Washington Job Protection Agreement, May 1936

AGREEMENT OF MAY, 1936, WASHINGTON, D. C.

This agreement is entered into between the carriers listed and defined in Appendices "A", "B" and "C" attached hereto and made a part hereof, represented by the duly authorized Joint Conference Committee signatory hereto, as party of the first part, and the employees of said carriers, represented by the organizations signatory hereto by their respective duly authorized executives, as party of the second part, and, so far as necessary to carry out the provisions hereof, is also to be construed as a separate agreement by and between and in behalf of each of said carriers and its employees who are now or may hereafter be represented by any of said organizations which now has (or may hereafter have during the life of this agreement) an agreement with such carrier concerning rates of pay, rules or working conditions. The signatories hereto, having been respectively duly authorized as aforesaid to negotiate to a conclusion certain pending issues concerning the treatment of employees who may be affected by coordination as hereinafter defined, hereby agree:

Section 1
That the fundamental scope and purpose of this agreement is to provide for allowances to defined employees affected by coordination as hereinafter defined, and it is the intent that the provisions of this agreement are to be restricted to those changes in employment in the Railroad Industry solely due to and resulting from such coordination. Therefore, the parties hereto understand and agree that fluctuations, rises and falls and changes in volume or character of employment brought about solely by other causes are not within the contemplation of the parties hereto, or covered by or intended to be covered by this agreement.

List of Agreements

Section 2
(a) The term "coordination" as used herein means joint action by two or more carriers whereby they unify, consolidate, merge or pool in whole or in part their separate railroad facilities or any of the operations or services previously performed by them through such separate facilities.
(b) The term "carrier" as used herein when it refers to other than parties to this agreement means any carrier subject to the provisions of Part I of the Interstate Commerce Act; when it refers to a party to this agreement it means any company or system listed and described in Appendices "A", "B" or "C" as a single carrier party to this agreement.
(c) The term "time of coordination" as used herein includes the period following the effective date of a coordination during which changes consequent upon coordination are being made effective; as applying to a particular employee it means the date in said period when that employee is first adversely affected as a result of said coordination.

Section 3
(a) The provisions of this agreement shall be effective and shall be applied whenever two or more carriers parties hereto undertake a coordination; and it is understood that if a carrier or carriers parties hereto undertake a coordination with a carrier or carriers not parties hereto, such coordination will be made only upon the basis of an agreement approved by all of the carriers parties thereto and all of the organizations of employees involved (parties hereto) of all of the carriers concerned. No coordination involving classes of employees not represented by any of the organizations parties hereto shall be undertaken by the carriers parties, hereto except in accord with the provisions of this agreement or agreements arising hereunder.
(b) Each carrier listed and established as a separate carrier for the purposes of this agreement, as provided in Appendices "A", "B" and "C”, shall be regarded as a separate currier for the purposes hereof during the life of this agreement; provided, however, that in the case of any coordination involving two or more railroad carriers which also Involves the Railway Express Agency, Inc., the latter company shall be treated as a separate carrier with respect to its operations on each of the railroads involved.
(c) It is definitely understood that the action of the parties hereto in listing and establishing as a single carrier any system which comprises more than one operating company is taken solely for the purposes of this agreement and shall not be construed or used by either party hereto to limit or affect the rights of the other with respect to matters not falling within the scope and terms of this agreement.

Section 4
Each carrier contemplating a coordination shall give at least ninety (90) days written notice of such intended coordination by posting a notice on bulletin boards convenient to the interested employees of each such carrier and by sending registered mail notice to the representatives of such interested employees. Such notice shall contain a full and adequate statement of the proposed changes to be effected by such coordination, including an estimate of the number of employees of each class affected by the intended changes. The date and place of a conference between representatives of all the parties interested in such intended changes for the purpose of reaching agreements with respect to the application thereto of the terms and conditions of this agreement, shall be agreed upon within ten (10) days after the receipt of said notice, and conference shall commence within thirty (30) days from the date of such notice.

Section 5
Each plan of coordination which results in the displacement of employees or rearrangement of forces shall provide for the selection of forces from the employees of all the carriers involved on bases accepted as appropriate for application In the particular case; and any assignment of employees made necessary by a coordination shall be made on the basis of an agreement between the carriers and the organizations of the employees affected, parties hereto. In the event of failure to agree, the dispute may be submitted by either party for adjustment in accordance with Section 13.

