This is the twentieth issue of Meeting Point since its inception in January, 1995.

In cooperation with Local 1923 we have provided news, information, and humor to the membership, and other railway employees for the past five years.

Thanks to all who contributed to our success over the years: John Holliday, Adrian Telizyn, Norm Abrahams, Walter Atkinson, Dennis Byron, Richard Senff, Rod Coleman, Bob Sharpe, Steve Edgar, Brian Gleason, Todd Hickey, Phil Mason and our reclusive artist, Stanley Ryerson, PhD.

In addition to our regular fare, this issue offers a "best-of" selection from our contributors from the past five years, and an exclusive look at Meeting Point's predecessor, "Expresso", a mock-up issue presented to the membership to demonstrate what a local newsletter might look like.

So here is to the next twenty issues and five years. In the words of Junk Yard Dog's inaugural article, "If she sails, it will be with your help. If she flounders, the crew will take full responsibility. Full speed ahead! And, long may she sail!"

D. Moorhouse, Editor

By an overwhelming landslide, Charles L. Little was re-elected International President of the United Transportation Union on August 23 at the 8th Quadrennial UTU Convention.

Assistant President Byron A. Boyd, Jr., 53, who was re-elected by acclamation.

Paul C. Thompson was elected by acclamation to his first term as General Secretary and Treasurer. Roger D. Griffeth resigned his position as General Secretary and Treasurer, effective September 1.

Re-elected by acclamation were National Legislative Director James Brunkenhoefer and Canadian Legislative Director Tim Secord. James A. Stem, Alternate National Legislative Director, and Don Tennant, Alternate Canadian Legislative Director.

Re-elected are International Vice Presidents Dan E. Johnson, Pete Patsouras, Kim Thompson, Bernie McNelis (Bus), Bruce Wigent, Rick Marceau, Mike Futhey, and Canadian Vice Presidents J.W. Armstrong and Guy Scarrow.

Newly elected Vice Presidents are Carl Vahldick, David Hakey, Roy Boling, Patrick Drennan and Tony Iannone.

Elected to the positions of First Alternate Vice Presidents were Steve Thompson (East), Artie Martin (West), and J. L. Batton (South).

Elected Alternate Vice Presidents were Robert Sharpe (Canada), Percy Palmer (Bus, West), Carolyn Scarsella (Bus, East), and Mike Canino (Commuter Rail).

Elected to the positions of Second Alternate Vice Presidents were D. J. Schuler (East), John Babler (West), and John Hancock (South).

Elected to the Board of Appeals-Canada were B.L. McLafferty, B. M. Gleason and E. F. Seagris.

The delegates voted to raise funds for local education and training -- and to raise a special "war chest" to take on the BLE in representation

elections on North America's railroads.

The measure passed by a two-thirds vote after Little's speech and a spirited debate. The UTU's International dues are still 20% less than those of the BLE. Little and Assistant President Byron A. Boyd, Jr., both pledged that there would not be another dues increase during the next four years. Three dollars will be used in the BLE representation campaign, $1 will be used for new education-and-training programs at the local level, and $1 will go to the convention fund, which is the first time since 1969 that funds are being raised for this purpose.

The enigmatic Junk Yard Dog has been a stalwart contributor to the good ship Meeting Point since her maiden voyage.

Have you ever wondered about the meaning of the coordinates featured under his moniker? They are taken directly from a monument to sailors who died in the service, located in Waterfront Park adjacent to BC Rail center.

Junk Yard Dog is the heart, soul and conscience of our fine vessel. Without him, we would not be where we are today.

So raise yer mug in a toast to our most steadfast contributor. Long life, and long may ye' sail! HARRR!

Avast Ye Scurvy Dogs! Batten down the hatches, flush the poop deck and stand fast! We’re christening the vesel S. S. Meeting Point! If she floats, it’ll be with your help, if she flounders, the crew will take full responsibility. So sign on me ‘earties! We sail the high rails in search of information of interest to all trainmen at B. C. Rail. The good crew will endeavor to inform, attempt humor and ration the rum. For the time being, we’ll sail out of North Vancouver once a season--spring, summer, fall, and winter. In the meantime, scour the back of your cranium for questions and answers, ship them down to the Port O’ North Van. and we’ll stow them in the next issue. ARRH!

