V.I.P. specials are non-revenue vehicles used by the District at the request of Officers or Board members of the District for public relations and employee relations purposes. In the staffing of V.I.P. specials, the District reserves the right to select an Operator for these purposes. It is understood that an Operator used in this type of service will be protected and paid under the terms of this Agreement.
33.02 Vehicle Pickups and Deliveries 33.03 Other Special Assignments The District may establish other special assignments for which an Operator
may apply in advance. These assignments may include non-passenger service work
or a combination of passenger service work and non-passenger work. The Union
and the District shall collectively bargain in good faith on conditions for the
assignments in advance. No Operator shall hold these special assignments for longer
than six (6) months if another qualified and interested Operator applies.
When the District establishes the new position of Base Dispatcher-Special
Assignment, it shall be filled by an Operator holding seniority under this
Agreement, subject to qualification and training. The Union and the District will
meet to collectively bargain in good faith on conditions of employment. Such
positions will be paid at standard Operator rates.
34.01 Reimbursement in Event of Robbery, Theft or Unprovoked Attack A. Replace and/or repair broken glasses; repair, clean or replace uniforms
damaged, soiled or taken from the Operator during the course of a robbery or
unprovoked attack.
B. Replace or reimburse to the Operator, not to exceed one hundred dollars
($100.00), the value of a standard watch, as required by the District.
C. Reimburse up to one hundred ($100.00) of personal funds or miscellaneous
items carried by the Operator at the time of the robbery, theft or unprovoked
attack. If the Operator recovers her property, she shall return to the District the
payment she received for the reimbursement.
34.02 Payment for Time Lost B. When an Operator suffers acute traumatic physical or mental injury as an
immediate result of witnessing or being physically involved in a vehicular accident
or assault while in the performance of duties, and the injury results in a loss of time
from work, the Operator shall be paid up to eight (8) hours per day or her regular
assignment, whichever is greater, at her regular rate of pay for time lost up to three
(3) days, provided that a police report is filed and a copy of the report is forwarded
to the Manager of Operations. Total compensation, including payments from
Workers' Compensation, if any, shall not exceed the Operator's daily pay time rate.
Time lost shall be considered scheduled days off and payments shall not be charged
against Sick Leave or Annual Leave. This policy does not apply to cumulative
trauma, such as back pain or nervous stress.
C. An Operator required to wear prescription glasses as a condition of her
license to drive, whose prescription glasses are lost or damaged as a result of a
robbery or unprovoked attack while working, will be compensated up to a
maximum of eight (8) hours pay for the time lost while the glasses are repaired or
replaced.
34.03 Payment for Personal Losses Due to Accident 35.01 Service Planning and Review Committee The Service Review Committee shall consist of four (4) Union representatives
and three (3) District representatives. At the District's discretion additional staff
representatives may be added. Both parties shall have four (4) votes on the Committee.
The District shall release from work without loss of compensation four (4)
designated Union representatives for time lost in meetings of the Service Review Committee.
35.02 Layovers 35.03 Schedule Adjustments 35.04 Maintenance of On-Time Performance 35.05 Route Review 36.01 Accident Review Committee A. Access to Records:
B. Recompense for Members: C. Scope of Committee Responsibility:
1. Accident Review Committee: 2. Accidents Defined: a. A chargeable accident is defined as an accident resulting from the failure
of the Operator to:
b. A non-chargeable accident is defined as an accident resulting from
circumstances beyond the control of the employee and in which the employee
exercised either defensive driving and/or due care.
3. Procedures for Reviewing Accidents: All accidents involving Bus Operators shall be reviewed by the Accident
Review Committee to determine whether or not the accident was chargeable.
Employees involved in accidents shall not be present when the Board members
are voting. Bus Operators and Supervisors shall excuse themselves from the
proceedings when an accident that they are involved in comes up for review. In
this event the silent observer will be allowed to speak and vote in the
determination of the case. In cases where more investigation is needed to
determine "chargeability" or "non-chargeability" the parties agree to "holdover"
a determination until the next scheduled Accident Review Committee meeting.
4. Appeals: New evidence shall include witnesses, photographs, police reports, physical
evidence, and expert testimony by recognized authorities.
New evidence shall not include altered statements by either Operators or
Supervisors who have a responsibility to provide a full report of events within
time lines. However, clarifying statements submitted by either side that recall
events surrounding a particular accident may be considered.
