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Town Hall Meeting at Ennis
A Town Hall meeting was held at Ennis on Sept. 11, 1997. Approximately one hundred Engineers and Trainmen and their families attended. A Barbecue dinner was served. BLE Vice President Don Hahs, assigned to the UP-SP merger, gave a brief account of Hub negotiations.
Houston is being implemented beginning September 16. SP BLE General Chairman Robert Poe was on hand to answer questions. Next cut-over will be Longview, followed by Pine Bluff. This will allow directional traffic to flow from the Gulf Coast to Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, and points East.
Longview will become a part of the Fort Worth-Dallas Hub when that Hub is done in late 1998. However, if you don't select Longview now, you will not be able to go there under prior rights seniority, only common seniority. If you select prior rights in Longview, you will only be able to go to D-FW on your common seniority.
The effect of this is as follows, Fort Worth to El Paso, UP runs two trains daily now, sometimes only one. SP runs none. UP will get two prior right trains. Say, twenty trains per day end up running over this line, UP prior rights will man two trains, common seniority will man the other 18.
On Fort Worth to Valley Jct - Hearne, SP runs four daily, UP runs fifteen. UP prior right will man fifteen, SP prior rights will man four. If more than 19 per day are run, the overage goes to the common seniority. These numbers are examples and do not represent real job starts or trains actually run. I don't really understand how the yard engines will be manned.
At Fort Worth, effective July 1, all Train & Engine employees are covered by a temporary guarantee. The Guarantee is based on your 1996 earnings. This is in effect until the Fort Worth Hub negotiations are finished and implemented.
Vice President Hahs stated that UP is hiring card carrying engineers now. Any former engineer (those that have taken buy outs) can apply.
It was reported that the FRA has stated that the harassment of employees for reporting safety violation will no longer be tolerated. It has stopped as far as they are concerned and managers will not be able to stand the consequences of this practice in the future. Managers will be severely disciplined on a personal level, by the FRA, and possibly removed from positions if necessary to stop it.
The meeting was one of the most informative I have attended on the merger.
Dan is an engineer working out of Broadway Yard.
9-97