DISPUTE: CLAIM OF EMPLOYES.-Coupling and uncoupling air hose and closing and securing car doors is carmen's work.
JOINT STATEMENT OF FACTS.-Crystal City is a vegetable loading point and during season is served by two or three traveling switch engines that tie up at that point., loading from Crystal City is moved to River, 2.4 miles, where icing and making up trains is performed. There are laborers assigned during vegetable season who couple and uncouple air hose and close car doors at various industries.
POSITION OF EMPLOYES.-Coupling and uncoupling air hose where switching is being done is for one obvious reason only-to provide brake power on cars being hauled by switch engines. Since it is often necessary to make minor repairs to couplings, such as applying new gaskets or angle cock levers in order to make the air line operative, and it can only be determined whether these repairs are needed or not by inspecting the cars, it naturally follows that this is work which should be done by car inspectors or train car repairers who follow car inspectors in yards for the specific purpose of making such minor repairs if the need for them is indicated by the car inspectors. In small yards where the amount of work permits, car inspectors make such minor repairs.
Wherever car inspectors are employed one of their most important duties is to see that all parts of the air-brake equipment are in good order, and wherever no car inspectors are employed someone has to perform such duties when cars are coupled together. This is generally done by trainmen when they pick up or set out cars at a station where no car inspectors are employed.
Closing and securing car doors is in all general aspects similar to coupling and uncoupling air hose. in that it is obvious that door hinges, tracks, and rollers must be in working order and in proper adjustment before the door can be closed. Also after the door is closed, fastenings must be in good order, otherwise it is a sheer waste of time to close the doors.
Crystal City is a point at which trains arrive and depart-either from the yard in the town proper or from yards not more than several miles distant. There are maintained at that point, one car inspector throughout the year, and one or more machinists or a working foreman and a machinist and the necessary laborers to assist in wiping and supplying engines turned at that point. Occasionally during the slack season, the machinist may be furloughed. During the vegetable-loading season, which lasts for several months, one or more switch engines work at Crystal City and nearby loading stations. Also, during this loading season. an additional car inspector is employed, and from one to three or more laborers whose chief duties are of following the switch engines to couple and uncouple air hose and close doors.
The work of coupling and uncoupling air hose and closing and securing doors Is now being done at Crystal City by one laborer on the day shift and one laborer on the night shift.
POSITION OF CARRIER.-Crystal City is an industrial loading center where vegetables are loaded during season, and due to necessity of quick movement, allowing shippers to load up to the last minute in order to clean up their day's pick and still make the required market, we have put on
laborers to assist shippers in opening and closing doors, to assist trainmen in coupling and uncoupling air hose.
The location of the city, with all principal streets crossing our tracks at right angles, makes it necessary, to prevent accidents, to have air coupled while switching over these crossings. After cars are switched from industries they are moved to the Ice Docks and train yards, named on timetable as "River'", which is 2.4 miles north of the depot at Crystal City. We maintain car repairers and inspectors to handle repair or inspection work and do not require the laborers who are assisting in closing doors and coupling up air hose, to perform any car repairs, inspection, or testing of air.
Crystal City industrial district is served by from two to four traveling switch engines which work over a territory of some 20 or 30 miles gathering up and assembling the loading at River for movement from that point in trains to the market.
For a number of years train crews have assisted in closing car doors and coupling up air hose and, as above stated, the placing of laborers there was only to facilitate the movement of engines in order that the shippers might have up to the last minute to load their cars.
FINDINGS.-The Second Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the whole record and all the evidence, finds that
The carrier or carriers and the employe or employes involved in this dispute are respectively carrier and employe within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act, as approved June 21, 1934.
This Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the dispute involved herein.
The parties to said dispute were given due notice of hearing thereon.Rule 107 of the current agreement showing, classification of carmen's work reads as follows
"Carmen's work, including regular and helper apprentices, shall consist of building, maintaining, painting, upholstering and inspecting of all p4s senger and freight cars, both wood and steel, planing mill, cabinet and bench carpenter work. pattern and flask making, and all other carpenter work in shops; carmen's work in building and repairing motor cars, lever cars, hand cars and station trucks; building, repairing, removing and applying wooden locomotive cabs, pilots, pilot beams, running boards, foot and headlight boards. tender frames and trucks (see note) ; pipe and inspection work in connection with air brake equipment on freight cars; applying patented metal roofings; work done with hand forges and heating torches in connection with carmen's work; painting with brushes, varnishing, surfacing. decorating, lettering, cutting of stencils and removing paint (not including use of sand blast machine or removing in vats) ; all other work generally recognized as painters' work under the supervision of the locomotive and car departments except the application of blacking to fire and smoke boxes of locomotives in engine houses; joint car inspectors, car inspectors, safety appliance and train car repairers and all other work generally recognized as carmen's work.
" Truckmen's, work: All work below sills, to include application of draft gear and couplers.
"Where sufficient work for truckmen is not available they will be used to best advantage, providing the truckmen do not displace carmen by performing work provided for in the carmen's classification."
The claim and evidence presented surrounds a situation at Crystal City, a loading station during the vegetable loading season.
Coupling and uncoupling air hose is recognized as carmen's work when performed in connection with their regular duties of inspection and repairs.