United Transportation Union - TOP 13 QUESTIONS OF FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES

What follows is a list of the top 13 questions asked by furloughed employees, and the respective answers thereto. For answers to additional questions, please contact your UTU Local Chairperson.

Q1. What is the difference between a “cut off” employee and a “furloughed” employee?

A1.      A “furloughed” employee is one who cannot hold a position anywhere within their entire consolidated seniority district. A “cut-off” employee is one who has been notified their seniority does not permit them to work at their home location, but their seniority may permit them to work at another location within their seniority district… should they so desire.

Q2.      If I am cut-off or furloughed, am I required to renew my address with the Carrier?

A2. Rule 8 of the B&O Agreement does stipulate that a furloughed employee: “… must file their addresses with the proper official at the time of reduction, advise promptly of any change in address and renew address each ninety days.” Furthermore, however, Rule 8 goes on to state: “Employees failing to file or renew their addresses or return to the service within fifteen days after being notified (by mail or telegram sent to last address given) or give satisfactory reason for not doing so, will be considered out of the service” - underlining added.

The Carrier has failed to provide a form for this purpose. Consequently they are not holding an employee responsible for failing to renew their address each day. Instead CSXT Labor Relations has agreed with General Chairperson Lesniewski that: “… a furloughed/cut off employee fulfills his requirements under Rule 8 by keeping the Carrier notified of any address changes from the address currently on CSXT's file for that employee, and responding to a recall within 15 days after being notified of recall (or, for a cut-off employee, 10 days of notification that he is needed elsewhere within his seniority district)."

Q3. How long do I have to respond when I am recalled to active service?

A3. An employee recalled from furlough (or cut off at their home terminal) has up to 15 days to report for service after being notified of recall by phone or mail sent to their last address on file. A cut-off employee who is called to another location on their seniority district in lieu of recalling furloughed employees or hiring new employees in accordance with Rule 8 (d) has 10 days from notification by phone or certified mail, including the date of notification, to mark up anywhere on their seniority district (not necessarily the location they were recalled for).

Q4. What, if any, transfer options are available to cut-off employees?

A4. In October an Article was posted on this UTU B&O General Committee website (www.utubo.com) with instructions. The CMC contact names have changed since that Article was published, but the instructions and contact numbers are still the same. A reprint of that Article with the updated CMC contact names was posted once again on January 15, 2009 with instructions and information. The new article, entitled “Attention Cut-Off Employees!” appears immediately below this one.

Q5. Can I sign up to work at locations off my seniority district?

A5. Rule 8 does contain a provision for signing up, which states:

"Furloughed road or yard men desiring to avail themselves of service as trainmen on other divisions will file their name, address, seniority date, actual years of experience and willingness to accept employment as trainmen on other divisions with the Superintendent and Local Chairman on their home division. A copy of these names will be forwarded to "Director of Employment" at Baltimore, and if, and when trainmen are needed on any division, the Superintendent of that division will communicate with the "Director of Employment", who, in turn, will furnish him with the names and addresses of furloughed trainmen on divisions nearest to the division requiring additional men, who will contact these men."

The same purpose can be served however, and probably more efficiently, by watching your local Division Notices for advertised temporary (or permanent) transfers being offered to other seniority districts. Unfortunately, with approximately 1600 T&E employees currently furloughed across the system, those transfers are few and far between right now.

Q6.      Am I entitled to Railroad Retirement Board unemployment benefits?

A6.      Currently that depends upon your tenure and earnings during base (calendar) year 2007, because the Railroad Retirement Board benefit year runs from July 1 to June 30^th. Even if an employee is not immediately entitled to unemployment benefits presently for lack of earnings and/or service in 2007, however, he/she may qualify beginning on July 1, 2009 based on their 2008 service.

The RRB website reads:

“Only qualified employees can receive benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. A new benefit year begins every July 1. To qualify for benefits in a benefit year, you must have creditable railroad earnings in the preceding calendar year (base year), counting no more than a certain amount in any month. In addition, a new employee must have railroad service in at least 5 months of his or her first year of work in order to be eligible for benefits in the following benefit year.

