EMPLOYES STATEMENT OF FACTS: The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, hereinafter referred to as the carrier, maintains a car yard facility at New Haven, Conn., where the carrier employes H. Fay and R. Harvic, hereinafter referred to as the claimants, as car inspectors, with regularly assigned hours of 4:00 P.M. to 12:00 mid., Monday thru Friday, Sunday & Saturday rest days.
On Saturday, February 2, 1963, the claimants were called to unload trailer cars, at 8:00 A.M. The claimants completed the duties for which they were called and were released at 6:00 P.M., a total of ten (10) hours.
The claimants worked their regular assignment, 4:00 P.M. to 12:00 mid., on Friday, February 1, 1963.
For the services rendered by the claimants on February 2, 1963, they were paid ten (10) hours at the time and one-half rate of pay. This dispute has been handled with all carrier officials up to and including the highest official designated by the carrier to handle such disputes, all of whom have refused to settle the matter.
The agreement effective September 1, 1949, as subsequently amended, is controlling.
the difference between "straight time and time and one-half for his regular tour pursuant to Rule 5 (b), as follows:
Petitioner cites neither precedent nor argument, except that since service performed on August 15 and 16 fell within a twenty-four hour period the language of Rule 5 (b) must apply. With this contention we cannot agree.
What is determinative here is: When did the `twenty-four hour period' start? From such authority as has been presented to us we are of the opinion that the twenty-four hour period starts with the beginning of the regular assignment, which in this case was 3 P.M., August 16. This conclusion necessarily carries with it the corollary that a regular assignment is paid at pro rata rate, notwithstanding that prior service within an overlapping twenty-four hours might together with the hour of regular assignment have resulted in a total of hours in excess of eight. The claim will be denied.
This is exactly carrier's contention in the case at hand. In our denial decision of March 12, 1964, we stated:
With the exception of Award No. 1245 of the Fourth Division, all of the facts and evidence contained herein were discussed with or presented to the Organization Representative and Award 1245 was available to him.
The claim is not supported by the rule cited and we respectfully request that a denial decision be rendered.
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.
Claimants are car inspectors whose regularly assigned hours are 4:00 P.M. to 12:00 Midnight, Monday through Friday, Saturday and Sunday rest days. Claimants had worked their regular assignments 4:00 P.M. to 12:00 Midnight on February 1,
1963, and were called to unload trailer cars at 8:00 A.M. on February 2, 1963, completing their duties and being released at 6;00 P.M. They were paid for ten (10) hours at the time and one-half rate of pay. Claimants contend that they worked eighteen (18) hours, computed from the starting time of their regular assignment and having worked over sixteen (16) hours were entitled to a double time rate of pay for the last two hours.
Claimants are relying on Rule 4, paragraph 7, of the Agreement, the pertinent part of which reads, as follows:
Carrier's position is that in order to be eligible for payment at double time an employe must perform service beyond sixteen (16) hours in any twenty four (24) hour period and that the twenty-four hour period in the instant case would commence at 4:00 P.M., February 1, 1963, and would end at 4:00 P.M., February 2, 1963, hence Claimants would not be entitled to double time for the last two hours of emergency work after 4:00 P.M. beyond the end of twenty four hour period.
In contract interpretation words are given their plain and ordinary meaning. It follows that words of general description should generally yield to words that arc more specific.
Rule 4 (7) is quite specific in that it provides that "all service performed beyond sixteen (16) hours of service in any twenty four (24) hour period computed from starting time of employes regular shift *** shall be paid for at the rate of double time." (Underscoring ours) It appears conclusively as required by the foregoing Rule that the service was not performed within the twenty-four (24) hour period. Consequently, claimants were entitled to pay at time and a half rate from 4:00 to 6:00 P.M., February 2, 1963, which has been paid.