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Two years of labour peace? The membership has voted 70.4% in favour of the agreement reached between BC Rail and the Council of Trade Unions.

The Meeting Point crew would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Council members for the dedication and hard work that resulted in the agreement. Because of their efforts, not a single BC Rail demand was entertained in the final agreement. Please support your Council as they continue to work hard to obtain the best possible conditions for their membership. The best way to do this is to attend your union meetings, discuss the issues with your executive and offer your input.

This year marks the beginning of our seventh year of publication. This issue offers some basic information about your pension plan and what other unions are doing to secure the future of their plans. Also inside, our historian writes about the origin of standard time, and you'll find news about overwork, the dangers of Mexican trucks on our highways and some famous one-liners. Finally, sing along with Junk Yard Dog, and read the latest from your local and general committees.

Finally, remember this safety reminder: It's your life, don't leave work without it!

The information that follows is general in nature. The benefits paid to each individual will vary according to each individual's circumstance. It is very important that plan members obtain advice on their pensions from a qualified source, well in advance of retirement. Questions about the BC Rail plan can be directed to the BC Pension Corporation at 1-888-440-0111 or 250-953-4324 or Janet O'Connor, Mgr. Benefits Utilization, 984-5050

A common rule of thumb is that a retired person will require about 75% of pre-retirement income to maintain the same standard of living. At retirement, Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance premiums (totalling about 6% of income) cease because these premiums only apply to employment income. Also, it is assumed that your income level, and therefore your tax bracket, will be lower.

Your retirement income will be from a variety of sources, including a workplace pension plan, private savings, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS).

The BC Rail plan (and most other public pension plans) are based on the "Rule of 85". That is, years of service plus age must total 85. E.g. 60 years old with 25 years of service or 55 years old with 30 years of service. Federal law prohibits pensions to be drawn earlier than age 55, unless you are a employed in public safety (e.g. police, fire, corrections) where the minimum age is 50. Maximum pensionable service is 35 years.

Employees who do not meet "rule of 85" requirements, may retire after age 55 with a reduced pension.

Your plan is integrated with the CPP. Consequently, the plan pays 1.3 % of your average yearly earnings per year of credited service up to the Yearly Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE), and 2% per year for wages above the YMPE. In the case of retirement before age 65, the plan will pay an additional 0.7% (bridge benefit) up to your YMPE between age 55 and 65. At age 65, the bridge ceases, and CPP and OAS kick in.

The YMPE is used for calculating CPP; it is supposed to represent the average industrial wage in Canada. This figure is adjusted for inflation, and changes yearly. For 2001, the YMPE is $38,300.

E.g. For an average wage of $50, 000 (30 years service)

(1.3% X $38,300 YMPE) = $651.10 + (2% X $11,700) = $234
($651.10 + $234) = $8851 X (30 years) = $26,553 / yr.

Depending on what age you retire, you will also receive either the bridge benefit or equivalent CPP (0.7% X $38,300) = $268.10 X (30 years) = $8043

Total pension $34,596 / yr.

In addition, you will receive OAS at age 65 (at current levels $431.36 / mo. or $5176.32 / yr.) bringing your total yearly income to $39,772.32

Maximum CPP is $775 /mo. or $9383 /yr. OAS is subject to clawback on a sliding scale starting at income above $53,215 / yr. By law, maximum pension income is about $60,000 /yr. Any income above this level is considered "offside" and is treated differently for tax purposes.

Note that CPP can be collected starting at age 60. The rate is reduced by 30%, but the BC Rail bridge benefit continues to age 65. If you compare collecting reduced CPP benefits starting at age 60 to collecting full CPP benefits starting at age 65, the total benefits received by about age 77 is the same. In other words, you can collect reduced benefits for 17 years or full benefits for 12 years and still end up with the same money. Either way, you continue to collect CPP after age 77 until your death.

Pension benefits are indexed or increased, on Jan. 1 of each year, according to the Consumer Price Index or a formula based upon interest rates

Pension benefits are paid in different forms. The Single Life, Guaranteed form gives you the option to guarantee payments to your beneficiary for 5, 10 or 15 years following your retirement. If you are married, you are required to draw your pension in a form called Joint Life and Last Survivor unless the option is specifically waived by your spouse.

