VIII.            FAMILIARIZATION

A.            Engineers will not be required to lose time or “ride the road” on their own time in order to qualify for the new operations.  Engineers will be provided with a sufficient number of familiarization trips in order to become familiar with the new territory.  Issues concerning individual qualifications shall be handled with local operating officers.

B.            Engineers who work their assignment (road or yard) accompanied by an engineer taking a familiarization trip in connection with the merger shall be paid one (1) hour at the straight time rate of pay in addition to all other earnings for each tour of duty.  This payment shall not be used to offset any extra board payments.  The provisions of 3 (a) and (b) Training Conditions of the System Instructor Engineer Agreement shall apply to the regular engineer when the engineer taking the familiarization trip operates the locomotive.

C.            Beginning with implementation the Carrier may begin familiarization trips for engineers.  They may be removed from their extra board and/or other assignments and temporarily placed on a familiarization board.  When on the board they may be placed on other assignments and will be paid as if working the assignment and their riding on the assignment will not affect the pay of the working engineer.  The familiarization board shall have the same guarantee, pay and offset provisions as the extra board.  The Local Chairmen and CMS will work together to rotate engineers through the familiarization board.  The familiarization board provisions shall expire when prior rights are expired.

NOTE 1: Familiarization will begin with any surplus engineers and extra board engineers.  Later non pool assignments in the thirty mile zone, yard assignments and finally pool assignments. If prior to this schedule engineers obtain a position needing familiarization this schedule need not be followed.

NOTE 2: Engineers on the familiarization board will not have their protection offset for working a lower paying assignment.  If the assignment they are taken from is higher paying than their TPA they will be paid a difference of earnings, however they must claim this difference on their timeslip.

IX.            IMPLEMENTATION

The Carrier shall give 30 days written notice for implementation of this agreement and the number of initial positions that will be changed in the Hub.  Thereafter implementation provisions of the various articles shall govern any further changes.