BLE UP Southern Region GCA

October 8, 2002                                                                                                                         Issue # 1

BLE UP Southern Region announces new internet time claim program to assist Local Chairmen and empower the membership.

 

In an effort to keep pace with technology and keep our membership more informed, the BLE UP Southern Region GCA has developed new technology that will allow members to track their claims and grievances on the internet.  This technology has a two fold purpose.  First and foremost, it has been implemented to make it easier for our Local Chairmen to handle the appeal of time claims on the local level.  The claims process has in the past, tended to get bogged down in the paperwork web.  Our new system is designed to eliminate that problem.  Second, it has been put in place to provide the membership the ability to track the handling of their grievances.  However, there are specific contractual requirements that must be met in order to process a valid claim.  That process includes the following:

 

1.       The employee has 60 days from the date of the agreement infraction to file a claim.

2.       The Carrier is required to decline the claim within 60 days of the employee initially filing the claim.

3.       The Local Chairman has 60 days from the date of Carrier declination to appeal the claim to Labor Relations

4.       The Carrier has 60 days to decline the Local Chairman’s initial appeal.

5.       From that point, the General Committee has 180 days to list the claim for conference. 

6.       The Carrier has 60 days to issue a declination letter from the conference date.

7.       The Organization has 180 days to list the claims for adjudication.  (Time limits can be extended by mutual consent at all levels)

 

This entire process is outlined in the 1996 on property agreement governing claims handling which can be viewed in PDF format by clicking here and checking out Attachment B - Claims and Grievance Handling.  The burden of proof clearly falls on the employee or Organization progressing the claim.  That means that we need as much documentation as we can possibly get in order to support your claims and collect the same in conference.  The documentation becomes more important if the claims are denied in conference requiring that they be listed to arbitration to be successfully handled.  We need transaction logs, train lists, board standings, KBMs and any other information you can provide that supports your claim.  A clear and through explanation on your =PE is an absolute must.  One of the most important documents is your hours of service reporting form.  That is a federal document that the Carrier readily accepts as fact, so if you accurately report your on duty information, this document can be invaluable as evidence when handling your claims.  Additionally, since we have developed a paperless claim handling process which involves scanning all documentation, it would be very beneficial if you would follow the below procedure.

  1. Be sure to get clean, clear copies of all documentation.  Printing the information from a printer with a good ribbon makes reading the scanned document much easier. Use the PRFAX= command to send it to a fax if necessary.
  2. Tear all documents into single sheets and use paper clips instead of staples when grouping the documentation together.  While this is a little work on your part, it is saving a lot of work and resources that can be channeled into other areas of representation.  If you use staples, someone is going to have to be paid to remove them. 
  3. Use the F8 function when tying up to record all moves made during your hours of service trip.  You can record unlimited multiple trains and deadheads with this function to clearly document all the moves you made during your tour of duty.

Check out our website at

WWW.BLEUPSRGCA.COM

Get Your EMPLOYEE # to check out the new Time Claim Page by clicking on the link below:

 

 

GET EMPLOYEE #

 

 

Once the page is loaded, you can hit the CTRL F key and type in your last name and press enter.  You should jump down the page to that name allowing you to simply scan across finding your Employee #.

 

If your name does not appear on this list, please forward us an e-mail containing your last name, initials, work location and social security number by clicking HERE.

 

 

 

Once you have secured your EMPLOYEE # above, simply logon to our claims website by clicking here and entering your Employee # and “password” as your password to view your up to date claim status.  We are still in the process of upgrading the site and including more information in the display, but you can monitor your claims by monitoring the Status column and reviewing the legend at the top of the page.

 

More improvements will be added as they become available.

 

This site has been provided to lighten the load on our overworked Local Chairmen and to empower the membership with the ability to see how their claims are being handled.  It is your site! Please spread the word and use it to monitor your Committee’s performance.

 

I don’t believe any other GCA in the country has provided this electronic ability to their membership. This is a work in progress and we are open to any suggestions you have on making the process better for everyone.

 

This is our first attempt at an electronic newsletter.  We hope to do more with lots more information.  If you would like to receive this communication directly from the GCA, please  send a message with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line so we can capture your e-mail address by clicking HERE.