Duties and Responsibilities

Legislative

Representative

An Effective Local Legislative

Representative…….

Now that you are an Officer of your Local and a member of the

UTU LegislativeTeam, here are a few thoughts for

you to consider.

The Legislative Department of UTU protects the members’

rights and safety through our interaction with government agencies, State Legislatures,

and the U. S. Congress. The grievance department of our

union protects the members’ contractual rights and issues

through interaction directly with the employer, whether it is a

railroad, bus, or airline company.

Your leadership and communication skills should be used to encourage yourmembers to participate as

voters, active union members, and as good citizens.

You will have the opportunity to receive information from many sources concerning issues that affect your members’ safety, job security, health care, their pensions, and politically. (Website-Twitter-Facebook-Email)

You will find your own techniques for sharing (with your members) the information that you receive from your State Director, the UTU offices in Washington and Cleveland, and from other sources.

Email, Flyers, Local Website, Social Media Sites

COMMUNICATION

You can offer support for the operation of your State Directors’ office by keeping the State Director informed on the issues in your local, your local contacts with elected officials, and other issues that are taking place in your community.

SUPPORT YOUR STATE DIRECTOR

As a Local Legislative Representative you will spend a

majority of your time working on safety issues.

You are now the link between your Local members and the Company.

When safety issues arise, it becomes your responsibility to bring them to the Proper Company Officer’s attention for correction.

After a sufficient amount of time for the correction to take place then you may need to report it to the State Director for further action.

When you send a complaint or a specific concern to your State

Director, make sure you include all the relevant information:

Dates, Times, and Places Numbers of the rail cars, bus, or airline equipment

involvedNames of the people involved, and the type of action to be

investigated.Any pictures that you may have.Your State Director will process the complaint and write to

the proper agency to request an investigation (FRA, FTA, FAA, OSHA, MoDOT, etc.)

Walkway Violations: uneven ballast, muddy/slick surfaces, potholes, material in walkway, standing water, improper width, vegetation. Found in MO 7 CSR 265-9

Hours of ServiceHAZMAT: improper train placement or consist list,

missing or improper placards, leaking or improperly sealed

Management performing service and not following rulesBlue Flag protectionImproper Lighting Safety Appliances

Violation Examples

Dear Sir and Brother,

The following pictures were taken at the east end of the 23". Street yard in St. Louis, MO. The switch In the photos is the lead switch for tracks twelve and thirteen. As you can see the switch is surrounded by water. The only way to line that switch without getting your feet wet is to walk down the lead between the tracks and step out onto the island.

I have spoken to Mr. Supervisor concerning this unsafe condition, but I believe it's is going to take a lot of work to relieve this problem. I am therefore requesting that you turn this matter over to the Proper Authority for their help in resolving this Issue.

Once again thank you for your time and assistance.

Sample Complaint Letter

Detailed Pictures to accompany the Complaint

(2) The Walkways are defined as those areas located —

(A) On both sides of the track within eight feet six inches (8'6") from the centerline of yard and service tracks;

(B) At manual throw switches, the area six feet (6') around the head block ties; and

(C) At manual throw switches for a distance of one hundred feet (100') ahead of the point of switch, extending through the switch, to a point one hundred feet (100') behind the heel of the frog.

(5) Drainage or water-carrying facilities of adequate size shall be installed and maintained free of obstructions to accommodate expected water flow and so as to prevent standing water.

Violations that the pictures show

Hours of Service violations can have serious effects on our jobs and safety. It is very important that we do not allow our members to get involved in a HOS issue.

We had an Hours of Service violation a few months ago in which an employee was ordered by a trainmaster to show on his rest.

Normally this would be fine except in this instance the employee was due a required dead-head from his assigned location to the on duty point.

Hours of Service Violations

X DATE TIME FUNCTION TRAIN/ASG CC EFF-TIME MISCELLANEOUS 0925 0416 CDC 01 DH02925 EN 09/25-0430 RULE= 01 MOT= A 0925 0416 CALL 01 D6AD725 EN 09/25-0600 RULE= 01 0925 0700 TIE UP DH02925 EN 09/25-0600 ARR=1109250600 MLS=047 TRM=OI 0925 1229 COMMENTS : WILL Show Up D67 09/25 -1129 PERSONAL AUTO, OKAY

TM BEARD 0925 1303 TIE UP D6AD725 EN 09/25-1203 ARR=1109251130 MLS=147

TRM=OIL2 0925 1325 DHC(HOME) DH14325 EN 09/25-1203 RULE: MOT:A TIME:0115 MLS:000 0925 1333 COMMENTS : T/U REASON 4 0925 1433 TIE UP DH14325 EN 09/25-1318 ARR=1109251318 MLS=047

TRM=CGPE 0926 0026 OVERRIDE D67D725 EN 09/25-2326 0926 0034 COMMENTS : SHOWED UP TO WORK JOB ON REST Without 1:15 required

deadhead 0926 0034 CDC D67D725 EN 09/25-2318 RULE= MOT= A 0926 0635 TIE UP D67D725 EN 09/26-0535 ARR=1109260417 MLS=100

TRM=OIL3 0926 0639 DHC(HOME) DH11526 EN 09/26-0535 RULE: MOT:A TIME:0115 MLS:000 0926 0959 COMMENTS : CODE FOUR (4) TIE UP. TNRXJ 0926 1059 TIE UP DH11526 EN 09/26-0650 ARR=1109260650 MLS=047

TRM=CH 0926 2048 CDC 01 DH37726 EN 09/26-2145 RULE= 01 MOT= A

PLACE AN X OR V NEXT TO THE RECORD TO BE VIEWED ENTER=INQ F1=HELP F2=PRINT PRINTER: F3=EXIT F7/8=PGUP/PGDN F10=RIGHT F11=PREV MENU F12=NEXT

Example CMC screen of an H.O.S. Violation

You are considered a leader by the members of your local. You are part of the elected Union structure that communicates with, supports, and represents all the members of your local.

The definition of a leader is: a person selected to serve;

Leadership is an honor and a responsibility that has been entrusted to you. We are very proud of the people we represent and their great contribution to the operation of the transportation systems in our country.

LEADERSHIP

We are glad to have you on our team, and look forward to serving with you on behalf of your local members.

If you have any questions, concerns, or just need guidance with an issue or problem you are having, Please do not hesitate to call, text or e-mail the office.

Kenny or someone on the Executive Committee will get back with you as soon as possible.

Wrapping Up