In this form, benefits will be reduced slightly, but will continue to be paid after your death or the death of your spouse, depending on the option. There are many different options and payment levels for each form of benefit, and the benefit you receive will be reduced according to the option you pick. Typically, any option you choose is much cheaper than life insurance.

By law, other benefits like medical (MSP), dental and insurance coverage cannot be paid as part of a pension benefit. The BC Rail plan pays MSP benefits from the fund, for which the fund is then reimbursed by BC Rail dollar for dollar.

BC Rail is the sponsor of the BC Rail pension plan. Although the plan is subject to Pension Benefits Standards Act and other legislation, it is the responsibility of BC Rail. Our pension is probably the largest value benefit our members receive, but it is not contained in the collective agreement. The plan is not negotiable.

Pension plans are subject to an actuarial review every three years. An actuary is an individual (a member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries or "CIA" ) qualified "in the modeling and management of risk and contingent events". Actuaries use assumptions about age levels, mortality rates, future benefit payments, investment returns, employee turnover, wage and interest rate increases, and other accepted standards to assess the solvency of a pension plan and to determine the level of contributions necessary to maintain or improve its solvency. In other words, actuaries make an educated guess at whether a pension plan will have enough money to pay current and future the members the benefits they are due when they retire. The assumptions they make are typically very conservative.

Prior to 1996, plan members were required to contribute 4.5% of wages up the YMPE and 6% after that. BC Rail would then contribute an amount (determined by the actuary) required to fully fund all future benefits. Since 1996, the fund has had more money than is required to pay all future benefits. As of Dec. 31, 1999, this surplus stands at $137.2 million dollars.

In July 1996, the board of directors declared a contribution holiday. Member's (and BC Rail's) contributions have since been paid from the surplus. This contribution holiday remains in effect today.

The surplus has likely arisen from a number of factors. Primarily, plan investment experience has been greater than was originally assumed. In 1999, investment return averaged 11.9%. Typically, return on investment is expected to be about 7% over the long term. Another factor may have been optimistically high actuarial wage projections and expected rates of increase. In this case, the fund would have been required to put away money to pay for higher benefits (which are based on a percentage of wages), but 0-0-2% wage restraint has kept wage increases below the rate of inflation. In other words, wage restraint may have played a factor in the creation of the surplus.

As the sponsor of the plan, BC Rail assumes all the risk. Members benefits are protected if funding levels drop. But BC Rail also receives the benefit of the contribution holiday. Although the surplus was built with pension fund money, it does not belong to the plan members.

Recently, members of other statutory plans such as the Public Service, Municipal, Teachers, College, ICBC, WCB and Hydro have lobbied government for joint trusteeship of their pension plans.

Joint trusteeship is based on the following principles:

The surplus we are experiencing was created by investing our money, and on the backs of workers experiencing wage restraint. It makes sense to have a say in the use of future surpluses.

Check our website for more information, including the plan document, links to the BC Pension Corporation, legislation, and joint trusteeship information.

"Mona tried to tell me

To stay away from the train line.

She said that all the railroad men

Just drink up your blood like wine"

Bob Dylan,

CHICAGO (AP) - Two Amtrak engineers were arrested last week after an altercation in the cab of a Los Angeles-to-Chicago train, railroad officials said Friday.

No passengers were endangered, but the engineers "compromised service and an investigation and a disciplinary procedure are under way,'' Amtrak said in a statement.

The men were arrested by police after stopping in Needles, Calif., on Jan. 24, officials said.

The train's engineer called Needles police before the train reached the town's station, asking police to meet the train and arrest his assistant engineer, The Washington Post reported Friday.

The men might have been involved in a fist fight that involved a dispute over smoking in the train's cab, the newspaper reported, citing railroad sources it did not identify.

Neither engineer was identified.

Sources told the Post that police officers did not want to arrest either man, but each insisted on a "citizen arrest'' of the other, so both were taken to jail.

