ARTICLE IV

RESERVE BOARDS 

1 .            The terms and conditions set forth in the existing Modification Agreements concerning Reserve Boards shall continue to apply to the Reserve Boards established by those agreements and to the Reserve Boards established by this agreement, except as specifically amended by this agreement. 

2.             Tier 1 Reserve Boards 

                 a. The Carrier shall establish Reserve Boards for eligible employees working on the territories comprehended by this Agreement to accommodate all surplus first brakemen resulting from the implementation of this agreement. These Reserve Boards shall be known as Tier I Reserve Boards. 

                 b. Employees on Tier I Reserve Boards shall be paid 75% of the earnings used to establish the employee’s Reserve Board test period. 

     c. Tier I Reserve Boards shall be established at the same locations where Reserve Boards now exist. 

                d. The number of positions on each Tier I Reserve Board shall be established as follows:             

            i.      Initially, eighty percent (80%) of the average number of pool freight first brakeman positions during the period June 1991 November 1991 and sixty (60%) percent of the average number of brakeman extra board positions during the period June 1991 November 1991 will be the established number of Tier I Reserve Board Positions. 

For example, if there are thirty‑five (35) first brakemen positions and twenty (20) brakemen's extra board positions, the Tier 1 Reserve Board will be established at 40 available slots. 

35 x 80%        = 28

20 x 60%        = 12

                        40 Tier I Positions 

                 ii.   The formula described above will permit current working employees under existing Modified Crew Consist Agreements to either occupy a regular position, extra board or the Tier I Reserve Board. 

NOTE: 

It is recognized by the parties that the above formula will not necessarily accurately reflect the number of brakemen needed to meet the needs of service. This is a temporary effort to provide that a sufficient number of brakemen are available in active service. 

                 iii.   The number on the Tier I Reserve Boards and the corresponding Guaranteed Extra Boards will be adjusted to reflect operations after 120 days from implementation and then after 365 days. During the first 120 days after the effective date of this  Agreement, the parties will not make any adjustments to the extra boards. Adjustments may only be made earlier by mutual agreement. If adjustments during the first 365 days of operation under this agreement result in a reduction in guaranteed extra board positions, the corresponding reductions will be added to the Tier I Reserve Board. 

iv.                   It is understood that the Reserve Board will not operate when all protected employees on the appropriate seniority roster on the date of this agreement are placed on either a guaranteed extra board position or on a regular must‑fill assignment; however, established Reserve Board positions will always be preserved. No employee may occupy a reserve board position when any employee hired subsequent to this agreement is working as a trainman or yardman on the appropriate seniority district. The Carrier must utilize all protected employees prior to hiring any additional employees. 

3.             Tier II Reserve Board 

                 a. The existing Reserve Boards, established by the earlier modification agreements to accommodate all surplus second brakemen/ helpers, shall continue, as modified by this agreement, at their current locations with their existing positions. These Reserve Boards shall be known as Tier II Reserve Boards.

b. Employees on Tier II Reserve Boards shall be paid 50% of the employee’s established Reserve Board test period. 

4.             Recall from Reserve Boards 

                 a. Employees on Tier I and Tier II Reserve Boards must hold themselves available for return to service upon fifteen (15) days notice. 

i. Tier I and II employees responding to a telephone recall and who "mark up" immediately thereafter (within twenty‑four (24) hours of telephone recall) will have their Reserve Board pay continued for up to fourteen (14) days from the date they mark up and will have the time spent in Reserve status count as work time for vacation eligibility. 

NOTE:A reasonable telephone recall shall be a minimum of three (3) telephone attempts each eight hours for twenty‑four (24) hours.

ii. The fourteen (14) days bonus pay will be reduced by one day for each day the employee waits until "marking up". Employees not marking up within seven (7) days from any Reserve Board will not receive any bonus payments beyond the seven (7) day recall payments as described in the Modified Crew Consist Agreements. 

                 iii. The bonus payment will be in addition to any compensation earned for service performed during the fourteen (14) day period. 

                 iv. Failure to mark up within the fifteen (15) day recall period will result in the forfeiture of all of the employee’s seniority rights, subject to the provisions of Rule 73(j) in the October 1, 1975 Schedule Agreement. 

                 v. Previous agreements providing for Reserve Board employees to give CMS notice of absences which exceed 72 hours are amended to require such notice for absences in excess of 48 hours. The 15‑day time frame for recalled employees to report, and the recall bonus provision will begin to toll with telephone confirmation or personal notification of recall notice having been sent, or 48 hours from the date and time stated on the recall notice, whichever occurs first. 

5.             Tier I and Tier II Reserve Boards 

                 a. Employees may exercise seniority to available Tier I or Tier II Reserve Board slots. Tier I slots will be filled before Tier II slots are filled. 

                 b. Recall from Reserve Board to active service shall be in inverse seniority order, except employees may make application to be recalled. Employees on a Reserve Board with application on file with CMS to be recalled will be recalled to service in seniority order.

                c. Vacation credits for employees on a Reserve Board shall be earned as follows: 

Reserve Board payments will be considered as compensable service in determining the compensation due for vacation. Vacation pay received while on a Reserve Board will offset pay received under Section 2 (b) or Section 3(b) of Article IV. Time spent on a Reserve Board will not count toward determining eligibility for vacation in succeeding years, except that employees complying with the requirements of Paragraph 4 (a) (i) of this Article IV (Page #9) will have the time spent in reserve status count for vacation eligibility. All time will count in determining the length of vacation to which an employee otherwise eligible, is entitled. 

                d. The earnings used to establish an employee’s Tier I Reserve Board test period shall be calculated as follows: 

                 i. The base Tier I Reserve Board rate shall be 75% of the basic yard helper's rate for five (5) days per week. This rate shall be subject to negotiated COLA adjustments and wage increases. 

ii. The test period will be the employee’s election of the employee’s earnings during calendar year 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 or 1990. 

Effective March 1, 1992, the employee’s election year earnings will be compared to the employee’s 1991 earnings and the higher earnings will be used as the employee’s test period. 

                 iii. The employee’s individual test period earnings are not subject to negotiated COLA adjustments and wage increases. 

                 iv. If through subsequent wage changes, the 75% of the basic yard helper's rate of pay become greater than the employee’s 75% Reserve Board rate, the employee shall receive the greater amount.