MTAcre - If a tree falls in the ACRE, does ANYONE hear it ? is anyone listening ?

The current conductor promotion class has been notified that this week (June 12 th ), instead of having Saturday and Sunday off for their usual relief days during promotion class, the class will now be marked off on Thursday June 15 th and Friday June 16 th , and make themselves available to work this weekend for the U.S. Open. This would not be possible without the Association of Commuter Rail Employees (ACRE) agreement to the company's request. This has happened before on several occasions during holidays, again with ACRE's consent and permission. What impact does this have on the regular extra board and relief day lists and calling order?

Regular assignments and schedules do not mean much to the Association. Everyone should be prepared to have his or her assignments changed during the coming holiday season 12/21 thru 1/02. The Association will allow Metro-North to change a number of regular assignments for the Christmas and New Year's holiday period.

Whatever the company wants, they get from ACRE. Holiday schedules for non-holidays like Martin Luther King Day, not a problem. A revised schedule for a non-working holiday, for example, Good Friday, sure, why not. Before we lost Veterans Day away with the current ACRE agreement, this was a working holiday that ACRE allowed Metro-North to operate a revised schedule. This did not happen before ACRE's operation.

With the cowering, pandering and agreeing to every company request by ACRE, how could anyone be surprised that ACRE would agree to affect the regular assignments of a few of its members in the conductors promotion class?

Take care to remember ACRE's assistance to Metro-North and the MTA during the TWU strike this past December. ACRE's unspoken motto is “Whatever the MTA wants, the MTA gets”. Their spoken motto is “the company's position is”. If anyone thinks they have not been affected by ACRE's company position, they are wrong. Everyone has been impacted from the first time ACRE allowed Metro-North to compromise our working agreements without challenge.

The officers of Local 77