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6eventually disappear altogether. The “protected” employees also have the benefit of the“furlough boards”. “Non-protected” employees are not entitled to the “furlough board”.[25] With the creation of the “furlough boards”, which in essence allowed some employees tobe protected at their home terminal, CN needed to find a way to fill positions in <strong>cases</strong> of shortagesat other locations. This is where section 148.11 of the Collective Agreement came into being.This provision, as we have just seen, allows CN to “force” unprotected employees to otherterminals in the Western region to cover work.[26] Prior to the enactment of section 148.11, CN would get employees to cover shortages byissuing what is referred to as a “shortage bulletins” and allowing employees to bid on theseshortages, if they so desired. These “bulletins” were put out at each “change of card” whichwould happen about four times a year. Since it is difficult for CN to predict where a shortage willoccur, these bulletins would cover various locations, whether or not there was actually a shortagethere. Employees who wished to work at a shortage at a certain location would post a bid for thatlocation and if that location ever became short, the employee who had posted a bid could be calledto cover the work there.2010 CHRT 23 (CanLII)[27] CN still puts out shortage bulletins and employees are still allowed to bid on these, butgiven that protected employees can now stay at their home terminal on the furlough board andstill be paid, there is little incentive for them to bid on these potential shortages.[28] CN also used a system which is referred to as the “whitemanning” which allows it to senda surplus of employees at one terminal to an adjacent terminal. For example, in such a scenarioemployees in Kamloops, B.C., would be running trains that the Vancouver crews would normallytake to Kamloops.[29] It is also possible that manager will be called upon during a shortage situation. Almost allof the transportation managers are qualified to operate trains. CN will call upon its managers as alast resort after it has exhausted its supply of running trades employees.

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