Effective February 1, 2003, Trip Rates for through freight service will be implemented on runs between Springfield and Thayer, Missouri, and between Chaffee, Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee.

With the able assistance of two veteran Local Chairmen, we have established Trip Rates for these two territories that accurately reflect the actual earnings of pre-1985 employees in that pool, based on a test period covering the calendar year 2001, with those wages adjusted for intervening pay increases. The Trip Rates include only those elements identified as "National Pay Elements" in Article V, Section 5 of the August 20, 2002 National Agreement. All other pay elements remain intact and will be paid just as before, including crew consist allowances, held away from home terminal pay, etc.

In these territories, each pool will have two separate Trip Rates, a "Flip Trip" Rate when service and deadhead are combined into and out of the away-from-home terminal, and a Basic Trip Rate for all other trips, including straightaway, long or short turnaround trips and deadheads. Each trip rate includes compensation for arbitrary payments such as Initial and/or Final Terminal Delay or Terminal Switching that were actually paid to pre-1985 employees in the test period. This means that our post-1985 members will now receive that compensation, along with a significant increase in compensation for deadheading since they will now receive that same Trip Rate as pre-1985 employees. Overtime on these runs will be based on the actual miles run, plus an overtime "extender" reflecting those included arbitrary payments that would have previously nullified any overtime. The parties have also agreed to continue investigating this relationship between the overtime threshold and those included arbitrary payments, with the aim of identifying a formula that will eliminate the need to "roll out" any frozen elements before applying future wage increases.

I want to commend and thank Steve McElhany, Local 303 Local Chairman in Springfield and Don Seyer, Local 947 Local Chairman in Chaffee for their diligent efforts in calculating and implementing these first Trip Rates. Watch this site for information on implementation of additional Trip Rates.