term 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJZr3T-T'TT BOARD Award
r~'o. 6594
SFCO'1,D DIVISION Docket
r;o. 6290;
2 -S CL-511-' 73
The Second Division consisted of -the regular members and in
addition Referee Robert A. Franaen when award was rendered.
( Sheet I-ietal Workers International Association
Parties to Dispute:
( Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company
Dispute: Claim of Employes:
1. That the Carrier imprcperly assigned storehouse laborers and an office
clerk to assemble and install metal shelves of approximately
18 gauge
metal.
2. That the Carrier be ordered to compensate Sheet Metal Workers Guy Ambrose
and Floyd Gadscn eight
(8)
hours each, Wednesday, July 22,
1970.
67. A.
Sanders and Floyd Gadson eight
(8)
hours each, Thursd.sy July
23, '1970
and eight
(8)
hours each, Friday July 24, 1970. Dick Ambrose eigat
(8)
hours July 27,,
1970,
this being at time and one-half rate.
Findings:.
The Second Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the whole record and
the a valence , rinds that
The carrier or carriers and the employe or emplo-,yes 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.
Parties to said dispute waived right of appearance at hearing thereon.
In connection with a rearrangement of facilities at Savannah, Georgia,
Carrier found it necessary to rearrange existing shelving and install new shelving
on four days in July of
1970.
Carrier utilized storehouse employees covered by the
Clerks agreement to perform said work. The Sheet Metal Workers filed. a claim alleging
said work to be theirs under Rule
85
of the agreement between claimant organization
and the Carrier.
Rule 85-"Sheet Metal workers' work shall consist of
tinning,
coppersmithing and. pipe-fitting in shops, yards, buildings, on passenger coaches and engines of all kinds, the
building, erecting, assembling, installing, dismantling.
(not scrapping) and maintaining parts made of sheet copper,
brass, tin, zinc,
white
metal, lead, black, pianished, pick
led and galvanized iron of 1G-gauge and lighter, including
brazing, soldering, tinning, leading and babbitting (except
car and engine truck journal bearinjs, where handled by
foundry forces); the bending, fitting, cutting, threading,
brazing, connecting and, disconnecting of air, ~,iater, ga.s,
-,.7-m 1 Award. No.
6594
_ -re 2 Docket No.
62,6
2-SCL-SM-' 73
"oily and, steam pipes; the operation of babbitt fires and
pipe threading machines; oxy-acetylene., ther:ait and. electric
. welding on work generally recognized as sheet metal workers'
work as provided in Rule 27, and a71 other work generally
recognized as sheet metal worker's work."
The claim was progressed. on the property and appealed. to this Board. The
Brotherhood of Railway Airline and Steamship Clerks was served notice and. it filed a.
submission herein.
The Carrier has raised two procedural questions that must be resolved. prior to
a discussion of the merits.
First, Carrier alleles that the handling had not been completed on the
property in that certain statements of Sheet Metal Horkers were submitted to Carrier
only eight
(S)
days prior to the filing with this Board. The action of the
organization does not coi:stitute a jurisdictional defect in that the state-eats
were merely by way of confirmation of what had been alleged by the organization. during
the handling on the property.
Carrier f.. :;r all.... as a jurisdictI.onal detect the
fail,
a.~e of the
Crganiza,ticn tc f ol? -; the pr oce :ur° for : ewolvi n,g, jurisdi ct1Cna l dlcl1.tes th2 - is
out in the December
20,
196'1
agreement between the Carrier and certain Labor
Organizations including the Sheet Metal Workers but not the Clerks .-.rhich letter, of
agreement- reads as follows:
"in consolidating the shop craft agreements of the former
Atlantic Coast Line and the Seaboard Air Line R?ilrcads to effect a
new working agreement for the merged Company., it is recognized
that in some instances the application of certain rules and the
assignment of certain work has been applied. differently on the t7-ro
railroads; work assignments trill in some cases overlap into another
craft within the shop crafts; and certain rules pertaining to
shop crafts will conflict with work being performed b;· other
organizations.
When the consolidated agreement becomes effective, it is
therefore agreed that where convlicts exist regarding specific items
of work in the classification of work rules of the new agreement,, no
changes in the practices of performing such work that were in effect
prior to the merger will be made by the Company until such conflicts
or jurisdictional disputes are settled.
