ARTICLE VI

Seniority and Promotions

SECTION 1. Seniority, as used herein, is defined as the status accruing from the date of last hiring by the Company. New employees shall be regarded as probationary employees until they have been in the employ of the Company for six (6) months during which time they will have no seniority status. The employee from a seniority standpoint will become a regular employee and his/her seniority status will start from date of hiring, except in cases where an employee is hired for a special project or assignment which is known to be temporary at the time of hiring. Written notice of temporary hiring will be given to the Union, prior to hiring, with a description of work to be performed, name of employee and employee number, and probable duration.
 
The Company agrees that when vacancies occur, meter representative areas and meter reader routes will be assigned by seniority. As practical, seniority will be recognized when initially assigning one person fitting work. After January 1, 1996, the Company is willing to discuss the fitter rotation schedule, on request of the Union. The Company agrees to recognize seniority as the primary method when selecting employees for satellite location assignments.
 
SECTION 2. The procedure to be followed in the event the Company determines that a layoff or transfer is anticipated:
 
STEP 1. The only employee eligible to exercise seniority for "bumping" purposes will be the employee directly affected with the layoff.
 
STEP 2. That employee would bump the last employee hired under the Agreement in his or her Department as long as that employee is qualified and able to perform the job.
 
STEP 3. The employee who is bumped under Step 2 would then bump the last employee hired under the agreement to take his/her place in the layoff procedure, as long as that employee is qualified and able to perform the job.
 
STEP 4. If the employee is not qualified and able to perform the work of the last employee hired, they will move up the seniority list in order to find a job which they are qualified and able to perform and have more seniority than the employee presently doing the job.
 
If there is a layoff the Company will discuss subcontracting under Article XV, Section 1 with the Union.
 
Whenever any layoff or transfer is anticipated, the Union will be notified ten (10) working days prior to said layoff/transfer, to the extent known, of the number of employees to be laid off and their respective sections, divisions and departments. A list of all positions currently open or reasonably expected to be open will also be provided by the Company.
 
Transferred employees will retain their rate of pay, will receive all general increases and will be eligible for merit increases if below the top of the rate of the position to which they are transferred.
 
Laid off employees are all employees who are left without a position after all bumping and transfers have taken place. Employees will be eligible for recall, by seniority, for thirty (30) months from the date of layoff. An employee in the recall pool may elect early retirement option at any time within the thirty (30) month recall period. Notification of recall will be by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the employee's last known address. It will be the responsibility of the employee to notify the Company of any change of address. Recalled employees who fail to respond within fifteen (15) working days of receipt of notice of recall will be considered as having waived their right to recall. Recalled employees who were at the top of their rate will return to work at the top of the current rate range. Similarly, recalled employees who were below the top of the rate range will return at the same percentage of the current rate range as the percent of the rate range they had achieved when they were laid off.
 
*A full-time employee exercising his "bumping" rights cannot be forced to accept a part-time position. Union officers and stewards will have preferential seniority for layoff purposes as long as such application does not violate State or Federal laws.
 
SECTION 3. There shall be available for examination by the Union a list or file of the employees to whom this Agreement applies in order of their seniority. The Company further agrees to keep this list up-to-date including employee addresses, and make it available every six (6) months.
 
SECTION 4. Whenever the words "continuously" or "continuous" are used in this contract in relation to an employee's service with the Company, it shall apply to the period of employment since the date of last hiring.
 
SECTION 5. Seniority shall prevail whenever there is an advancement or promotion, provided the employees can meet the following qualifications:
 
            (a) Knowledge, training, and efficiency.
            (b) Physical condition and general health.
 
The Company recognizes that length of service should be given important consideration in advancing employees to better paying work and will give it every consideration possible in all cases of advancement.
 
Union Sections, Divisions, and Departments
 
1. Customer Service Department
                        A. Customer Service Division
                                    1. Service Representatives;
                                    2. Record Center section;
                                    3. Meter Representative Section
                                    4. Dispatch section
                        B. Meter Shop Division
                        C. Garage Division
                        D. Store Division
                        E. Meter Reading Division


 
2. Distribution (Street) and Production Department
A. Production Division
                                    1. Production section; (Excluding Steam Plant)
                                    2. LNG Plant section.
                        B. Distribution Division
                                    1. Office section;
                                    2. Engineering section;
                                    3. Installation and maintenance section
                                    4. Regulator section
                        C. Fitter Division
Installation and Maintenance section
Regulator Section  
                   
3. Customer Accounting Department
                        1. Customer Billing and Accounting
                        2. Credit and Collections
                        3. Customer Relations
                       
4. Building Services Department
                        1. Building Services
                        2. Mailroom
 
5. The TEN Companies, Inc. Department
1.Hartford Steam Company
2.CAS Plant
3.G. Fox Plant
4.Hartford Hospital
 
           
Whenever the qualifications of two (2) or more employees are relatively equal, the Company will make such advancement on a seniority basis. The right to determine who are to hold supervisory positions is vested exclusively in the Company.
 
           
SECTION 6. The Company will discuss with the Union any changes in job descriptions that affect the job duties, skills or qualifications in advance of posting a vacancy. The Company will post notices of vacancies, including job descriptions, for positions in the occupations and classifications of employees represented by the Union, and the Company will consider applications of employees for such positions if the applications are presented in writing, including a statement of the qualifications of the applicant, within five (5) working days after such notice of vacancy was posted. Notice of vacancies posted shall be sent to workers out sick. In case of emergency, the Company may fill the vacancy for a period not to exceed fifteen (15) days. 
 


Before a position is permanently filled and notice thereof is posted on the bulletin board, the Union will be notified and shall meet the Company representatives for the purpose of discussing the qualifications of all persons bidding on the job. The Company shall then make a selection, subject to grievance and arbitration. In any event, such vacancy shall be filled within twenty (20) days of date of posting for a temporary period of twenty (20) days and the transfer shall take place no more than twenty (20) days after the selection is made unless discussed with the Union. The employee will begin department seniority and receive the new rate of pay as of the twenty (20) day expiration, or if the new rate is lower, when transfer is made. When an employee transfers by bid from one division to another and chooses to return to his/her prior job during the twenty (20) day period, the employee will not be accepted on any job in another division for the next sixty (60) calendar days.
 
Seniority shall be broken by:
1.         Voluntary quit from the bargaining unit.
2.         Discharge.
3.         Missing three (3) consecutive work days without notification in so far as practicable to do so.
4.         Failure to respond to notice of recall as specified in this Article for regular work fifteen (15) consecutive days after receiving notice. It is the employee's responsibility to keep the Company informed of his/her mailing address.
5.         Any employee who is absent because of proven illness shall
           maintain his/her seniority.
6.         Employees who take supervisory positions relinquish their seniority under this Agreement, except for ERISA and legal requirements.
 
Seniority shall not be broken by temporary assignment (on a voluntary basis) to non-supervising, non-bargaining unit work or on layoff up to thirty (30) months from the date of layoff.