This spirng, will bring about further change to the railroad industry on this property, and most of us owe a tip of the cap and a mug of rum or two to the lads what showed us the ropes. The company has done forgot what backs and spirits built this two-bit turkey trail. So live up to it mee buckos! Work hard, play hard,and mind your rations ‘cause we sail on the tide. AARRRH. Full speed ahead!

Arr, ye scurvy dog, the sentry guardin’ the treasure tells me he spotted you sneakin’ away from yer post. After a wee nip o’ demon rum, perhaps?

Well back to the mizzen-mast mate ‘fore Cappy gets wind of what yer up to, but not before I tells you a story.

Late, late at night, before the dawn, with only yer thoughts and the odd ghost for company, yer mind tends to wander.

Wander and wonder, perhaps ponder, the graveyard shift.

Some boys possess the proverbial backbone of a great grey or blue. Some boys lack any bones at all and are more akin to a jelly-fish than a whale. This truth runs the length and breadth of the social spectrum, from guttersnipes to presidents, from admirals to street urchins.

Honor is a gift, that which a man gives himself. You cannot buy it, borrow it, or steal it.

What kind of legacy will you leave for your children to talk about? Will you pass a legacy of honor, or just pass on?

Most working dogs that I know have more honor than you can shake a stick at. I know of a few management jelly-fish, and these jelly-fish need to ask themselves, "Am I an asset to the company, a liability, or simply an ass? Was I part of the problem or part of the solution? Did I, or will I, make things happen or wonder what in the name of tarnation happened?"

Presumptuous? Absolutely! Preposterous? Totally!

They say that the bottom of the North Atlantic is white with the bones of Englishmen. Adios.

When I woke up this morning, my girlfriend asked me, "Did you sleep good?" I said, "No. I made a few mistakes."-- Steven Wright

Selected gems, nuggets and pearls of wisdom offered by our contributors over the years

'…I would like to start by saying how proud I am to be a member and officer of this Local. We have just been through a 5 year battle over C. C. O. operation. We still have one of the better agreements in our craft. It is our inherent responsibility to protect and live up to this agreement and show solidarity as we have in the past.

Remember, short term personal gain causes the membership long term pain

After all that has been said and done we will still come to work with a professional and positive union attitude. We know who made CCO work.

As a representative of our union I’m asking all of you to get involved, attend local meetings, voice your opinion. We have to look at the future and do what we can to protect our collective agreement by all of us upholding the collective agreement and uniting to better that agreement.

We are facing a long uphill battle, we have to show our solidarity as we have in the past to get through these times of uncertainty.

Ahoy ye scoundrels! Here pull on this, no it’s not a trick rope, it’s an anchor line, and as soon as we get a few more knotheads we’ll shove off.

Avast ye lilly-livered relative of a sea serpent! Wye I’m so acrimonious today that I could eat marlin spikes and crap buttons.

"Ahh, that's where ye are dead wrong, Cappy." "There are three sides to a coin, the head side, the tail side, an' then there is the narrow edge, which is the truth, which is what I been tellin' ye all along."

Issue #15, June 1998

When it is necessary to let the Railway and any other outside party understand how serious we are regarding our right to a safer working environment and maintaining our standards for wages and benefits, it is you the members who allow me as a union officer to deliver that message. Without your support that message falls on deaf ears.

The strength of the United Transportation Union lies in you, the members. The members you have recently elected to represent you will need all of your backing to carry out their duties on your behalf.

 Adrian Telizyn

Are you an active member-the kind that would be missed;

Or are you just contented

That your name is on the list?

Do you attend the meetings

And mingle with the flock;

or do you stay at home

and criticize and knock?

Do you take an active part

To help work along;

or are you satisfied to be

The kind that just belong?

Do you ever voluntarily help

At the guiding stick;

or leave the work to just a few

And talk about the clique?

Come out to meetings often

And help with hand and heart;

Don't be just a member

But take an active part!

