Summer has arrived and the thunderstorms came with it. Our line crews and storm support crews haven’t been given much of a break. Along with this, there have been issues regarding forced holdovers and prearranged mandates. In addition to dealing with the storms, the Troubleman schedules for all regions have been updated and agreed upon. Our Chief Stewards dedicated a lot of time to building schedules that the field wanted. RTC management was flexible and receptive to the individual regions’ wishes regarding shift rotation and start/stop times. I appreciate their combined effort in creating the schedules that work for the members that will be working the shifts. The canvass’ have also been completed and offers are expected to be extended soon. Currently, there are about 65 Troubleman vacancies in RTC. The company has notified us that they intend to close Panther Valley Service Center. There are three bargaining unit employees rostered at PV that will need to be handled. A grievance was filed due to the closure and inevitable relocation of employees. We anticipate a satisfactory settlement.
Congratulations to Ron Webb on his deserved appointment of Vice President, Assistant Business Manager of Local 1600.
Below are a few additional items that I have been working on.
-Excessive RBP – some settled favorably
-Transfers/Demotions
-Troubleman canvass
-Three terminations – two scheduled for arbitration
-Job vacancies
-Storm/OT roster
-Material vacancies
-Storm duty support discussions
-RTC/OOA issues