The train was delayed for an hour and 38 minutes until another engineer arrived.

OTTAWA – ‘We’re tired and we’re not going to take it anymore.’ That’s the mood of Canada’s largest union as it released a new Ekos Research poll that shows public sector workers are reeling from work overload.

"In some sectors, workload is reaching epidemic proportions," warned Judy Darcy, National President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. "Long hours of overtime and constant pressure to speed up has a huge impact on workers and their families. This is the number one issue affecting our members’ quality of working life."

Armed with poll results that show 83 per cent of public sector workers in key sectors want workload made a top priority, CUPE plans to take the issue to the bargaining table in hundreds of workplaces. Some local unions are prepared to make it a strike issue.

"The Japanese have a word for this – karoshi, which means death by overwork," Darcy said. "It’s time we recognize how serious the problem is in Canada and stop putting public sector workers at risk.

"Public sector jobs have been slashed in recent years and our members can’t continue to do more with less," she added. "We need more staff, improved wages and we need to ensure that families with young children can get quality child care."

The poll shows that more than half of public sector workers see their workload as heavy and growing. Concern is greatest among health care and social service workers, but education and government workers also report heavier workloads than those in the private sector.

For health care workers added duties and increased demand top the list of causes for overwork while for government and education workers staff cuts also play a big part. More than three-quarters of education workers and two-thirds of health care workers say that workload pressures are taking a toll on their physical health.

"Our members are sick and tired from overwork," said Darcy. "They’re passionate about wanting to deliver quality services but their workloads simply won’t allow it. For health care workers, social workers and many others, this isn’t just a question of pride. This can be a matter of life and death."

http://www.cupe.org

~ John Holliday ~

Hey Buddy, do you have the time? "Every conductor, locomotive engineer, trainman, pilot, foreman, snowplow foreman and such other employees as the company may direct, shall, when on duty, use a railway approved watch and shall, in the application of Rule 2…blah, blah, blah…"

"Before commencing work, every employee referred to in Rule 2 shall compare the time on his watch with the time indicated on a standard railway clock where one is provided or with a railway approved time source. Where a standard railway clock or railway approved time source is not accessible, obtain the correct time from the RTC or by comparing with another employee who has obtained the correct time."

Prior to 12 noon, Sunday November 18, 1883, nobody was positively exactly sure what time it was, on a train. In the olden days, everybody would set their watch downtown, at high noon. At a town one hundred miles east, or west, however, it might be closer to eleven or thirteen o’clock, because of the transit of the sun.

This posed a real problem for people, and conductors. Most railroads adopted a time standard of it’s home town, or an important city on it’s route. This technique was first practised by The Great Western Railway, of Great Britain, in 1840.

In May, 1872 an association of railroad superintendents held it’s first meeting at the old Southern Hotel in St. Louis. They wanted to organize summertime passenger train schedules, and a permanent organization was formed. The time-table convention became the general time convention, the American Railway Association, and finally, the Association of American Railroads.

The secretary of the general time convention, William F. Allen, worked tirelessly to convince railroads in the states to adopt a standard time.

Canada’s Sir Sanford Fleming, (of the Canadian Pacific Railway) advocated an international system of established time zones. In 1884 at the Prime Meridian Conference, in Washington D.C., a system of international time zones was adopted, which is still in use today.

OTTAWA, Feb. 15 /CNW/

A safety group today cited the anticipated arrival of Mexican trucks and Mexican truck drivers on Canada's roads as another reason for the federal government to abandon its current plans to legitimize 19th century style 84 and 96 hour workweeks for truckers driving on Canada's roads.

Canadians for Responsible and Safe Highways (CRASH) was responding to reports that President Bush will soon lift current U.S. restrictions on Mexican truck operations. Under NAFTA, Canada is also obligated to welcome these Mexican trucks.

CRASH executive director, Bob Evans, suggested that the arrival of Mexican truckers in Canada - with a different safety culture and language, when Canada is introducing new trucker work hours substantially in excess of those in the United States "stretches the safety envelope on Canadian roads beyond the tolerable".

