HALLOWEEN II

or CHARLIE'S REVENGE!

So Charlie came to the big dance masquerading as a Union leader and appropriately dressed as Judas; Byron showed up as Sargeant Schultz - "I KNOW NOTHIIINNNNG"; Clint came as game show host Monty Hall and passed out business cards that said "I am a real lawyer; wanna cut a deal"?; Bob Earley showed up with a nice tan, remenicient of a high paid consultant doing most of his best work behind closed doors in the Cayman Islands; and many of the General Chairman showed up dressed as the "Choir": It's a good agreement - AMEN, It cuts my work load on claims - AMEN, I'm sure the carriers will give us accurate records - AMEN,  If you don't vote for it we will get something worse - HALLELUJAH and AMEN Brother!

Yes, Halloween II, the agreement that finally makes Halloween 85 look good! Change a pay system in effect for 4 or 5 decades and come up with a pay rate to be determined later with the Carrier providing the records?  Sound good?  Hey, I see alot of mid and late 90's hires on the discussion boards saying what a great deal this is? I guess all those new hires will be coming to the big dance as HYPOCRITES!!! Yea, shoe's on the other foot now, huh?  It might not have been OK for the Pre-85's to allow a dual pay scale, but it's OK for us Post-85's to allow a dual pay scale for those hired after January 1, 2003, particularly since the Carrier's have to right to determine the pay scale (I'm sure they will be very fair?)!  Yea, you snivelling little hypocrites, take a few pieces of silver just like those Pre-85's (I spoke, wrote, and voted againt it) but pretend that you're better than they were! 

Of course the irony will be that all you mid to late 90's employees will become vagabonds when trip rates are finally instituted everywhere, if you can hold a job at all.  Think about what happens when trains arriving or departing yards  start doing their own switching?  Do you think the senior employees will move to the locations with the best trip rates?  Vote yes and pack your suitcase.

Now since Sac-C is so honest and since he stated clearly in the El Paso Shootout right before he was re-elected that a salary wasn't possible (yes, this is a salary to be determined by the Carrier after the agreement is ratified and based upon their records), one has to wonder where is the hell did this come from? Well, from the Carrier's Section 6 Notices: "Revise existing pay rules and adjust levels in relation to competitive labor market data to correspond to pay of comparable positions in other industries and to offset impediments to productivity under existing rules and practice insofar as there is no agreement to elimiate such impediments to productivity."  Yep, ole debonair, courageous, who needs eloquence when what you're saying makes so much sense, Sac-C delived just what the Carrier asked for - GOOD JOB CHARLIE - I bet Gus Welty is really proud of you now?

TO BE CONTINUED . . . . . .