36.02 Health and Safety Committee The joint Committee shall perform the following functions:
. Access to Records: C. Recompense of Members: D. Review by Outside Health Professionals:
In the event that the parties to this Agreement cannot mutually agree to a resolution
of a difference over a safety and/or health question, the Committee may ask the
advice, opinion or recommendation of consultants and authorities on health and
safety matters. The District or the Union shall have the right to call to the
property these experts and authorities, as well as International representatives
of the Union, having expertise on matters under dispute; they shall be permitted
to make examinations, investigations and/or recommendations for rectification of
the problems addressed. The costs of the outside professionals shall be shared
equally by both parties.
36.03 Equipment Safety B. In order to ensure that health or safety hazards are dealt with on a timely
basis, the following procedure shall be used to deal with potential hazards:
36.04 Expedited Appeals for Health and Safety Matters A. The Union and the District will mutually agree on the composition of the
Panel. The members of the Panel shall be health professionals with expertise in the
matters in question and/or having particular experience with the occupational
hazards experienced by members of the bargaining unit. The Panel shall meet
within three (3) days of the Union's request or as soon thereafter as practicable. The
Panel is encouraged to expedite its recommendation.
B. The District shall begin implementation of the recommendation of the
Health and Safety Appeals Panel within twenty-four (24) hours after receipt.
C. The costs of the Health and Safety Panel shall be shared equally by both
parties to this Agreement.
When coaches are brought from or returned to areas outside the District
boundary by SCMTD personnel, Bus Operators covered by this Agreement shall
operate the coaches. The District and the Union shall mutually agree on the criteria
for the selection of Operators used under this Section. The District shall provide
compensation to chosen Operators, including, but not limited to: meals, board and
room if necessary, pay for all hours worked and transportation time, including all
hours worked overtime, and compensation for in-flight insurance equal to $50,000.
It is understood that an Operator used in this type of service will be protected and
paid under the terms of this Agreement.
The District may establish special assignments, which may include Vault Puller-
P.M. and Revenue Collection Assistant, to be filled prior to each quarterly Bid from
a sign-up list of available and interested Bus Operators. The selection shall be
confirmed before the beginning of the quarterly Bid sign-up. These assignments
shall be for the duration of the Bid, shall have a definite sign-on and sign-off time,
and be paid at the Operator's regular wage rate. Nothing shall preclude an
Operator on special assignments from making herself available for overtime on the
"Call for Additional Operators" list.
ARTICLE 34
OPERATOR SAFETY
The District agrees to replace the following items or reimburse their cost to an
Operator if it is shown that the items were lost or damaged as a result of a robbery,
theft and/or unprovoked attack on the Operator while on duty, provided that the
robbery, theft and/or unprovoked attack is reported to the appropriate law
enforcement authorities. For the purposes of this Article, theft shall be defined as
the carrying away of the Operator's personal property without the permission of the
Operator.
A. It is further agreed that if the Operator is physically injured as a result of
robbery, or as a result of an unprovoked attack by another person which is reported
to the appropriate law enforcement authorities and the injury results in a loss of
time, she shall be paid for the balance of her assignment, or in the case of an Extra
Board Operator, she shall be guaranteed the hours of the assignment of the day on
which the injury occurred.
The District agrees to pay for uniforms damaged, and up to seventy-five
($75) for personal property damaged or lost, due to vehicular accident while
operating District equipment.
ARTICLE 35
OPERATING POLICY
The Union and the District shall convene a Service Planning and Review Committee which
shall study and make recommendations on running times and interlining of routes,
schedules, time points, and bus stops. The Service Planning and Review Committee shall meet
monthly and shall make recommendations for implementation of operating
changes. In denying any recommendations made by the Service Planning and Review Committee,
the District shall provide a written justification supporting its reasons for denying
the recommendation, which shall be provided to the Union at the next monthly meeting.
The District shall schedule one fifteen (15) minute layover for every four (4)
hours running time on work assignments serving the Santa Cruz Metro Center. This
provision shall apply only to work assignments which consistently contain runs of
thirty (30) minutes or less.
The District will use available buses and point Operators to make necessary
adjustments to alleviate schedule adherence problems. Blocks which currently
contain runs of thirty (30) minutes or less will receive priority for schedule adjustments.
The District and the Union recognize that efficient route planning and
reasonable working conditions require the provision of adequate running time and
recovery periods for the purpose of maintaining a high level of on-time performance.
