Brotherhood Of Railroad Signalmen Local 20
The next regular meeting of BRS Local 20 will be held Saturday February 23, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. at the Chillicothe Comfort Inn & Suites, located at 250 Business Hwy. 36, Chillicothe, MO. Reservations may be made at 660-646-9900. Following are brief minutes from our last meeting held in Naperville, IL. November 3, 2012.
The meeting opened at 8:30 a.m. with 17 members and 4 guests present. Bills and previous minutes were read and approved, a treasury balance of $35854.61 in checking and c.d.’s in the amount of $ 21433.71 was reported, and 1 new member was voted in.
Nate Estes reported on the following: a time claim dealing with track forces removing crossing equipment that was out of service.
Joe Baker reported on the following: an investigation in St. Joe that came out in our favor, a member pulled out of service for a seat belt violation; the “drive cams” that the company is pushing; and the use of phones in moving vehicles.
Guests from the FRA, Jerry Stout and Leon Ferguson, discussed testing procedures.
Jerry Moore reported on the following: an issue with a member wanting to bid a maintainer position, but the supervisor took issue with the distance from the headquarters to the members home; discussed broken rail policies; call desk issues; and night time rail detector operations.
Craig McLaren reported on the following: an investigation for 3 Tacoma crew members working in Burlington over a wiring issue, and the 15 days they were out of service for an improperly displayed signal aspect; changes in the PEPA policy.
General Chairman Mike Dake reported on the following: taking proper precautions when working; SACP meetings; a large increase in capital spending for 2013 with possible hiring of 100 to 140 people system wide; electronic device policy; hy-rail truck policy; the company position of not paying the principles in an investigation wages; the “drive cams”; CDL issues; an agreement concerning DOTcertification for members driving pick-ups over 10,000 lbs; lodging issues and the need for documentation and pictures of sub-standard locations.
Guest Dan Petro discussed the political scene, and the state of railroad retirement; FELA and the importance of the act; medical releases; and the federal whistle-blower act. The meeting adjourned at 1:10 p.m.
I would like to remind everyone to sign up to get this newsletter by e-mail. I frequently receive important information from Grand Lodge and General Committee that I pass along to
the members on my list. I would also encourage all members to contact Ken Strickland, General Committee Secretary-Treasurer at brskes@att.net and sign up for the quarterly general committee newsletter. The cost and time involved with that letter is huge. I hope everyone had a merry Christmas, and I look forward to seeing you in Chillicothe.
Fraternally,
Ed Leeson
Recording Financial Secretary, BRS Local 20
309-=202-1260
brslocal20@comcast.net
