly Vacation or Off day, you may elect to either be repositioned to the bottom of the board (if you choose this option, you will only be subject to call if the Pool or Extraboards are exhausted) OR (for Weekly Vacation only) elect to use a PL day / Single Vacation Day.
If you are at the Home Terminal with 16 hours of the beginning of your scheduled Weekly Vacation or Off day, you may elect to start your Weekly Vacation or Off Day when you tie-up. Using this option before a Weekly Vacation will allow you to come off vacation with PWS at 11:01pm (but a 7am Monday morning Mark-up can be requested before PWS awards go into effect). Conductors using this option before their Off days will be marked up after 48 hours.
Away From Home Terminal
Conductors at the Away From Home Terminal within 24 hours of the start of their Weekly Vacation or Off days may elect to be repositioned to be 1st out in their pool. (Conductors in the same rest day group that elect to use this option will remain in the same relative standing. Run-around claims will not be paid to the Conductors that are skipped over)
Conductors at the Away From Home Terminal within 4 hours of the start of their Weekly Vacation may elect to be Deadheaded home if not already called for a train. Will be paid a time-consumed deadhead.
The Safety Committee is making progress on some of the issues that have been brought to their attention over the last several months, but I’m sure there are many more issues out there. Examples of some of the things that might be reported are: bad walking conditions, improperly functioning skates or gate latches, tree limbs obstructing views or walking paths, etc.
Reminder that any safety concerns can be reported on the LSSC page of this website, but for any safety concern that creates an immediate danger, please contact a Local Chairman or Supervisor to have the issue resolved promptly.
April 2024 Update
Yesterday, some of the Local Chairmen met with Terminal Superintendent Jason Ault and discussed some upcoming changes the company is making. I will provide more details about the changes below. Going forward, I will be posting these updates on a monthly basis to keep everyone informed and up to date.
Restructuring - Typically, the Local Chairmen meet with the Division Superintendent to discuss issues and changes. However, due to some restructuring in management, the Terminal Superintendent essentially holds the authority previously held by the Assistant Division Superintendent. This means that Jason Ault is now the direct supervisor to each Trainmaster in the Birmingham Hub and has the authority to address issues or concerns brought forward. This change shouldn’t affect your day-to-day operations, but I wanted to make everyone aware of it. If you have an issue that you don’t feel is being addressed by your Local Supervisor, Jason Ault is next in the chain of command.
Attendance - System-wide, the company has decided that there isn’t as much of a manpower shortage as there are attendance issues. An email was sent out yesterday instructing supervision to be more stringent when upholding the attendance policy. So, I expect that a push will be made to handle more people for attendance. Familiarize yourself with the attendance policy (linked below) and act accordingly.
T&E and Yardmaster Absenteeism Policy
Training Center - Related to the topic of attendance, the Training Center has temporarily suspended operations until Transportation, HR, and Marketing can agree on the number of employees that need to be hired. They feel that the head count is too high and employee availability is too low. So until those issues are fleshed out, I don’t expect to see any more Conductor job postings.
Handbrakes - There is a push to ensure that all handbrakes are fully released prior to departing your initial terminal and pickup locations. Of course, at your initial terminal, you’re only required to check the head 6 cars, and responsibility for any car further back will fall on the Car Dept. However, when you are picking up cars on the line of the road, ensure that you are properly inspecting the cars, ensuring that all handbrakes are released, and performing the necessary brake tests. Local Supervision has to investigate each time a train is stopped due to applied handbrakes, and they are being instructed to handle those at fault with formal discipline in accordance with the START program.
Run Through Switches - Over the past several months, any rule violation derailment or incident has been handled with a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to determine what events took place and what actions can be taken by the company and each individual to prevent a future incident. Through that process, a trend has become apparent that there isn’t much to learn from an RCA about switches being run through other than human error when lining/double-checking routes and complacency. So going forward, an official RCA will no longer be conducted for run through switches. Instead, a Local Supervisor will have a ballast line conversation about the incident. Route alignment and run through switches are still a major issue for both newer and more senior employees. Care should be taken when lining a route to ensure that it is lined correctly. Although lining a route is one of the most basic tasks that railroaders perform, it must be completed with 100% accuracy or the outcome could be catastrophic.
AGS Pool Off Days / Self-Sustaining Pools
Starting Monday 3/25, the NS Pool Turns will have off days and will become self-sustaining.
Off days
You'll be assigned to group E, F, G, or H. If I understand correctly, E Group will match up with what is currently Engineer’s A-Group and so forth.
Off days will begin at 2am and end at 4am.
If you work into your off days, you’ll receive 48hrs off, starting the moment you tie up.
If you work into your off days on a pool turn, there is NO going to the bottom of the board like there is with the extraboard.
A Google Calendar link that lists all relevant off days can be found on the Calendar page of this website.
Self-Sustaining Pools
Pool Turn vacancies won’t be filled from the extraboard, but will instead be filled by the next rested conductor in the pool.