The amount of earnings needed to qualify for benefits in a benefit year depends on the monthly compensation base in the base year. An employee is required to have base year earnings of not less than 2- 1/2 times the monthly compensation base applicable to months in that base year. As the monthly compensation base increases, the amount of compensation needed to qualify for benefits also increases.”

For benefit year July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009, employees must have earned at least $3,075.00 in calendar year 2007, without counting more than $1,230.00 in any given month; and must have served at least 5 months of service during 2007 (only if 2007 was the first year of their employment). There is also a 7 day waiting period for the 1^st claim in a benefit year. To satisfy a waiting period requirement, no benefits are payable for your first 7 days of unemployment in your first claim in a period of continuing unemployment, unless you have already served a waiting period in the benefit year. Benefits are payable for each remaining day of unemployment in your first claim. For example, if you claim all 14 days in your first claim, you will be paid benefits for 7 days.

For benefit year July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010, employees must have earned at least $3,200.00 in calendar year 2008, without counting more than $1,280.00 in any given month; and again must have served at least 5 months of service during 2008 (but only if 2007 was the first year of their employment). If you are eligible and your claims are continuous from one benefit year to another, you generally will serve only one waiting period in your period of continuing unemployment.

Claims are filed bi-weekly, directly through the Railroad Retirement Board. For benefit year July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009, the daily benefit is $61.00 per day for each day of unemployment during a bi-weekly (14 day) claim period in excess of 4 days… totaling 10 days, or $610.00, in a 14 day claim period (after the 7 day waiting period has been satisfied).   Generally these benefits are payable for up to 130 days in a benefit year (26 weeks), but the unemployment benefits received cannot exceed your base year earnings counting not more than the prescribed monthly minimum for each month during that base year. Extended benefits and other benefits are available for employees with 10 or more years of service.

The RRB unemployment benefits increase to $64.00 per day for benefit year beginning July 1, 2009. For more information I recommend that members visit the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board’s website at www.rrb.gov.

Q7. If I am furloughed, how long will my Health & Welfare insurance remain in effect?

A7. That depends upon which Health & Welfare Plan you are on:

If you are under the National Agreement Health & Welfare plan (UnitedHealthcare, Aetna or Blue Cross/Blue Shield) your insurance is good for 4 calendar months beyond the month in which you last rendered compensated service or received vacation pay (provided that vacation pay was received prior to being furloughed). You are under the National Plan if your insurance did not start until the 4^th month following the month in which you rendered 7 days of compensated service; and you are paying $170.96 cost sharing each month for your H&W coverage (check you paycheck stubs).

NOTE: If a furloughed employee were to receive a call for emergency service on the railroad while his insurance is still active, a single start will extend his/her insurance for 4 months beyond that month when service was performed.

If you are under the New Hire Insurance Plan, you’re coverage is only good until the end of the month in which you last rendered compensated service. In order to be on the New Hire Insurance Plan, you would have had to have been hired on or after March 24, 2008, and signed up for same at the REDI Center when you hired out. That plan is inferior (as you can see), but it is free of cost sharing and only made available to new hires on or after March 24, 2008 for the first year of their employment. If you hired on or after March 24, 2008 and can’t remember whether you signed up for this plan, check your paycheck stubs. If you don’t see any $170.96 H&W offset, chances are you signed up for the New Hire Insurance Plan.
If you didn’t sign up for the “New Hire Insurance Plan”, and never worked into the 4^th month following the month in which you rendered the requisite amount of service (7 days) before you were furloughed, you were unfortunately never covered by the National Insurance Plan in the first place. Therefore, your insurance cannot be extended.
Should a furloughed employee’s H&W insurance expire everything changes:

If they are recalled to active service after their 4-month H&W extension has expired, it will once again require the “requisite amount of compensated service” (7 starts) in a calendar month to re-start the H&W insurance for the following month.
If they are called for emergency service from their furlough status after their 4-month H&W extension has expired, and they are returned to furlough status following their tour(s) of duty, it is the position of UTU they once again qualify for another 4 months of service starting in the month following the month in which the service is rendered (regardless of how many tours were worked). This is complicated. Consequently I recommend that furloughed employees who fall into this category of working from furlough status after their insurance has expired are encourage to contact this office for assistance.