If there are consistent occurrences, not caused by temporary conditions, where
recovery times are scheduled in individual routes, yet not generally realized, the
Union may invoke a corrective action as follows: an Operator or the Union will
provide a written account of the specific problem, including the number of recovery
times shorter than the scheduled minimum during a mutually agreed upon two
week period, and specific trips involved. This information shall be forwarded to the
Manager of Operations. The Service and Planning Review Committee will verify the account with
independent time checks and recommend corrective action, if warranted. Corrective
action is warranted if the findings corroborate the Operator's time study. Corrective
action may include but not be limited to re-interlining of the affected block(s), route
redesign, schedule adjustments or adjustment of time points. These corrective
actions may be taken individually or in combination as required.
ARTICLE 36
SAFETY AND ACCIDENT REVIEW
The Accident Review Committee shall be composed of two (2) representatives
of the District management and two (2) members of the representation unit
designated by the Union. Each side shall have a reasonable number of silent
observers. This Committee shall be responsible for accident review and shall meet at
least monthly to review chargeability recommended by the District.
All Operators who are Accident Review Committee members shall be
reimbursed by the District at their current rate of pay for all time spent in
Committee work. The District shall release members from work when District
scheduling conflicts with Committee work.
The Accident Review Committee shall be responsible for reviewing the
circumstances surrounding motor vehicle, equipment, or passenger accidents
involving SCMTD Bus Operators, and to make determinations as to whether the
accident is considered either "chargeable" or "non-chargeable" as outlined
below. All actions of the Accident Review Committee shall be a majority vote of
the members in attendance and voting; however, a minority opinion may be
attached to any Committee determination and submitted to the Manager of
Operations or his representative. If there is a tie vote, the accident will be
referred to a mutually agreed upon representative of the California Highway
Patrol, for final determination. The District and the Union agree to share this
cost, if any. If an accident is referred to the California Highway Patrol for final
determination, both parties will submit their appeal jointly within thirty days of
the tie vote. The parties may extend this time line by mutual agreement.
An accident shall be defined as any event involving an SCMTD employee
while driving District equipment (including startup and shutdown) in which any
property damage or personal injury results, regardless of how slight.
Each month the District shall review the accidents of the previous month. All
cases reviewed will be forwarded to the Union. Accident information forwarded
to the Union shall include all cases reviewed, occurrence reports, supervisor
reports, police reports, photographs, and courtesy cards. The Accident Review
Committee shall meet at least seven (7) working days after the receipt of all pertinent
accident information by the Union.
Appeals of chargeability shall follow the schedule outlined below:
Appeals of monthly accident review results may be made at the following
monthly meeting if new evidence is made known. The Union will notify the
Committee members of all appeals. The employee involved in an accident may
attend, upon request and without pay, the appeal session in which they have
new evidence to present.
5. Broken Mirror and Clearance Lamp Policy:
Any event where a mirror head, the mirror arm or clearance lamp is damaged
to the point of replacement constitutes an accident. Broken glass or a spot
mirror falling off shall not be considered an accident. Broken clearance lenses,
bulbs, or lenses falling off the bus, shall not be considered an accident.
A. Purpose and Composition of Committee:
The Health and Safety Committee shall be composed of an equal number of
Union and management representatives. The joint Committee shall meet quarterly
or more often at the request of either party to consider potential and actual safety,
health and training matters affecting an Operator within the representation unit.
The Committee established by this Article shall have complete access to all
pertinent records, excluding personnel files.
The District will release from work without loss of compensation two (2)
designated Union members for time spent in meetings of the Health and Safety
Committee.
A. No Operator shall be required to operate a District vehicle which does not
have brakes, horn, steering, safety equipment, defroster, Operator seat, heater,
windshield washer and wiper, sun visor, mirrors, head lamps, brake and tail lights
each in correct adjustment and proper working order. The District agrees that all
equipment in revenue service should be equipped with an operable radio. No bus
will be used in revenue service without a working radio after 7:00 P.M. or prior to
5:00 A.M. It is the responsibility of the District to see that all reported defects are
checked and corrected before the bus is returned to service.
In the event the parties to this Agreement cannot resolve a difference arising
over a safety and/or health question, the issue shall be immediately discussed in an
emergency meeting at the final step of the grievance procedure. If it cannot be
resolved after the meeting and there is no agreement to extend discussion of the
matter, then the Union and the District will refer the matter to a special Health and
Safety Appeals Panel for recommendation as outlined in this Section.
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