If there are no rested Conductors available in the pool, a made up turn will be called from the extraboard.
If you mark off / Step-up / or are otherwise unable to be called on your normal turn, your job will be removed from its position in the pool. Once you mark up or become available, your turn will be repositioned to the bottom of the board and you’ll stand to get called at the next available opportunity.
Your position in the pool will no longer be determined by your “yard board” time, but instead by your off-duty time.
Let me know if you have any questions,
Coty Batemon
UPDATE ON PWS / OFF DAYS
PWS -
The new tentative start date for PWS is March 11. The SMART Local Chairmen will be in the field the week prior to implementation, in order to provide training to all Conductors on how to set up their Bid Cards. We will also travel to outlying points to provide training to the Conductors at those locations.
As far as I’m aware, they still plan on combining the AGS/East End Extraboards in conjunction with PWS. I should have more info on that sometime after Feb 27.
OFF DAYS -
I spoke with the General Chairman late last week and he informed me that they are currently in the process of setting up Off Days for AGS Pool turns, so he expects they’ll go in effect in the next couple weeks, but didn’t have an exact date. I will post more info as I have it.
PWS / Combining Extraboards / Off Days / Vacation Changes
Due to programming difficulties for the Conductor PWS, the start date has been pushed back to Feb. 19th (tentative). At some point prior to the implementation, the SMART Local Chairmen will be posted in the washroom for a period of time to teach Conductors how to use the system and to assist with setting up Bid Cards.
The combination of the East End and AGS extraboards was supposed to be implemented on Jan. 1, but we successfully fought back against that and were able to get NS to agree to combine them with the original PWS date of Jan. 29th. Now that PWS has been pushed back, I have spoken with the Division Superintendent and he believes that combing the extraboards will be pushed back till Feb. 19th with PWS. Labor Relations has been pushing hard for them to be combined, however, so I won’t be surprised if they try to push ahead with it, especially if they believe PWS will be pushed back even further.
Pool turn off days have been implemented at smaller terminals across the system, but there have been some programming kinks with that as well. The last time I spoke with the General Chairman, he said they were rolling it out to some pools that were slightly smaller than ours and that they’re trying to roll it out according to size, so I expect Birmingham will be next in line, but I don’t have a time frame of when that will be. There has been some misunderstanding about pool turn off days being implemented with PWS, but those two things are completely separate. Off days could be implemented before or after PWS, but I’m really hoping before.
As with all things on the railroad, expect all of this information to change. If/when it does, I will keep you updated.
Open Weeks of Vacation are posted HERE or by navigating to the ‘AGS Open Vacations’ page. Please contact me if you would like to change your vacation to one of the open weeks. After any change, I will update the document as changes are made, so check back periodically to see if the week you want has become available.
-Coty
Nomination Notice
ATTENTION: MEMBERS OF SMART TD LOCAL 622
Pursuant to Article 21B, Section 57, of the SMART Constitution and the Local’s bylaws, nominations are being sought for the following positions:
President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, Board of Trustees (3), Legislative Representative, Alternate Legislative Representative, Delegate, Alternate Delegate
Nominations will be conducted at the following time, date and location:
Time/date: October 23rd 1:00pm
Location: Irondale Cafe
Address: 1906 1st Ave. North, Irondale, AL 35210
Nominations may be made from the floor at the nomination meeting. Nominations do not require a second. Eligible members may self-nominate. Where nominations are made by nominating petition, at least five (5) members eligible to vote shall sign the petition. Petitions must be delivered to the Local Secretary prior to the nomination meeting or presented at the meeting. No nominations may be made following the close of this meeting.
Local Secretary Eddie Johnson may be contacted by email to: Smartunion622@gmail.com or by phone at: (205) 369-3970
The election will be held by mail referendum. Tabulation of ballots will be conducted at the regular meeting of the Local at the following time, date, and location:
Time/date: November 27th 1:00pm
Location: Irondale Cafe
Address: 1906 1st Ave. North, Irondale, AL 35210
Pay Increase for having a CT
This addendum supplements the conductor trainer (coach) Agreement effective February 1, 1999.
The parties are committed to continued collaboration to enhance the safety and quality of the training program. As part of that collaboration, you have committed to partner with us and support, the following enhancements to our existing training program:
• Co-development and deployment of a train the trainer module for all conductors;
• Standardized monitoring and reporting of a Conductor Trainee’s activities and
progression consistent with the Conductor Trainee Qualification Book;
• Development and implementation of a bi-lateral rating system for Conductors and Conductor Trainees to rate the trainer’s or trainee’s engagement, professionalism, and commitment to working safely (these categories may be expanded in the
future).
