www.brslocal16.org

On behalf of all the officers of Local 16 and the S. E. General Committee, please allow us the opportunity to welcome you to the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS). At this time, if you haven't yet applied for membership to this union, do so as soon as possible. To apply for membership, please contact Financial Secretary Bill Yates at 904-545-1456.

The BRS was organized in 1901. The creation of our organization began as a demand that signalmen be recognized apart from other crafts. Our determination to sustain the BRS through an entire century came from the belief that signalmen were craftsmen that possessed specialized expertise. The BRS has a proud history of protecting the interests of its members, which number around 10,000 across the USA and Canada. As members of a union organization, we negotiate terms that cover the many aspects of signal work with our employer and establish a contract. These negotiated terms are in the form of an agreement between the railroad and the BRS. In our case, we have two agreements, a national agreement, which covers the signal craft as a whole across the nation and a local agreement, which covers signalmen within a particular local. These two agreements, one negotiated by our Grand Lodge nationally, and our local agreement negotiated by your General Committee, contains the rules that govern the scope of your work, wages, benefits, how and when you are paid, and many other rules that determine your service to the railroad. All agreement rules, rates of pay, and benefits that we enjoy today have been negotiated through your union from the very formation of our organization in 1901. Our responsibility, as employees and union members, is to perform signal work in a safe and professional manner, while at the same time remembering that we are unified as signal craftsmen. First and foremost is to work safe, become knowledgeable of, and follow the many rules and regulations that govern signal work, and know your agreement with the railroad. If you do not understand any of your agreement rules, contact a local union representative. We will get you an answer. Once you become a member of Local 16, you have a contractual obligation to CSX and they have a contractual obligation to you. Familiarize yourself with the rules that you are governed by to perform your work, and once again, familiarize yourself with your union contract.

Many new hires have never been in a union and this may be the case with you. Our goal for each new member is to teach you about unionism. There are many forces in our country that oppose organized labor. However, it is a fact that cannot be denied; the best paying jobs in our great country are union jobs. There might sometimes be a degree of intimidation by management for standing with your union; however, for the most part, the majority of managers are fair and respect our agreement. If you ever experience a problem with this, call your Local Chairman or your General Chairman. We are here to help you.

Keep your union information handy. This website was created to keep you informed and almost all of the agreements we work by are contained within this site. There are multiple agreements that cover many different areas of our local and we have also included your National Agreement. The agreement most applicable to our everyday activities is your Local Agreement (07-01-06 SCL-AWP Agreement). The beginning of this agreement contains a rule called the Scope Rule. This rule defines all the work that belongs to signalmen. This work belongs to you and should not be performed by any other craft, contractor, or company officer. This is just one aspect of your agreement. All positions are defined; work days and hours are explained, as well as how construction teams work, how vacant positions are awarded, and much, much more.

Next, is the National Agreement which covers, in part, wages, healthcare, vacation rules, and job guarantees. This agreement is re-negotiated approximately every 3 to 5 years. As stated earlier, this agreement applies to all signalmen across the nation. Grand Lodge enters into the collective bargaining process with the National Carriers Conference (NCCC). The NCCC represents the nation’s Class 1 Carriers. These are the big four, Union Pacific, Burlington Northern-Santa Fe, Norfolk Southern, and CSX Transportation. There are smaller roads that are represented within this conference, but this national negotiation generally covers wage increases and healthcare adjustments. After national negotiations are finished, new or revised rules are added to the national agreement. This is a short synopsis, but familiarizing yourself with these two agreements will help you understand important benefits provided by both of these agreements.

There is a publication issued every quarter called The Signalman's Journal. It provides valuable insight on topics that are important to the craft, such as articles about the Railroad Retirement System and contact phone numbers for your healthcare and other insurance benefits. The Signalman’s Journal is published by Grand Lodge and is an important informational tool for all signalmen across the nation.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen is divided into three entities. Grand Lodge is the national body that is responsible for all locals across the USA and Canada. Grand Lodge is the headquarters and contains the national office for the BRS. Grand Lodge, the Locals, and General Committees are governed by the BRS Constitution. The BRS Constitution defines the structure and outlines how our union is operated. The current President of the BRS is Mr. W. Dan Pickett and the Secretary-Treasurer is Mr. Jerry Boles. They are headquartered at Grand Lodge, along with the Vice President Headquarters, Vice President NRAB, the Grand Lodge Representatives, and all of the staff that works to make Grand Lodge function. Additionally, there are three Grand Lodge Trustees that serve the organization. Our General Chairman, Gus Demott, was elected as a Grand Lodge Trustee at our 2010 Convention. Our Field Grand Lodge Vice-Presidents are located in several regions across the US and Canada. Our VP is Mr. Floyd Mason; his office is in Denver, NC near Charlotte. Our General Chairman works closely with our VP on all major issues. The Grand Lodge officers are elected every 4 years at our Convention, which is held at pre-determined locations across the nation. Each local elects delegates to send to the BRS Convention. These delegates elect the leaders of the BRS, make necessary changes to the BRS Constitution, and conduct any business that comes before the Convention.

