The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee Levi M. Hall when award was rendered.
SYSTEM FEDERATION NO. 101, RAILWAY EMPLOYES'
DEPARTMENT, A. F. of L.-C. I. O. (Carmen)
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: Carmen Beryl Knapp, John Wladarski, Roman Wlaznak, Caleb Hatler, W. J. Mahoney and Francisco Lucina, hereinafter referred to as the claimants are employed by the Great Northern Ry. Co., hereinafter referred to as the carrier, in its car department facilities located at Great Falls, Montana. Four of the claimants, Knapp, Wlodarski, Wlaznak and Mahoney, are regularly assigned members of the wrecking crew. Claimants Lucina and Hatler were taken along on the derailment as additional members of the crew.
On this particular derailment the Great Falls wrecking crew, supplemented by two carmen from the overtime call list, was called at 2:30 A. M., Tuesday, June 18, 1963 for a derailment at Hobson, Montana. They left Great Falls at about 3::30 A. M. and arrived at the derailment, which was approximately one mile past Hobson, at about 7:30 A. M. The crew worked on the derailment until the mainline was cleared at 6 P. M. Wednesday, June 19, 1963. They were relieved from duty for rest at 8 P. M., that date. They resumed work at the derailment at 3 A. M., Thursday, June 20, 1963, cleared up the derailment and were moved into Hobson, Montana where they were tied up at 8 P. M.
In the instant dispute the train crew was tied up at r :25 P. M. that night due to the 16-hour law. This fact is attested to by the conductor of the train in a letter to the local chairman of the carmen. several company-owned vehicles immediately available at Hobson, and the trip could have been made in a few hours. Under the principle established by the Organization's claim in Second Division Award No. 4564, Carmen v. G.N., Referee Joseph M. McDonald, regularly assigned wrecking crews on this property must physicaly accompany the wrecking derrick outfit to wrecks or derailments, but there is no such requirement with respect to the return trips. Further evidence of this established principle can be found in a case similar to that involved in Award No. 4564; i.e., a case in which a regularly assigned wrecking crew did not physically accompany a wrecking derrick outfit to or from the scene of a derailment and claimed the schedule agreement gave them the right to ride with the outfit only on the outbound trip.
THE CLAIM OF THE ORGANIZATION, THEREFORE,
IS WITHOUT MERIT FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
This Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the dispute involved herein.
Claimants were members of the Great Falls Wrecking Crew, Great Falls, Montana, and were called at 2:30 A. M. Tuesday, June 19, 1963, for a derailment of twenty freight cars one mile southeast of Hobson, Montana, arriving there at 7:30 A. M. The last car was rerailed and the crew moved into Hobson at 6:00 P. M. June 20, 1963. The train crew was tied up at 7:30 P. M. in accordance with the hours of service law. Claimants are demanding compensation at the time and one-half rate between 8:00 P. M. June 20, 1963, and 4:00 A. M. June 21, 1963, while, it is complained, they were waiting for a train to move them back to Great Falls, they having completed all of their work at the scene of the derailment south of Hobson -on June 20, 1963.
It is Carrier's contention that when the wrecking crew was moved into Hobson on June 20, the damaged cars or "hospital train" had been moved into Hobson. That up to the time of their retirement on June 20, the crew was doing whatever had to be done to ready the repaired cars for the trip to Great Falls, some 93 miles distant; that the Claimants were called to duty at 4:00 A. M., June 21, 1963, and worked for two and one-half hours finishing the work of preparing the damaged cars for movement to Great Falls - the work consisting of over-all inspection of the cars, replacing a broken knuckle on one of the cars, either renewing or replacing the journal bearings and wedges on three journal boxes; that they made as many repairs as they could and on the way to Great Falls the train was required to stop so Claimants could service or repair several of the journal boxes on the damaged cars.
The rule of the controlling agreement in question is Rule 22(c) which reads, as follows:
It will be noted that the rule provides: "Rest periods * * * shall not be given * * * after all the work is completed." In the original letter by the Local Chairman addressed to the Car Foreman in presenting the claims it was stated: "that the work at the derailment was completed because the outfit never returned to the scene of the wreck." There is no statement in Rule 22(c) "that the wcrk of derailment having been completed". This Board is without authority to revise the rule.
It is admitted by the Claimants that on the morning of June 21, 1963, at Hobson that some work was done by them on the disabled cars, such as the inspection of oil boxes, oiling some of the cars and replacing some of the journal bearing wedges and brasses. Since members of wrecking crews are on the scene and usually more available than anyone else, they are frequently assigned much of the work connected with preparing damaged car or hospital trains for movement and this is not in violation of the Agreement.
In Award 1078-Mitchell, which is a sustaining award, we note the following statement: "If there was wrecking service to perform * * * as contended by Carrier, then the claim would have _ to be denied:"
From a reading of the Record in this case, the Board must conclude that. the work in connection with the wreck was not completed until the morning of June 21, 1963, when the train started for Great Falls as there was still work to be done in preparing the hospital train for movement on that morning..