In recognition of this commitment and to acknowledge the important role that conductors/foremen play in training conductor trainees, effective August 1, 2023, the parties agree to increase the training allowance for each tour of duty they are assigned a trainee to:
• $35 when working in other than through freight service
• $30 when working in through freight service
Consist Accuracy
I have just been informed that NS is still having problems with consist accuracy and is going to start handling employees that aren’t updating their consist in accordance with Superintendent Notice GUGIB-029, which reads:
“Effective immediately no train will depart origin, pick up or set off locations until cars in the
consist have been visually verified to be in the right order to ensure paperwork is accurate.
Missing, extra or out of sequence cars should be corrected in MTR before departure.”
With the current scrutiny that NS is under, they are taking this policy very seriously. To make this easier on everyone, consist accuracy should begin with locals. If you’re on a local, make sure your cars are correct when you pull them from an industry. Then make sure you’re leaving the cars in the correct order when you place them in a track. This will ensure that road trains have minimal delay updating their consist or tracking down missing/extra cars.
When road conductors are picking up cars, take a blank piece of paper to write down the car numbers while performing the brake test. Then be sure that the consist is completely accurate and updated in the MTR before departing the pick up/set off location. Once the train goes by a scanner with an inaccurate consist, it flags the train and sends a report to the trainmaster. If there is any question about whether the consist is correct or not, contact the trainmaster, IDS, or the MTR desk.
I don’t want to see anyone getting in trouble for such a simple rule.
Thanks
-Coty Batemon
On-Property Agreement Update
As most you have probably seen by now, the On-Property Agreement was ratified. As such, the detention time, meal increase and weekend differential pay should have went into effect June 2nd. There have some been reports around the system about some employees not getting all of the proper pay adjustments.
If you believe you have a ticket without any of those pay increases after June 2nd, shoot me a text with the full train symbol.
The Local Chairmen will be meeting with local management in the coming weeks to figure out off days / self-sustaining pools. PWS won’t go into effect until Jan. 1, 2024. Current bid / bump rules remain in effect until then.
Additionally, the fourth Service Recognition Bonus ($1000) will be paid out within 30 days after ratification. Anyone who worked between Jan. 1 - April 30, 2023 and remains in active service will qualify for that bonus.
- Coty
(256) 347-3360
Carry-Over PL Day Expiration
If any conductor has any unused carry-over personal leave days from last year, you need to email Payroll and cc Chief Caller, Jason Sapp on the email in order to get paid for them. Those days will expire on May 1st, so I would suggest sending the email as soon as possible before the weekend.
Payroll email: tepayrollhelpdesk@exchange.nscorp.com
Jason Sapp email: Jason.Sapp@nscorp.com
Example email: Hello, I am Coty Batemon (EID:1234567). I’m writing to request that my unused carryover personal leave days from 2022 be paid before their expiration on May 1st.
Combining Extraboards
We just had a meeting with Training Coordinator, Doug Hicks, and Assistant Division Superintendent, Rob Sarver. We were able to get them to hold off on combining the extraboards for 30 days while they take the time to train and qualify the ones on each extraboard that aren’t dual qualified.
There are currently 11 “fast track” employees that were pushed through the training program and qualified only on one territory that have made some trips on both sides. Those will be the first to CQ on the opposite territory because they will require the least amount of time to get fully qualified.
After the 11 “ fast tracked” are qualified, they’ll move on to the more senior extraboard employees that were assigned to their territory before the implementation of dual seniority. The people in this group are likely to change, due to the normal ebb and flow of people moving between regular assignments and extraboard.
They will start off by CQing 3 people at a time, but may add or remove from that, as necessary to maintain an acceptable work force. They may also call you as a CQ from the extraboard if man-power levels allow them to do so. Each person will be allowed to CQ for 2 trips on jobs determined by the Local Chairman to be essential for training.
If you are a person that has elected to give up your seniority on the opposite district, nothing should change for you. You hold the same seniority you always have and can’t be forced to go to the opposite side.
If you are someone that chose to keep your seniority on the opposite side, but are holding a regular job, then nothing will change for you unless you chose to exercise your seniority back to the extraboard, at which point, you will fall into the current training plan. If you go back to the board after they are combined, your situation will be handled on a case by case basis, pertaining to man-power levels.
Service Recognition Bonuses
There have been reports of some members having the Service Recognition Bonus withheld, awaiting State Agency reviews on child support payments. These should be labelled as “Special Payment” on your pay stub. The withholdings are not necessarily due to delinquency of such supports, but is simply because the bonuses are aside from regular payroll. Payroll has been contacted regarding this issue and advises that there isn’t anything the employee can do to expedite the process, and that there is usually a 30 day hold on such payments for the State Agencies to check for delinquency. Usually they hear from the Agencies in a week or two, but if the payroll dept. doesn’t hear anything after the holding period has expired, then the payment will be released.
Be advised, if this situation may pertain to you, check your back pay stub for “Special Payment,” and if it isn’t there and you don’t have any such payment issued in 30 days or so, let myself know and I will follow up with payroll.
- Coty