Think this over, members,

You know right from wrong;

Are you an active member,

or do you just belong?

(With apologies to Huey Lewis and the News)

I like my job and I don't mind the work,

But that unassigned service is bound to hurt,

The pay's pretty good and the benefits are fine

But being first out at 0230,

Is gonna make you whine

Chorus

I don't mind tellin' ya

I just wanna get ahead

Don't misunderstand me

I'm not gettin' soft

All I want is a couple days off

Just a couple days...

I don't need another T.O.P to blow

This C.C.O. has got to go

Full clearances demand my attention

The engine cab's full of tension

I'm only human, I'm not a machine

I don't need those kind of days off, oh you know what I mean

Chorus

Just a couple days...

Lemme catch my breath

Can't wait for the weekend

First out????

Back to the old grind...

I don't want an hour long meal break,

Just how much of this RTC is a man to take?

I need to change this point of view

I need time to figure out what I'm gonna do

Believe me when I tell ya,

It gets a little rough

I work a little harder but the guarantee's never enough

I hate to say it

I need to cool off

All I need to say is

Book me off!

Recently, I had to do my rules., including a first aid course. What a joke. Included in the course was a module on CPR, the instructor gave us a demonstration on his briefcase. I tell you, I would not want any of the people in that class giving me CPR. On a positive note, I understand the briefcase is doing fine. Issue #6

Once upon a time, on a midnight freight

Pulling up the first hill, running a little late

Evil portents on a Thanksgiving night

A baleful moon cast down its light

A little chilly on the ground

Patches of fog all around

No patrol, no vision ahead

This was the night we were to dread

This question and others crossed my mind

Couldn’t do a thing, we were running blind

Dispatcher harassing us about being late

It should have been him on that midnight freight

Pouring a coffee for the hogger and me

Bent down, looked out to see what I could see

Right in front was a tree and some rocks

My mind stopped, even my clock

The engine went up in the air, a roller coaster ride

It tipped sideways and started to slide

Before I know it, its twenty minutes later

I came to, awake in a crater

Wanting to cry, too scared to shout

Didn’t know what it was all about

We were alive, the engine a mess

This is a true story I must profess

The engineer shouted my name

That brought me around in this deadly game

Death lay to the left and right

We were alive, time to fight

The engine went down a hundred foot bank

The door was smashed shut inside this tank

Went though the window, helped the hogger out

I soon found out what it was all about

Three units toppled over on their side

Nine more cars went for a ride

Diesel was spraying like a fountain of joy

No more train ride, smashed all the toys

Went back inside to retrieve my jacket

Picked up the portable radio packet

Called out for help, really scared

The conductor sounded a little weird

I asked him to come up, I don’t know why

Only God knows, but I couldn’t cry

He walked that train on a broken ankle

Calmed down some, began to rankle

Dispatchers don’t give a damn about us

Only want to know about damage and stuff

I’ve no love left for that boorish lot

I’d lost it that night when things were hot

Gathered together, watching the smoke

After a while we laughed and joked

I found that I’d aged ten years that night

All because of a terrible fright

After a while more help came

A short ride on another train

A taxi was waiting at the first crossing

Took us home, I spent the night tossing

I have had a difficult time in developing this column for the newsletter. I am somewhat disillusioned by the number of members who just don't get it! Yes, it is nice to go to work, leave work and go home knowing that you have people working diligently to protect your rights and working conditions.

The message here is support.

Electing a man to a position means that you faith in his ability to perform the function for which he was nominated. It also means that he is afforded the respect that comes with the position until he proves that he is not worthy of that respect. Any man who gets involved with this or any other union does so out of a desire to make a difference, to help any way he can and to protect people's rights. He can't do that effectively without your help.

We are up against a company and a government that have no qualms whatsoever in doing whatever they deem necessary, including contravening each and every collective agreement article, to suck the life's blood from each and every employee, Unionized or not!

All this down-sizing (right-sizing) has resulted in too few people doing a mediocre job on too many projects and not enough people doing excellent work on an appropriate number of tasks. Most people just want to come to work, do a good job, and go home. This "right-sizing" has, from what I have seen, destroyed the work ethic. Why should we give a shit about this company when the government and management doesn't give a shit about us?

