Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway
Division Safety Assurance and Compliance Program
CHARTER
1. PURPOSE
This document establishes the charter for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Division Safety Assurance and Compliance Program (SACP) for the Nebraska Division. The Division SACP will provide a forum to raise Division safety concerns, identify risks and recommend actions to reduce the potential for injuries and accidents.
2. BACKGROUND
The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF), participating labor organizations and the Federal Railway Administration (FRA) each recognize the need to promote and achieve safest work practices at BNSF. The Division SACP was created to establish cooperative partnerships to identify and address Division safety concerns and issues.
3. STRUCTURE AND SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES
The Division SACP will be composed of representatives from BNSF (Division leadership), Labor and FRA. All participants on the Division SACP will have will have equal standing in the decision-making processes.
The recommendations of the Division SACP must be compatible with existing labor agreements. Collective bargaining issues will not be addressed by the Division SACP.
4. ORGANIZATION
A. Membership
Membership in the Division SACP will consist of representatives from BNSF (Division leadership), Labor and the FRA. Regular members will be chosen by their own respective organizations. Guidelines and/or procedures governing the participation of members -- such as selection criteria -- are at the discretion of each participating organization. Each signatory Labor organization may choose up to two representatives as regular members of the Division SACP. Employees off for injury, furloughed, on temporary leave of absence, for example, are considered actively employed and are eligible to participate. Employees whose employment is terminated through the discipline or resignation process will not be allowed to participate. Additional Labor representatives may serve on an as needed basis depending upon the nature of the specific issues and at the request of the Division SACP. Additional representation, for instance, regulatory agencies having jurisdiction within the Division, may also be asked to participate and all but regular members will be referred to as associate members.
B. Decision-Making And Authority
Recommendations rendered by the Division SACP are intended to reflect the consensus of the regular members in attendance, or their designated representatives. In the absence of consensus, an issue will be tabled for consideration at the next meeting of the Division SACP or withdrawn from consideration. Section 9 of this charter is a listing of organizations that may designate members of the Division SACP.
C. Quorum
For the purpose of this charter, a quorum consists of representatives from the BNSF, FRA and at least one-half of the participating labor organization members.
5. ADMINISTRATION
A. FRA Division Team Leader
The FRA Division Team Leader shall:
(1) Facilitate meetings
(2) Ensure Division SACP files and records are properly maintained by BNSF
(3) Monitor meeting minutes and file retention
B. Co-Chairpersons
The Division SACP will have Co-Chairpersons:
(1) One (1) selected by Labor
(2) One (1) selected by BNSF
C. The Division Responsibilities
The Division shall be responsible for:
(1) Determining the location of all meetings, formulating and approving an agenda, notifying participants, and accepting new agenda items no later than 7 days prior to the meeting date when possible.
(2) Notifying members of the status of recommendations forwarded for review and approval
(3) Ensuring all Division SACP minutes and files are properly maintained by BNSF.
D. Meetings
The Division SACP will meet monthly or as often as they deem necessary. Minutes must be kept of each Division SACP meeting. The minutes must include:
(1) The time, date, and place of the meeting
(2) A list of the attendees at the meeting
(3) A summary of issues discussed and conclusions reached
(4) A listing of all recommendations and issues unresolved after two meetings shall be forwarded to BNSF SACP Task Force.
(5) The Division will be responsible for circulating the minutes of each meeting for approval at the next meeting and forwarding a copy to the BNSF SACP Task Force.
Administrative support will be provided by the Division Superintendent in the Division in which the meeting is being held.
6. EXPENSES
Expenses in conjunction with meetings, e.g. conference rooms, cancellation fees, visual aids, etc. of the Division SACP will be borne by the BNSF. The BNSF will arrange lodging in the vicinity of the meeting.
Time off, travel expenses and compensation for employees will be governed by applicable agreements between the respective labor organizations and BNSF, unless otherwise agreed upon by those parties, however, no Labor member will suffer a loss of earnings through participation. Meals and lodging for employees will be reimbursed by BNSF in accordance with existing BNSF Corporate Travel policy.
7. MODIFICATIONS AND/OR AMENDMENTS
Modifications and/or amendments to this charter require the consensus approval of the BNSF SACP Task Force.
8. EFFECTIVE DATE AND DURATION
This Division SACP charter is effective April 1st, 1999, and will remain in existence for an indefinite period of time.
9. APPROVAL OFFICIALS
The following organizations agree to the Division SACP Charter.
American Train Dispatchers Division
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
Brotherhood of Railroad Carmen
Brotherhood of MOW Employees
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
Federal Railroad Administration
IBEW
United Transportation Union
United Transportation Union/Yardmaster
International Association of Machinists
National Conference of Firemen And Oilers
Revised April 1, 1999