Q8. Will Health and Welfare cost sharing payments be collected by the Carrier for the period during which a furloughed employee is eligible for coverage… and, if so, when?

A8. H&W Cost Sharing is collected by the Carrier in the month after they make a payment on behalf of the employee. Therefore the employee will have one month’s cost sharing payment to make in the month after he/she is furloughed (and one “free month” upon their return.) If the employee does not make enough money to pay their $170.96 cost sharing in the month following their furlough, the Carrier will recover same upon their return. If they never return, or receive another paycheck, the Carrier will be left holding the bag for that month of cost sharing. The Carrier does not, however, make a H&W premium payment on behalf of the employee for the months in which that employee performed no service while on furlough; so the employee would have no cost-sharing owed for those months either.

Q9. Do RCO certified members in cut-off or furlough status still have to re-certify this year?

A9. At this point, CSXT does not intend to attempt to require, or even allow, employees to take a recertification ride while furloughed. Their intention (at this time) is to have them take their recertification ride upon their return to active service. If the Carrier were to request our furloughed brothers/sisters to take their recertification ride while furloughed, I would recommend that our members comply if at all possible since that will re-set their Health & Welfare coverage because they will have rendered compensated service while in a furlough status (see Q&A 7 above).

Q10. Is there a specific time limit in which, after an employee is cut-off at their home terminal, that they must exercise their seniority to a different location (should they voluntarily elect to do so)?

A10. Contrary to popular belief… “NO”. Someone is spreading bad information out there that the exercise of seniority must be made within 10 days. However, there is no time limit on a cut-off employee making a voluntary seniority move to another location. If an employee wants to wait for the dust to settle before they make a seniority move to another location, they are certainly within their contractual rights to do so.

Q11. As a cut-off or furloughed trainmen, do I stand in the vacancy fill sequence to be called for temporary vacancies?

A11. The current vacancy fill sequences of Rule 27 and Rule 67 (for Conductors) do not include a step for calling employees who are in cut off or furloughed status except for crew consist protected employees. While this office has contemplated negotiating such a step into the vacancy fill sequence rules in the past, the reaction from Local Chairpersons has been mixed, at best, for fear the Carrier would use a “furlough emergency list” as a non-guaranteed supplemental extra list; thereby giving the Carrier incentive to furlough even more employees. Nevertheless the Carrier has in the past called furloughed employees to protect temporary vacancies after all other vacancy fill sequence steps have been exhausted; and this office has not taken exception to this practice because it does provide the cut-off/furloughed employee an opportunity to get in another day of work and possibly reset his/her Health & Welfare coverage.

Q12. If cut-off members exercise their seniority to another location and, for whatever reason, they decide they no longer want to stay at the new location and leave… do they forfeit their seniority (quit)?

A12. Yes! They can’t just “leave” without having somewhere else to exercise their seniority to, or they will be considered “Voluntary Unexplained Absence”. Once they exercise seniority to another location, they are technically establishing that location as their new home terminal. They cannot demote themselves by exercising seniority back to their former terminal in a “cut off” status. They can only return by exercise of seniority to an active position [NOTE: If they are cut off at the new location and desire recall at their former location instead, a request can be made to be placed on the recall list at their former location through the General Committee office.].

Q13. Is Rule #2 paragraph (d) self-executable or can the carrier choose to ignore it and will our members be notified if they are terminated?

A13. The Carrier can, and in fact has from January 12, 2002 to this point, chosen to forgo their rights on this property under Rule 2 (d). In a letter dated January 12, 2002, CSXT Director Labor Relations R. D. Hiel advised former General Chairperson J. T. Reed he was agreeable to abrogating Article XII of the 1985 National Agreement (from with Rule 2 (d) flows) “… until you are advised in writing at some future date that the Carrier desires to place it back into effect.” To date the Carrier has not so advised of their desire to place it back into effect. However, should the Carrier choose to resurrect Article XII of the 1985 National Agreement and terminate an employee’s seniority, they would be required to notify that employee.