It is no secret that the rail business is not doing well. I have to wonder, that being the case, why the managers who were hired to manage are still here? They call themselves executives and chief executive officers and presidents and vice-presidents. All these titles would make one think that they were hired to manage a company, not run it in to the ground! Are the managers penalized with time off for making mistakes?

The brunt of the cost-cutting (savings?) is to be sucked from the wallet of each and every unionized employee on this property with the running trades taking, of course, the biggest hit.

Twenty gets you two!!! Hell of a deal!!! Where do I sign???

So, here we are. Come full circle so to speak. This is where we need your support and trust. Ask questions. Get involved. What is going to happen in the near future is going to impact you and your families for a long time to come.

~ Dennis Byron

The Editors of Meeting Point support the concept of free speech and welcome any submissions that may be of interest to our members. Submissions may be made to any Union Officer, E-mail utu1778@ultranet.ca or our Web page at http://www.ultranet.ca/

Submissions become the property of Meeting Point. We reserve the right to edit for brevity and clarity. The opinions contained herein are not necessarily those of the Editors or the United Transportation Union.

Back in June I traveled across the property with the rest of the General Committee of Adjustment. The purpose of this tour was to ratify the Belt Pack and MBR agreements (of which these are very good agreements) . The feeling I got from several members was, "What is in this agreement that will benefit me, myself and I alone?" MBR was part of a package poorly designed to compensate those members who were adversely affected by the implementation of CCO. We just tweaked it out.

All I heard from several junior members is the union didn’t represent their interests. Give your head a shake! Had the union not fought against the implementation of CCO so adamantly you probably wouldn’t have a job here at all. That is why the Oct. 1990 date was used in the MBR agreement. This is the day the UTU rejected the recommendations of the IIC, Mr. V. Ready. However, the rest of the joint council accepted his recommendations. From 1990 to 1995 the UTU fought tooth and nail against this. Had we not fought so adamantly CCO would have been implemented in 1991 .

On my return from this tour I was asked to meet with the general coordinator. In this meeting it was stated that the railway wanted to do away with the five hour yard in North Vancouver and have our yard crews take their breaks. Reasons were safety and some crews were abusing the 5 hour deal. The next day while working my 01:00 yard assignment they worked our crew over the five hours. Therefore the 5 hour deal was gone (no more incentive switching) . In the weeks that followed our yard continued to work 8 hours with our breaks as per our collective agreement. Some of our shifts were completed with the last 2 hours sitting in the lunch room until released. This is when I was accused by some members of having ulterior motives, stating the only reason I was doing this was not to get bumped out of the yard , I also witnessed some members who had been the ones who abused the five hour deal start to run for fear of losing their quit, other members said this was not the time to start job action.

Well shortly after all this took place I was bumped out of the yard. The feeling I got from the yardmen was they were willing to give the company anything AS LONG AS IT DOESNT INTERFERE WITH OUR QUIT. As local chairman all I could do was lead by example. The members I talked to didn’t want anything to do with extended yard hours, and it was perceived that I had initiated this on my own. All I was doing was upholding the collective agreement.

All of this put myself under a great deal of stress which made me consider my future as a union representative of this local. For me the answer was easy, do what the collective agreement calls for. But when most members choose to violate the agreement, what can you do? Most of these members haven’t been to a meeting in the last 10 years. My first impulse was to throw in the towel, which I did, but after realizing this would accomplish nothing, and fearing quitting would be losing, I have chosen to reconsider my future. I will stay on as Local Chairperson until the end of my term. At that point I will consider my future.

As for you the members if you do not like the language in your collective agreement, show up at a local meeting to motion the change, otherwise SHUT UP and do your job as outlined in your collective agreement. Because if you violate your collective Agreement I will be IN YOUR FACE!!! For those of you who live up to the agreement keep up the good work, you are the true professionals and backbone of our union.

When we as union member only consider our personal interests we are lost, we are only as strong as our weakest member.

Good work Dave. Congratulations on issue twenty, and hope I’M here for issue forty.