Section 6
(a) No employee of any of the carriers involved in a particular coordination who is continued in service shall, for a period not exceeding five years following the effective date of such coordination, be placed, as a result of such coordination, in a worse position with respect to compensation and rules governing working conditions than he occupied at the time of such coordination so long as he is unable in the normal exercise of his seniority rights under existing agreements, rules and practices to obtain a position producing compensation equal to or exceeding the compensation of the position held by him at the time of the particular coordination, except however, that if he fails to exercise his seniority rights to secure another available position, which does not require a change in residence, to which he is entitled under the working agreement and which carries a rate of pay and compensation exceeding those of the position which he elects to retain, he shall thereafter be treated for the purposes of this section as occupying the position which he elects to decline.
(b) The protection afforded by the foregoing paragraph shall be made effective whenever appropriate through what is hereby designated as a "displacement allowance" which shall be determined in each instance in the manner hereinafter described. Any employed entitled to such an allowance is hereinafter referred to as a "displaced" employee.
(c) Each displacement allowance shall be a monthly allowance determined by computing the total compensation received by the employee and his total time paid for during the last twelve (12) months in which he performed service immediately preceding the date of his displacement (such twelve (12) months being hereinafter referred to as the "test period") and by dividing separately the total compensation and the total time paid for by twelve, thereby producing the average monthly compensation and average monthly timepaid for, which shall be the minimum amounts used to guarantee the displaced employee, and if his compensation in his current position is less in any month in which he performs work than the aforesaid average compensation he shall be paid the difference, less compensation for any time lost on account of voluntary absences to the extent that he is not available for service equivalent to his average monthly time during the test period, but he shall be compensated in addition thereto at the rate of the position filled for any time worked in excess of the average monthly time paid for during the test period.

Section 7
(a) Any employee of any of the carriers participating in a particular coordination who is deprived of employment as a result of said coordination shall be accorded an allowance (hereinafter termed a coordination allowance), based on length of service, which (except in the case of an employee with less than one year of service) shall be a monthly allowance equivalent in each instance to sixty per cent (60%) of the average monthly compensation of the employee in question during the last twelve months of his employment in which he earned compensation prior to the date he is first deprived of employment as a result of the coordination. This coordination allowance will be made to each eligible employee while unemployed by his home road or in the coordinated operation during a period beginning at the date he is first deprived of employment as a result of the coordination and extending in each instance for a length of time determined and limited by the following schedule:

Length of Service Period of Payment
1 yr. and less than 2 yrs. 6 months

2 yrs. and less than 3 yrs. 12

3 yrs. and less than 5 yrs. 18

5 yrs. and less than 10 yrs. 36

10 yrs. and less than 15 yrs. 48

15 yrs. and over 60

In the case of an employee with less than one year of service, the total coordination allowance shall be a lump sum payment in an amount equivalent to sixty (60) days pay at the straight time daily rate of the last position held by him at the time he is deprived of employment as a result of the coordination.
(b) For the purposes of this agreement the length of service of the employee shall be determined from the date he last acquired an employment status with the employing carrier and he shall be given credit for one month's service for each month in which he performed any service (in any capacity whatsoever) and twelve such months shall be credited as one year's service. The employment status of an employee shall not be interrupted by furlough in instances where the employee has a right to and does return to service when called. In determining length of service of an employee acting as an officer or other official representative of an employee organization he will be given credit for performing service while so engaged on leave of absence from the service of a carrier.
(c) An employee shall be regarded as deprived of his employment and entitled to a coordination allowance in the following cases:

When the position which he holds on his home road is abolished as result of coordination and he is unable to obtain by the exercise of his seniority rights another position on his home road or a position in the coordinated operation, or

When the position he holds on his home road is not abolished but he loses that position as a result of the exercise of seniority rights by an employee whose position is abolished as a result of said coordination, or by other employees, brought about as a proximate consequence of the coordination, and if he is unable by the exercise of his seniority rights to secure another position on his home road or a position in the coordinated operation.

