contractart16-17

Section 1. Leaves of absence without pay, other than leaves of absence covered by other provisions of this Agreement, may be granted by the Employers to employees covered by this Agreement for a maximum period of thirty (30) days per calendar year. An employee desiring such a leave of absence shall submit an advance written application for such leave to the Employer’s General Manager. Such application shall specify the purpose of the leave, and the duration of the leave being requested. The General Manager of the Employer shall review and respond to such leave request. Said response shall state whether the leave has been approved or disapproved. Any employee who is granted a leave of absence without pay and who engages in other employment, including self-employment, during the term of such leave will be subject to immediate discharge.

Section 2. Any leave of absence shall be one unbroken period of time.

Section 3. An employee will be granted an emergency leave of absence without pay in the event of the serious illness of a member of the employee’s immediate family. Immediate family will be defined in the same manner as in Section 2 of Article 14 — Funeral Leave. The employee will produce evidence of the serious illness upon the request of the Employer.

ARTICLE 17-VACATIONS

Section 1. Eligible regular drivers of the Employers shall be entitled to vacation benefits as described herein.

Section 2. To be eligible for vacation pay provided for in this Article, a regular driver who at any time during his anniversary year has been scheduled to work a five (5) or six (6) shift work week must have worked a minimum of 210 full shifts for his current Employer in his anniversary year without a break in service. A regular driver who during the course of his anniversary year has been continuously scheduled to work only four (4) shifts each work week must have worked a minimum of 180 full shifts for his current Employer in his anniversary year without a break in service. Employees who terminate or are terminated prior to the anniversary date of their employment with their Employer shall not be eligible for any vacation pay or credit for the anniversary year in which the termination occurs. This includes employees who leave the employment of their Employer with less than one (1) year of employment. A regular driver who has not worked the required minimum 210 full shifts or 180 full shifts referenced above for his current Employer in an anniversary year shall receive no vacation pay or credit for Vacation time off (prorated or otherwise) for that anniversary year. Normal work days of the employee spent on paid vacation time off or on union business as provided by this Agreement will count toward the 210 full shifts or toward the 180 full shifts, if applicable, reference above, required to qualify for a vacation in the succeeding year.

No provision of this Section shall be construed to require or infer that any of the Employers covered by this Agreement are to establish and/or schedule any four (4) shift work weeks.

The shift requirements for vacation pay set forth above shall become effective in the first anniversary year of each regular driver beginning after this Article is in effect.

Section 3. Entitlement to vacation, if any, will be based on a driver’s most recent anniversary year of employment with his current Employer, that is, the twelve (12) month period between the two (2) most recent anniversary dates of his most recent date of hire, except for the first year of employment which shall be the twelve (12) month period between the most recent date of hire and the first anniversary of his most recent date of hire. For the purpose of this provision, any employee hired on February 29th shall have a March 1st anniversary date.

Section 4. Vacation pay for eligible regular employees shall be as follows:

Length Of Continuous Employment With Current Employer On Anniversary Date	Vacation Pay
One (1) year	1/52 of that driver’s gross earnings for that anniversary year.
Two (2) years, three (3) years or four (4) years	2/52 of that driver’s gross earnings for that anniversary year just completed.
Five (5) to sixteen (16) years	3/52 of that driver’s gross earnings for that anniversary year just years completed.
Seventeen (17) or more years	4/52 of that driver’s gross earnings for that anniversary year just years. completed.

Section 5. Employees eligible for vacation pay under Section 4 above shall be entitled to take time off from work for their vacation on the basis of seven (7) days off work for each 1/52 vacation pay for which the employee is eligible.

Section 6. An Employer shall attempt to accommodate the desires of eligible drivers regarding their request to take earned vacation time off; however, each Employer absolutely reserves unto itself the determination of how many eligible drivers may be off work on vacation at any one time and the final scheduling of vacations.

Vacation time requested by employees shall be reviewed and/or approved on a first-come basis. However, if two (2) or more employees request at the same time the same vacation time off and all are not approved, preference will be given to the most senior employee requesting the vacation time. A more senior employee of an Employer may not bump a less senior employee from his scheduled vacation time which has previously been approved by the Employer.

Section 7. Vacation time off for eligible employees may not be accumulated from year to year. All accrued vacation time off must be taken during the year after the anniversary date on which the vacation was earned. Otherwise, the earned vacation time off shall be forfeited. However, if an employee covered by this Agreement has earned a vacation during his prior anniversary year in accordance with the provisions of this Article, all earned vacation pay due will be paid.

Section 8. An eligible employee shall receive his vacation pay on the payday following his anniversary date.

Section 9. Termination from employment shall, in all cases, constitute a break in service.