Canada must accept the Mexican trucks and the risks they may pose, Evans stated. But, he insisted that "This is no time to move ahead with the current plans to legalize the world's longest truck driver workload limits. Enough is enough."

Mr. Evans said that one of the recognized devices for ensuring safe

operation everywhere by trucks and truck operators of the three NA FTA countries was harmonization of safety standards and practices. Given this rationale, he asked why Canadian authorities continue to insist that the new Canadian truck driver work limits be substantially higher than those in the United States.

For more information visit

www.web.ca/~crash

Mark your calendars! The 10^th annual Local 1778 Summer Picnic will be held, Sun. July 15^th at Heywood Park in North Vancouver.

The organizing committee wants to do something special to commemorate the tenth year of summer fun and frolic. Stay tuned for more details in the June issue of Meeting Point.

After 29 years of service, Bob Strain booked permanent rest after his last run out of Lillooet, Feb. 24.

Good luck Bob. Here's wishing you a long and steady line of pension checks! (see page 2)

Famous One-liners (from the Internet)

Little Bones

Lat 49 - 18’- 72" N

Lon.123 -05’-14" W

"AVAST!" Ye one armed rabid sea-monkey! Sneakin up on me like that, why I oughta run ye through!

"Now, where was I? Oh ya, like I was tellin the skipper, me an Sled Dog was chewin the fat, lappin up the rum, still singin "Ding-Dong the Witch is Dead", "Hey, Mr. Tallyman", an' other classics, when it was brought te our attention that a new collective agreement has been signed."

We was surveyin' the heavens, an ponderin' the future, an like Ann Landers says, "Life is not always as it seems, so follow yer heart, an chase yer dreams." Like JYD says, "Life is te short te drink cheap rum."

OK, we just got word from the crow's nest that the harbour patrol has been seen in the area, so we gots te shove off. See Ya in June!

JYD

Three members of local 1778 and four members of local 1923 attended the five-day Canadian Labour Congress Winter School at Harrison Hotsprings Resort early this year.

Here's a list of the members from each local, and the education they received:

David Moorhouse
Pensions: A Union Perspective

Glen Evans

Willy Skorberg
Occupational Health and Safety - Level 1

Robert Girard
Collective bargaining - Level 1

Mike Robertson
Facing Management

Dave Lamarche

Roxanna Bowman
Union Counselling-Level 1

(Roxanna's participation was sponsored jointly by the UTU and BC Rail in support of her new position on the Employee and Family Assistance Advisory Committee)

ICFTU Trade Union World/CALM

According to the International Labour Organisation, "job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources or needs of the worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury. Long-term exposure to job stress has been linked to an increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders, depression and job burnout, and may contribute to a range of debilitating diseases, ranging from cardiovascular disease to cancer.

"Stressful working conditions also may interfere with an employee's ability to work safely, contributing to work injuries and illnesses. In the workplace of the 1990s, the most highly ranked and frequently reported organizational stressors are potential job loss, technological innovation, change, and ineffective top management. At the work unit level, work overload, poor supervision, and inadequate training are the top-ranking stressors."

Greed. Probably the Ace the company has up its’ sleeve. Offer enough money and even the rest clause goes away. Had to represent a member at a hearing as a result of the rest clause. He was instructed to bring his train in over his hours and because he would not, he was issued a hearing letter for refusing the instructions of a supervisor. I will not get in to particulars but, prior to attending the hearing, I had a discussion with a senior supervisor who laughed when I said that the rest clause was introduced to address fatigue and safety. Guess I couldn’t blame him for finding that humourous when we consider what is happening on one particular subdivision. New days were the rage. Now it’s extended tie-ups if a crew brings the train in over their hours.

The point I am trying to make here is that we know that the company would like longer hours on the road and I am sure they are building a case to support their request. The selling of any article in the Collective Agreement is appalling, but not holding the railway accountable to the rest clause is, quite frankly, despicable.

