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Metra engineers OK seven-year contract
CLEVELAND, May 7 — Metra commuter engineers (former IC-Electric, MILW and Rock Island) represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen ratified a new seven year contract by a two-thirds majority.
The agreement provides wage increases of 16.5 percent over the life of the contract, which runs through July 1, 2010. Members will also receive a 2.5 percent lump sum bonus (a minimum of $1,200) and retroactive wage increases dating to July 1, 2006.
Other wage increases will come in the form of an increased certification allowance. This allowance, paid to locomotive engineers who are federally certified to operate locomotives, will increase several times over the life of the agreement: to $10 per tour of duty on April 19, 2007; to $12 on July 1, 2009; and to $13 on July 1, 2011.
“I commend the members of the Metra negotiating team, who had the difficult job of negotiating wage increases at a railroad that receives half of its funding from public funding,” said BLET National President Don Hahs. “The negotiating team did a tremendous job.”
BLET Vice President Richard K. Radek assisted three General Chairmen on the negotiating team — John Koonce (former IC Electric); Mike Priester (MILW North and West Lines); and Mike Taylor (former Rock Island).
“One of the most problematic things was the fact that Metra is about 50 percent publicly tax supported, and that funding source is shrinking due to lower tax revenues and highly increased demand for the funds, both from other agencies and because of public employee pension underfunding in the State of Illinois,” Vice President Radek said. “Another problematic issue was the ever-increasing cost of the benefit package, including health care coverage. I think we did well in obtaining the core economic portion of this agreement.”
Metra engineers will enjoy cost-free health care until Jan. 1, 2009. After that, members will contribute $50 per month until Jan. 1, 2010, when the cost will increase to $75 per month. The contribution will be capped at $80 per month starting Jan. 1, 2011.
“We were able to increase our certification allowance to $13 per tour and obtain a higher general wage increase, which more than offsets the health care contribution,” Vice President Radek said.
Other contract provisions include:
• An increase in company-paid deferred compensation to the employees 401k plan, bringing the company’s payment to $8.40 per tour of duty on Jan. 1, 2012;
• The right to use personal leave days as days worked for the calculation of overtime on yard assignments;
• The personal leave day rate of compensation will be the full pay of the last regular assignment;
• Personal leave days banked will be increased from 90 to 150 days;
• Engineers that exhaust all of the year’s personal leave days will be able to use banked personal leave days in the same year;
• Payment of bereavement leave will be at the same compensation earned if the engineer would have remained on his assignment. Regular days off will not disqualify Engineers from the three days pay, thereby allowing the three consecutive days to be split with regular assigned days off; and
•Lost earnings paid for jury duty minus court payments for all time held.
“We would like to thank Vice President Radek for all his help in reaching this settlement,” the three General Chairmen said in a statement.
Monday, May 07, 2007
bentley@ble.org
© 1997-2010 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
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Safety Task Force Hotline
800-306-5414
Decertification Helpline
800-393-2716
DAILY HEADLINES
September 2, 2010
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