The next structure to understand is your Local. Our Local is known as Local 16. Local 16 was chartered in 1967 and was created from a merger of the former Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line Railroads. Local 16 covers most of the southeast portion of the nation, and is comprised of the former Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, the Atlanta West Point Route, the Georgia Railroad, and the Western Railway of Alabama. Local 16 has a structure that closely resembles Grand Lodge. The President is the head of the Local. Local 16 also has a Financial Secretary, Recording Secretary, and 3 Trustees. All of these positions are elected every 3 years. The President's responsibility is the operation of the Local, adherence to the BRS Constitution, and the Local By-Laws. He presides over all Local meetings, which are held every other month on the third Saturday, beginning in January. The only exception is the November meeting which takes place on the second Saturday. The meeting information is on the Google calendar located on the Local 16 website. The Local is governed by the Local By-laws and operates from its own treasury.

Next is the General Committee structure. The General Committee is made up of 11 local chairmen and is called the Southeast General Committee. Each local chairman of the Southeast General Committee represents a defined district and the members working within that area. The General Committee elects a chairman as its leader and spokesperson. This position is known as the General Chairman. The General Chairman, with input and consultation from the Local Chairmen, negotiates our local agreement(s). He also interprets the agreements of Local 16 and contractual issues, represents members in discipline cases, and progresses claims, appeals, and grievances. The General Chairman is our representative in dealing with CSXT Labor Relations. The current General Chairman is Mr. Gus Demott. The General Committee is governed by General Committee by-laws and operates from its own treasury.

This concludes this overview designed to make you more familiar about your labor organization. The BRS is a proud and professional organization that represents its members zealously. This organization is operated by and for its members. Welcome to a great organization and please make every effort to attend a meeting in your area. Remember, a schedule is contained within this website on the Google Calendar that outlines dates, locations, and times of our various meetings.

A letter from President Pickett is below outlining the BRS' actions and position on the current legislation affecting our Railroad Retirement. Please read carefully. Additionally, a copy of this letter can be found on the www.brs.org website if you are a registered user.

Our Railroad Retirement System is under attack.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Budget, Paul Ryan (WI-R), has suggested that cutting back on Railroad Retirement benefits would save taxpayers “$2 billion over 10 years.” This is false and establishes his ignorance on how our Railroad Retirement System functions. The Ryan Budget, which was passed by the House in March, completely ignores the relationship between Railroad Retirement and Social Security. All Railroad Retirement benefits above Social Security — whether Tier I benefits or Tier II benefits — are fully funded by railroad workers and their employers; none of these benefits are funded from the general treasury.

We are in the process of visiting with Congressmen and Senators to educate them and eliminate the damaging language contained in the House budget.

Railroad retirement payroll taxes, like railroad retirement benefits, are calculated on a two-tier basis. Railroad employees and employers pay Tier I taxes at the same rate as social security taxes. When railroad employees retire, the Tier I benefits replicate the benefits railroad workers would receive if they were covered by social security. Railroad employees and employers both pay an additional retirement tax, Tier II, which is used to finance railroad retirement benefit payments over and above those levels contained in social security.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) reimburses the Railroad Retirement Trust Fund for all benefits paid that are identical to Social Security benefits and nothing more. The SSA does NOT reimburse the Railroad Retirement Trust Fund for benefits that are unavailable under the Social Security Act. All annuity payments which are above those provided by the Social Security Act are funded by Tier II taxes. There are no public funds or general tax revenues used to pay these annuities; therefore, there are no taxpayer savings by approving the Ryan Budget plan. The assertion that changing the way our retirement system pays benefits would somehow save tax dollars is simply untrue.

We have been monitoring this issue ever since it became apparent what Congressman Ryan was attempting to do. Our Legislative Department has been working for weeks, in conjunction with our sister unions’ Legislative Departments (with the support of the Railroad Retirement Board and the Association of American Railroads), to get the offending language removed from the House budget proposal.

The Senate has not moved on this budget yet, and we are working closely with various Senators to make certain that the offending language is not passed during this session and is not progressed in any subsequent session.

I thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I do not think that the legislation will be progressed by the Senate in this session, but we are monitoring it closely. If I see a future need to motivate our members to call their Senators and Congressmen on this issue, I will be contacting you for your assistance. We are in a serious fight, but for now, we believe that our Legislative Department is well positioned to keep us abreast of any changes.

In Solidarity,

W. Dan Pickett

President

Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen

Railroad Information Depot Web Site

A new Railroad Information Depot web site is available now where you can find all your benefit information and forms, regardless of which benefit administrator provides your coverage. Information pertinent to retirement is available also and includes all of the required UnitedHealthcare forms and applications, as well as basic information. When you find what you're looking for, click and you will be brought to the page with the information you need. The link for the web site is below and will be added to the Web Links category of this web site.

https://www.rrinfodepot.com/Default.aspx