Most members are out working to the Collective Agreement, Letter of Understanding or arbitration award. Any deviation from these accepted practises erodes the ability of the GCOA to make progress at discussions on the various issues and will come back to bite us in the ass at negotiations.

Work to the Collective Agreement and we make the railway accountable.

D.G. Byron

Local Chairperson

Local 1923

Internet/CALM

Worker dead at desk for five days. Bosses of a publishing firm are trying to work out why no one noticed that one of their employees had been sitting dead at his desk for five days before anyone asked if he was feeling OK.

George Turklebaum, 51, who had been employed as a proof-reader at a New York firm for 30 years had a heart attack in the open plan office he shared with 23 other workers. He quietly passed away on Monday, but nobody noticed until Saturday morning when an office cleaner asked why he was still at work during the weekend.

His boss, Elliot Wachiaski said, "George was always the first guy in each morning and the last to leave at night, so no one found it unusual that he was in the same position all the time and didn't say anything. He was always very absorbed in his work and kept much to himself." A post-mortem examination revealed that he had been dead for five days after suffering a coronary.

Ironically, George was proof-reading manuscripts of medical textbooks when he died.

Brothers and Sisters:

I would like to thank all the Sisters and Brothers who took the time to come out to the CTU ratification meetings and those who returned their ratification ballots. We had an overall return of approximately 66%, which is quite high for mail ballots. The vote was 70% in favour of accepting the Memorandum of Agreement. The CTU has had one meeting with BC Rail on outstanding issues such as the prescription card and the tax structure for weekly indemnity payments. We have set up a protocol and process to discuss other issues that were left to be negotiated during the closed period. If and when these issues from the main table are tentatively agreed upon, they will go to you, the members, for ratification.

We have recently concluded negotiations on the new Whistler Northwinds Tour Train Service. These negotiations have been proceeding on an on-again/off-again basis for approximately two years. This new service will be conductor-only. This agreement will not be prejudicial to the crew consist language in our collective agreement today. The conductor will not have any responsibilities on the passenger equipment and there is no baggage on this train. The conductor's duties on this service will be in the locomotive cab, very similar to freight service. This service is very similar to the Rocky Mountaineer, which has been manned in this manner since it went into service. The one issue still being discussed involves the rest facilities at Pemberton.

The Railway has started a pilot project with beltpack in Prince George. The 0730 and 1400 yards have been scheduled to go beltpack once training has been completed. I believe the results of beltpack on BC Rail will be decided based on this pilot project. We are still working out some issues with the Railway and the Ministry. A meeting is scheduled for March 16th at the Ministry offices. I would like to thank Tim Watson who has accepted the position as UTU beltpack trainer and is being trained at this time. We will keep you advised as things progress with this project.

We have had another successful CLC Winter School at Harrison where seven members from our locals attended various courses. We have been able to continue this type of training through our education fund. We're sending a member from each local to the region meeting in Winnipeg from the education fund this year. The UTU has developed a very good three-day education program for these region meetings. We will also have two members from each local attend the UTU B.C. Spring School in Kamloops on April 28th and 29th, 2001.

Brothers and Sisters, if you are interested in taking advantage of any union education programs in the future, I encourage you to advise your locals of your interest. I must remind you though, that we will be asking you to put that education to work in assisting the Union once you are trained.

For you members who have not seen Canadian Legislative Director, Tim Secord's notice re Away From Home Expense Claims for 2000 income taxes, the meal allowance is $11.00 per meal, three meals in twenty-four hours.

Sisters and Brothers, we have been going through some monumental changes over the last while. We have seen changes structurally and operationally - some might say far too many in far too short a time! We seem only to complete half of one change before we charge ahead with some new program without knowing if the first one is going to work. It would be a positive move if, for once, someone decided to step back, take a deep breath, and assess what we are doing and where we are going.

The one thing no one has taken the time to do is to thank you, the Brothers and Sisters who, despite all odds, manage to keep this place running in spite of the decisions being made outside of our control. I, for one, would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your hard work and dedication through these changing times.

Just a reminder: Safety is our primary concern.

~ Bob Sharpe ~