Award No. 1043
Docket No. 970
2-Erie-CM-'44
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
SECOND DIVISION
The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee Herbert B. Rudolph when
award was rendered.
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
SYSTEM FEDERATION NO. 100, RAILWAY EMPLOYES'
DEPARTMENT, A. F. OF L. (CARMEN)
ERIE RAILROAD COMPANY
DISPUTE: CLAIM OF EMPLOYES: 1. That under the controlling
agreement and particularly Rule 81, the building and repairing of station
trucks operated by the carrier at the 14th Street Warehouse, Chicago, is
carmen's work.
2. That the carrier violated provisions of the controlling agreement when
on and subsequent to April 1, 1943, warehouse employes were assigned to
building and repairing station trucks.
3. That in consideration of the aforesaid, the carrier be ordered to additionally compensate Carmen Jacob Gaber, Joseph Rajski, Leo Rosignal and
John Clinton at the rate of time and one-half, for all building and/or repair
work performed on station trucks by-
a. Sam Matzel, stower, during the period April 1 to 15, 1943.
b. N. Kurchaman, sealer, and Earl Anderson, delivery clerk, during
the period July 12 to 19, 1943.
c. Stanley Bakulas, checker, during the period of September 23 to 30;
October 4 to 9; October 11 to 14, 1943.
d. Other warehouse employes on all dates beginning with November 8,
1943, to date of disestablishment of the violation.
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: At the 14th Street freight warehouse, Chicago, the carrier maintains in addition to a force of warehouse
employes, a force of carmen on a three-shift basis.
The hours of the first shift are from 8:00 A. M. to 4:00 P. M.; second
shift, 4:00 P. M. to 12:00 P. M. midnight; and the third shift, 12:00 midnight
to 8 :00 A. M.
The shop tracks or the tracks on which these carmen work include all
warehouse tracks.
In the warehouse basement, the carmen maintained the necessary ma.
terials and a repair bench prior to April 1, 1943. After this claim was instituted, the carmen were moved out of the warehouse basement into a
shanty adjacent to the warehouse.
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Federation No. 100 is applicable only to the employes in the mechanical department and does not apply or control work by employes in other departments who are covered by agreements negotiated by other organizations.
2-Minor repairs and replacement of parts on station trucks is work
that has always been done by station forces in connection with
their other duties, and it does not require any special skills.
3-There are no warehouse employes at 14th Street freight house,
Chicago, assigned exclusively to building and repairing station
trucks. Freight house forces make minor repairs and replace
broken or worn replaceable parts. All trucks needing general repairs are sent to the car shop at Port Jervis, New York, where
carmen do the work.
4-In some cases employes who are physically unfit to carry on their
regular work as truckers, checkers, etc., are assigned to make
minor repairs to station trucks and this .enables them to earn a
living during the period that they would have been otherwise disqualified entirely for work.
5-General Chairman James Longson received copy of the letter July
2, 1942, hereinabove quoted, in connection with the scope of the
agreement. He made no claim that work of the type complained
of here was exclusively carmen's work and if he did, this letter of
July 2, 1942, would have made reference to this work as properly
belonging to station forces, the same as reference has been made
to maintenance of way work properly belonging to maintenance
of way forces.
6-This ex parte submission by the carmen is an attempt on their part
to have the Second Division interpret the rules of the agreement
August 1, 1942, as covering all work irrespective of other agreements and irrespective of practices of long standing.
Claim should be denied.
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.
We are of the opinion that when a station truck at 14th Street Freight
House, Chicago, becomes so disabled that it must be taken out of service for
repairs, the making of the repairs as disclosed by this record is carmen's
work within the meaning of Rule 81 of the current agreement.
Carrier contends that the effective rules apply only to work performed in
the maintenance of equipment. Even conceding such contention we are
of the opinion that the rules do not contemplate that carrier may assign this
particular work, which should be performed by the maintenance of equipment department, to other employes not covered by the rules. Whether certain work performed by the maintenance of way department or other departments of the railroad is being performed consistent with the scope of the
present rules is a question not before us. We hold only that there is nothing
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in the record to indicate the parties intended that the particular work here
involved could be removed from the maintenance of equipment department,
or that it could be performed by some other department of the railroad.
The present facts will not support the claim for compensation.
AWARD
1. Claim sustained.
2. Claim sustained.
3. Claim denied.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Second Division
ATTEST: J. L. Mindling
Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 14th day of November, 1944.