(d) An employee shall not be regarded as deprived of employment in ease of his resignation, death, retirement on pension or on account of age or disability in accordance with the current rules and practices applicable to employees generally, dismissal for justifiable cause in accordance with the rules, or furloughed because of reduction in forces due to seasonal requirements of the service; nor shall any employee be regarded as deprived of employment as the result of a particular coordination who is not deprived of his employment within three years from the effective date of said coordination.
(e) Each employee receiving a coordination allowance shall keep the employer informed of his address and the name and address of any other person by whom he may be regularly employed.
(f) The coordination allowance shall be paid to the regularly assigned incumbent of the position abolished. If the position of an employee is abolished while he is absent from service, he will be entitled to the coordination allowance when he is available for service. The employee temporarily filling said position at the time it was abolished will be given a coordination allowance on the basis of said position until the regular employee is available for service and thereafter shall revert to his previous status and will be given a coordination allowance accordingly if any is due.
(g) An employee receiving a coordination allowance shall be subject to call to return to service after being notified in accordance with the working agreement, and such employee may be required to return to the service of the employing carrier for other reasonably comparable employment for which he is physically and mentally qualified and which does not require a change in his place of residence, if his return does not infringe upon the employment rights of other employees under the working agreement.
(h) If an employee who is receiving a coordination allowance returns to service the coordination allowance shall cease while he is so reemployed and the period of time during which he Is so reemployed shall be deducted from the total period for which he is entitled to receive a coordination allowance. During the time of such reemployment however he shall be entitled to protection in accordance with the provisions of Section 6.
(i) If an employee who is receiving a coordination allowance obtains railroad employment (other than with his home road or in the coordinated operation) his coordination allowance shall be reduced to the extent that the sum total of his earnings in such employment and his allowance exceeds the amount upon which his coordination allowance is based; provided that this shall not apply to employees with less than one year's service.
(j) A coordination allowance shall cease prior to the expiration of its prescribed period in the event of :

Failure without good cause to return to service in accordance with working agreement after being notified of position for which he is eligible and as provided in paragraphs (g) and (h).

Resignation.

Death.

Retirement on pension or on account of age or disability in accordance with the current rules and practices applicable to employees generally.

Dismissal for justifiable cause.

Section 8
An employee affected by a particular coordination shall not be deprived of benefits attaching to his previous employment, such as free transportation, pensions, hospitalization, relief, etc., under the same conditions and so long as such benefits continue to be accorded to other employees on his home road, in active service or on furlough as the case may be, to the extent that such benefits can be so maintained under present authority of law or corporate action or through future authorization which may be obtained.

Section 9
Any employee eligible to receive a coordination allowance under section 7 hereof may, at his option at the time of coordination, resign and (in lieu of all other benefits and protections provided in this agreement) accept in a lump sum a separation allowance determined in accordance with the following schedule:

Length of Service Separation Allowance
1 yr. and less than 2 yrs. 3 months

2 yrs. and less than 3 yrs. 6 months

3 yrs. and less than 5 yrs. 9 months

5 yrs. and less than 10 yrs. 12 months

10 yrs. and less than 15 yrs. 12 months

15 yrs. and over 12 months

In the case of employees with less than one year's service, five days' pay, at the rate of the position last occupied, for each month in which they performed service will be paid as the lump sum.

(a) Length of service shall be computed as provided in Section 7.
(b) One month's pay shall be computed by multiplying by 30 the daily rate of pay received by the employee in the position last occupied prior to time of coordination.

Section 10
(a) Any employee who is retained in the service of any carrier involved in a particular coordination (or who is later restored to service from the group of employees entitled to receive a coordination allowance) who is required to change the point of his employment as result of such coordination and is therefore required to move his place of residence, shall be reimbursed for all expenses of moving his household and other personal effects and for the traveling expenses of himself and members of his family, including living expenses for himself and his family and his own actual wage loss during the time necessary for such transfer, and for a reasonable time thereafter, (not to exceed two working days), used in securing a place of residence in his new location. The exact extent of the responsibility of the carrier under this provision and the ways and means of transportation shall be agreed upon in advance between the carrier responsible and the organization of the employee affected. No claim for expenses under this Section shall be allowed unless they are incurred within three years from the date of coordination and the claim must be submitted within ninety (90) days after the expenses are incurred.
(b) If any such employee is furloughed within three years after changing his point of employment as a result of coordination and elects to move his place of residence back to his original point of employment, the carrier shall assume the expense of moving his household and other personal effects under the conditions imposed in paragraph (a) of this section.
(c) Except to the extent provided in paragraph (b) changes in place of residence subsequent to the initial changes caused by coordination and which grow out of the normal exercise of seniority in accordance with working agreements are not comprehended within the provisions of this section.

