Upon reaching his/her first eligibility date
with the Company and during each succeeding year, an employee subject to this
Agreement shall be credited with a certain number of hours of credit for the
purposes of this Article 8, based upon hours worked during his/her first year
of service and each succeeding year, such credit to be earned and used as
designated in this Article 8.
The credit to which an employee shall be
entitled on his/her first eligibility date, and at any time thereafter, shall
be computed in accordance with the following rules:
8.2(a) An employee with less than
five (5) years of seniority will earn one (1) hour credit for each seventeen
(17) hours worked.
8.2(b) An employee with
five (5) or more but less than ten (10) years of seniority will earn one (1)
hour credit for each sixteen (16) hours worked.
8.2(c) An employee with ten
(10) or more but less than fifteen (15) years of seniority will earn one (1)
hour credit for each thirteen (13) hours worked.
8.2(d) An employee with fifteen
(15) or more but less than twenty (20) years of seniority will earn one (1)
hour credit for each twelve (12) hours worked.
8.2(e) An employee with
twenty (20) or more but less than twenty-five (25) years of seniority will earn
one (1) hour credit for each eleven (11) hours worked.
8.2(f) An employee with
twenty-five (25) or more years of seniority will earn one (1) hour credit for
each ten (10) hours worked.
8.2(g) Seniority shall be the seniority
as defined in Article 14.
8.2(h) Each hour worked on third
shift shall be increased, at the ratio of eight (8) to six and one (6-1/2)-half
for the purpose of computing credit.
8.2(i) Total credit for any period
of service will be computed to the nearest tenth of an hour.
8.2(j) All hours for which an
employee is paid will be counted as hours worked in the computation of credit
and hours worked at premium rates shall be counted as straight time hours in
such computation.
Eligibility for use of credit shall be
determined as follows:
8.3(a) An employee becomes eligible to use his/her
credit as provided in Section 8.4 after reaching his/her first eligibility
date, except as provided in Subparagraph 8.4(c)(2).
8.3(b) The eligibility date of an employee newly hired or hired after
termination of employment shall occur on the anniversary date of such hire.
8.3(c) An employee who had established an eligibility date prior to
the effective date of this Agreement will retain such eligibility date so long
as he/she remains in the continuous service of the Company.
8.3(d) Time on layoff and time on authorized leave of absence will be
considered as continuous service for the purpose of establishing and retaining
eligibility dates.
Credit earned by any employee is to be used as
follows:
8.4(a)
Allocation of Portion of Credit to Sick Leave Credit and to
Vacation Credit. The first forty (40) hours credited on an
employee's first eligibility date and thereafter as earned during each
succeeding year of service shall be allocated to the employee's Sick Leave
Credit. The number of such hours that at
any time are earned and unused shall be referred to as the employee's Sick
Leave Credit.
All hours credited on an
employee's first eligibility date and as earned during each succeeding year of
service, in excess of the number of hours to be allocated to the employee's
Sick Leave Credit as aforesaid, shall be referred to as the employee's Vacation
Credit.
8.4(b) Use
of Vacation Credit as Vacation With Pay or Sick Leave.
Between eligibility
dates, an employee shall use his/her unused Vacation Credit accumulated in the
twelve (12)-month period preceding his/her last eligibility date as vacation
with pay at the rate in effect for each day of the vacation period, including
shift differential, if applicable, subject to the following conditions:
8.4(b)(1) He/she shall request vacation dates on forms
provided by the Company and the Company will endeavor to schedule his/her
vacation as requested. Generally,
Vacation Credit will be used in units of eight (8) hours; however, Credit may
be used in lesser amounts to cover partial days of absence, subject to advance
approval by the employee's supervisor.
8.4(b)(2) In instances where
Company management believes the awarding of vacations as requested would
interfere seriously with production requirements, the scheduling of vacations
shall be as near to the dates requested as possible.
8.4(b)(3) In scheduling vacations, the Company will
attempt to meet its production requirements by use of employees on a voluntary
basis and, failing in this, the seniors will be given their preference of
available vacation dates when request is made thirty (30) or more days prior to
the vacation dates requested to the extent established vacation schedules will
permit.
8.4(b)(4) In the event an employee
is temporarily laid off as provided in Section 22.8 or is on approved leave of
absence, he/she may elect to take his/her vacation with pay, to the extent of
his/her eligibility, during such layoff or leave.
8.4(b)(5) If an employee's Sick
Leave Credit is exhausted, management shall allow an employee to use vacation
credit to care for a child, spouse, parent, parent-in-law, or grandparent as
may be required by law, even if an employee is under a Corrective Action Memo
for attendance. In other cases,
management may approve on a case-by-case basis an employee's request to use Vacation
Credit as sick leave for legitimate reasons for absence under the same
conditions as set forth in Subparagraph 8.4(c)(1). Such approval will not be unreasonably
denied; however, requests will not normally be approved if the employee is then
under a Corrective Action Memo for attendance.
8.4(c) Use of Sick Leave
Credit as Sick Leave. Sick Leave Credit may be used as
follows:
8.4(c)(1) General.
Between eligibility dates, an employee, including an employee on a leave
of absence, may, at his/her option, use any part or all of his/her Sick Leave
Credit as sick leave providing: (A) the employee is partially or wholly
incapacitated by actual illness or injury on the days taken as sick leave, (B)
an illness in the employee's immediate family requires the employee's presence
or (C) the employee has a medical or dental appointment which can be scheduled
only during working hours. The employee
shall be paid for absence charged to sick leave and shall not be penalized for
such absence providing the nature of the absence and anticipated length of
absence is reported to his/her organization on the first day of such absence,
or as soon thereafter as reasonably possible.
As to possible rights after exhaustion of Sick Leave Credit, see
Subparagraph 8.4(b)(5) and Section 8.5(a).