I Remain Fraternally Yours,

Steven W. Edgar

Local Chairperson, Local 1778

In April of 1997 while playing softball we defied the law of physics. Willie Skorberg and myself had a collision on the field, Willie walked away and I ended up with a Broken Tibia & Fibula (leg). Needless to say I was off work for some time.

I believe it was about late September 1997, I had a meeting with the Modified Return to work Person. As a result of this meeting I was put on an exercise program at our local Rec. Center, and with the help of a personal trainer I was able to return to work in mid October in a modified capacity, returning to full duties early in November. I was able to play ice hockey by Mid November (don’t tell my doctor).

My point here is had the MRTW not recommended the course in which I returned to work, I probably would have suffered more complications and a later return to work. I have maintained the exercise routine the personal trainer set out for me, I quit smoking and lost 15 pounds. This year I started racing BMX with my daughter and I feel healthier than I have in many years. So for myself, MRTW was a positive experience.

A Joint Return to Work policy has been agreed to in principle by the Council of Trade Unions and BC Rail.

The policy is based on recognized principles of disability management, and modeled after policies in other industries, particularly CP Rail's successful Return to Work program.

The policy outlines intake procedure, eligibility for participation, (clarifying the equal treatment of occupational and non-occupational illnesses), and defines roles and responsibilities.

The new policy also creates Local MRTW Committees comprised of the injured or ill employee, his union rep. and the local manger. This committee will have the responsibility to plan, effect and monitor the injured / ill employee's return to work.

The policy will be implemented on a pilot basis for the next year, with the local MRTW committees phased in slowly as training is provided.

Watch for more information coming soon as the new policy is introduced throughout the system.

I am using this column to bring a very important issue to the attention of our membership - the issue of our Collective Agreement and the terms and conditions of this agreement. These terms and conditions have been achieved over the years through hard fought negotiations by the officers of this union with strong support and sacrifice by you the members.

I don't have to tell you about the fight we are in today to keep the terms and conditions we now have. The management, with the support of other external forces, are continuing a campaign to claw back hard won gains and undermine our Collective Agreement. Your executive understands the importance of this issue. Local 1923, in the ways and means portion of their union meeting, reaffirms this with the reminder, "Work to Your Collective Agreement". This is also raised at every Local 1778 meeting. We have been through Reduced Crew, Cabooseless Conductor Only, Conductor Pilot and Beltpack. These issues should be a wake-up call to all of us. I don't believe any of us thinks that we have seen the last of these types of changes.

I know when we call on you the members for your support during tough times, you will deliver as you have always done in the past. What I am asking from you now is to give this support every day. The best support we could receive at this time is for every UTU member to perform his/her own duties, not let other employees or management do our work, and to continue to work in a safe manner. I also ask you to work to the terms and conditions of the Collective Agreement because the quickest way to lose these conditions is for UTU members to abuse our Agreement ourselves. It is important for each and every member to protect their rights. If you see rights being violated by our Brothers or Sisters, please bring it to their attention and to the attention of your Union officers. This Agreement belongs to all of us and with your help we will continue to work towards improving it and not simply defending it. I thank you in advance for your support in this matter.

I attended the UTU Convention in Miami, Florida from August 23 to 27, along with your elected delegates Brian Gleason (Local 1778) and Dennis Byron (Local 1923). I would like to thank Brian and Dennis for their support at the Convention. The members of Local 1778 and 1923 were very well represented by your elected delegates.

The delegates elected a very strong slate of officers who are dedicated to working very hard to provide the leadership required to take the UTU into the 21st century. The delegates also dealt with all changes to the Constitution presented for their consideration. Congratulations on a job well done. Also I would like to send congratulations to Brian Gleason for being successful to a position on The Canadian Board of Appeals.

The Council of Trade Unions is meeting this week. I hope we will have positive news for the next issue regarding contract negotiations.

I would like to wish Clyde Mulhall all the best in his retirement and thank him for his years of hard work and dedication to the United Transportation Union and the Labour Movement as a whole. Here's Wishing You All The Best, Clyde!

~ Bob Sharpe ~

General Chairperson

09/21/99