Section 11
(a) The following provisions shall apply, to the extent they are applicable in each instance, to any employee who is retained in the service of any of the carriers involved in a particular coordination (or who is later restored to such service from the group of employees entitled to receive a coordination allowance) who is required to change the point of his employment as a result of such coordination and is therefore required to move his place of residence:

If the employee owns his own home in the locality from which he is required to move, he shall at his option be reimbursed by his employing carrier for any loss suffered in the sale of his home for less than its fair value. In each case the fair value of the home in question shall be determined as of a date sufficiently prior to the coordination to be unaffected thereby. The employing carrier shall in each instance be afforded an opportunity to purchase the home at such fair value before it is sold by the employee to any other party.

If the employee is under a contract to purchase his home, the employing carrier shall protect him against loss to the extent of the fair value of any equity he may have in the home and in addition shall relieve him from any further obligations under his contract.

If the employee holds an unexpired lease of a dwelling occupied by him as his home, the employing carrier shall protect him from all loss and cost in securing the cancellation of his said lease.

(b) Changes in place of residence subsequent to the initial change caused by coordination and which grow out of the normal exercise of seniority in accordance with working agreements are not comprehended within the provisions of this Section.
(c) No claim for loss shall be paid under the provisions of this section which is not presented within three years after the effective date of the coordination.
(d) Should a controversy arise in respect to the value of the home, the loss sustained in its sale, the loss under a contract for purchase, loss and cost in securing termination of lease, or any other question in connection with these matters, it shall be decided through joint conference between the representatives of the employees and the carrier on whose line the controversy arises and in the event they are unable to agree, the dispute may be referred by either party to a board of three competent real estate appraisers, selected in the following manner: One to be selected by the representatives of the employees and the carrier, respectively; these two shall endeavor by agreement within ten days after their appointment to select the third appraiser, or to select some person authorized to name the third appraiser, and in the event of failure to agree then the Chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission shall be requested to appoint the third appraiser. A decision of a majority of the appraisers shall be required and said decision shall be final and conclusive. The salary and expenses of the third or neutral appraiser, including the expenses of the appraisal board, shall be borne equally by the parties to the proceedings. All other expenses shall be paid by the party incurring them, including the salary of the appraiser selected by such party.

Section 12.
If any carrier shall rearrange or adjust its forces in anticipation of a coordination, with the purpose or effect of depriving an employee of benefits to which he should be entitled under this agreement as an employee immediately affected by a coordination, this agreement shall apply to such an employee as of the date when he is so affected.

Section 13.
In the event that any dispute or controversy arises (except as defined in Section 11) in connection with a particular coordination, including an interpretation, application or enforcement of any of the provisions of this agreement (or of the agreement entered into between the carriers and the representatives of the employees relating to said coordination as contemplated by this agreement) which is not composed by the parties thereto within thirty days after same arises, it may be referred by either party for consideration and determination to a Committee which is hereby established, composed in the first instance of the signatories to this agreement. Each party to this agreement may name such persons from time to time as each party desires to serve on such Committee as its representatives in substitution for such original members. Should the Committee be unable to agree, it shall select a neutral referee and in the event it is unable to agree within 10 days upon the selection of said referee, then the members on either side may request the National Mediation Board to appoint a referee. The case shall again be. considered by the Committee and the referee and the decision of the referee shall be final and conclusive. The salary and expenses of the referee shall be borne equally by the parties to the proceeding; all other expenses shall be paid by the party incurring them.

Section 14
Any carrier not initially a party to this agreement may become a party by serving notice of its desire to do so by mail upon the members of the Committee established by Section 13 hereof. It shall become a party as of the date of the service of such notice or upon such later date as may be specified therein.

Section 15
This agreement shall be effective June 18, 1936, and be in full force and effect for a period of five years from that date and continue in effect thereafter with the privilege that any carrier or organization party hereto may then withdraw from the agreement after one year from having served notice of its intention so to withdraw; provided, however, that any rights of the parties hereto or of individuals established and fixed during the term of this agreement shall continue in full force and effect, notwithstanding the expiration of the agreement or the exercise by a carrier or an organization of the right to withdraw therefrom.
This agreement shall be subject to revision by mutual agreement of the parties hereto at any time, but only after the serving of a sixty (60) days notice by either party upon the other.

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