8.4(c)(2) Prior to First Eligibility Date. Prior to his/her first eligibility date an
employee may use in accordance with Subparagraph 8.4(c)(1)
accumulated Sick Leave Credits anticipated to be allocated on his/her first
eligibility date. Use of such credits
will be considered to be an advance from the employees' Sick Leave Credits due
on his/her first eligibility date and will reduce such allocation
accordingly. Should the employee
terminate for any reason other than layoff prior to completion of his/her first
year of service, sick leave payment made to the employee may be deducted from
the employee's final paycheck and any remaining amounts will be due the
Company.
8.4(d) Unused Vacation
Credit. It is the intent of the parties that
employees shall be required to use Vacation Credit as vacation. However, where an employee does not use all
or part of such Vacation Credit as vacation with pay during the year between
vacation eligibility dates, the employee shall receive pay in lieu of any
remaining unused Vacation Credit after reaching his/her next eligibility
date. An exception to the foregoing will
be to allow employees to elect carryover of vacation credits in order to meet
extended vacation needs, provided the employee makes such election in writing
at least ten (10) working days before the employee's next eligibility
date. Vacation credits so carried over
must be used during the next eligibility year and pay in lieu of vacation
credits carried over will not be allowed until the end of the eligibility year
following the eligibility year in which the carryover election is made. All payments in lieu of vacations shall be
made at the employee's rate in effect on the employee's current vacation
eligibility date, including shift differential where applicable.
8.4(e) Unused Sick Leave
Credit. An employee who, on any eligibility date, has
more than forty (40) unused hours in his/her Sick Leave Credit, less the number
of leave without pay hours taken during the eligibility year, will receive
pay-in-lieu of those hours over forty (40) in accordance with the following
table:
|
Hours of Unused Sick
Leave Credit in Excess of 40 (Less Leave Without Pay Hours) |
Percentage Payment |
|
40 hours |
160% |
|
36 to 40 hours |
150% |
|
32 to 36 hours |
140% |
|
28 to 32 hours |
130% |
|
24 to 28 hours |
120% |
|
20 to 24 hours |
110% |
|
less than 20 |
100% |
Such payments shall be
made at the employee's rate in effect on that eligibility date, including shift
differential where applicable.
Notwithstanding the above, there will be no deduction for leave without
pay hours taken for the following reasons:
departure from work for Union business pursuant to Section 4.9;
temporary layoff pursuant to Section 22.8; time loss as a result of industrial
injury or illness; or emergency plant closure.
8.4(f) Effect of
Termination. Upon termination of an employee's employment
for any reason on or after any eligibility date, such employee shall receive
pay in lieu of his/her hours of Vacation Credit and Sick Leave Credit earned
and unused up to and including the effective date of his/her termination of
employment. For the purposes of this
Section 8.4(f) only, an employee shall be deemed to have terminated on or after
his/her first eligibility date if he/she worked on his/her last scheduled
workday prior to that eligibility date.
Such pay shall be in addition to such benefits as may be payable to the
employee under the Financial Security Plan.
8.4(g) Effect of
Military Service on Credit. Any employee who
leaves to enter military service shall receive pay in lieu of his/her hours of
Vacation Credit and Sick Leave Credit earned and unused up to the effective
date of termination irrespective of whether he/she has been employed until
his/her eligibility date. Such payment
will be made when the employee furnishes proof, satisfactory to the Company, of
his/her entry into military service within sixty (60) days after termination
and without intervening employment elsewhere.
Such pay shall be in addition to such benefits as may be payable to the
employee under the Financial Security Plan.
8.4(h) Effect of Layoff
on Credit. Any employee who is laid off (on other than a
temporary layoff of fourteen (14) calendar days or less) shall receive pay in
lieu of all of his/her hours of Vacation Credit and Sick Leave Credit earned
and unused up to the effective date of layoff irrespective of whether he/she
has been employed until his/her eligibility date. Such pay shall be in addition to such
benefits as may be payable to the employee under the Financial Security Plan. Employees temporarily laid off shall not
receive pay in lieu of unused Credit.
8.4(i) Use
of Credit in Lieu of Working Short Workweek.
In the event the Company deems it advisable to work an employee on a
short workweek as provided in Article 5, Section 5.2, the employee may:
8.4(i)(1) elect against working
the short workweek in which case he/she may apply for and use his/her unused
Credit accumulated in the twelve (12)-month period preceding his/her last
eligibility date (to the extent that it is not allocated or required to be
allocated to his/her Sick Leave Credit) as time off with pay at the rate in
effect on the day(s) such credit is used, including shift differential if
applicable, or
8.4(i)(2) elect to work the short workweek and apply for
and use such unused Credit as time off with pay for the regular workdays that
are not worked in the short workweek, or
8.4(i)(3) elect layoff, in which
case the provisions of Section 8.4(h) above shall apply.
8.5(a) Use of Accrued
Financial Security Plan Benefits. The
Financial Security Plan is not applicable to employees within the units to
which this Agreement relates. However,
after October 4, 1983, an employee who has transferred into a unit defined in
Article 1 who has an accrued benefit under the Financial Security Plan shall
retain such accrued benefit under the Plan subject to the current withdrawal
and termination provisions of the Plan applicable to the employee's unit before
transfer.
8.5(b) Deferral of Benefit
Payment. A Member may defer payment of benefits upon
termination of Service regardless of the amount of the Member's account
balance.
8.5(c) Annuity Form of
Benefit Payment. A Member to whom a benefit is payable on
account of retirement under a retirement plan sponsored by the Company may,
prior to the Member's retirement date under such retirement plan, elect to
receive all or any designated portion of this Plan benefit in an alternate
annuity form regardless of the amount of the Member's account balance.