Where there is a conflict in specific items of work between the
shop crafts and other organizations, it is agreed that no changes will
be made by the Company in the practices of performing such work that
were in effect prior to the merger until such conflicts are settled..
^m 1 Award io.
6594
t4.ge
3
Docket T;o. 62c?o
2-SCL-S:-',-'
73
"The organizations will present to management their proposals
for settlement of such conflicts or disputes, and the management ;rill.
accept any reasonable proposal. Rates of pay will not be a deciding
factor in management's acceptance or rejac-ion of proposed settlements.
If necessary or requested by either party, conference ;rill be
arranged :pith all. interested crafts within thirty (30) days after request
is made in order to resolve conflicts or juriodictional disputes.
This letter of understanding in no way restricts the rights of
management or the organizations contained. in the merger protection
agreement of ?November
3, 1906,
and is not intended to prevent the
Company from transferring work from one location to another as
contemplated
in
the Agreement of November
3, 1966,
subject to the
provisions of that Agreement.
Please indicate your acceptance of this understanding in the
space provided below." .
This letter ·,.ras executed by the aheet Metal Workers and the Carrier.
Narinere in the reccrc~ is there anything Z,fhich suqq_ests that a cla.'.m
crf
r;ht to the wcrk by the Clerks as opposed to the Sheet Ietal ',1orhers was set forth.
The issue was rather that the work did. not belong to the sheet Metal WI;orkers as a
matter of right due to their agreement. The Letter Lgreement is inapplicable as
the issue iras formed on the property.
We must decide whether the work claimed belonged to the Sheet Metal
Workers under Rule
85.
The Carrier has submitted two awards as precedent
in which
cases the
claims on behalf of Sheet Metal Workers were denied.
Award
2555
(Ferguson) narrowly defined the issue as to whether after the
original installation the Sheet Metal Workers were entitled to the exclusive right to
adjust the shelves thereafter. This Board held they did not.
Award.
3862
(Johnson) dealt with a similar rule and held as follasrs:
"The record shows that the shelving and frames were not
fabricated. or constructed. on the property but were purchased .
prefabricated and completely manufactured, and. came 'knock-dotm',
to be assembled without tools or mechanical skills. 'Whey were
set up in the storeroom by the storekeeper and. his assistant to
replace wooden shelving formerly used. !'his was not building,
erecting, ascernbling, installing or fabricating, such as would
customarily be done by sheet metal workers, and the claim
should be denied."
Form 1
'~'',e
4
Award 1`; o.
6594
Docket i:o.
621--~6
2-SCL-:phi-'
7 3
In the instant matter the shelving i-ras assembled ,pith the use of tools
and for that reason the case is distingt:1shable from Award
3862.
rurther, in that we
are concerned with taore than "adjusting"
2555
is inapplicable.
Rule
85
clearly refers to "erecting and assembling", "in buildings" and
"10 gauge and lighter". We are unable to come to any conclusion. in the face of such
clear wording other than that the work properly belongs to the Sheet iaetal Horkers
by virtue of their agreement. The past practice cited by the Carrier cannot to
determining in the face cf clear and. unambiguous lanb~.zage. TMe submission and
.rebuttal of the Brotherhood of Railway Airline and Steamship Clerks fails to
it:,
any
gray substantiate their claim to the
work.
We will
sustain the claims for the hours claimed but at the pro rata
rate.
A W A R D
Claim sustained in accordance with the above findings:
IIATIONAL RAILRCAD ADJUST= BOARD
By Order of Second Division
Attest: Executive Secretary
National Railroad l":djust:nent
Board
Reserlarie
3ra.sch - Administrative Assistant
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 15th day of November,
1973·
DISSENT 0f CAFIRIER HERS'
TO
AWARD r0. 6594, Do%-,=-
6296
(REFEREE
FFANDEM)
Award
6594
is in serious error and we dissent.
The letter Agreement of December 20, 1567 concerning jurisdictional disputes provides specifically:
"Where there is a conflict in specific items of work
between the
shop crafts and
other organizations, it is
agreed that
no changes
will be made by the Comps in
the practices of performing such work that were in effect
prior to the
merger until such conflicts are settled."
The work involved was performed by clerical employes in the
same manner that such work had been performed by years. In the handling
' on the property the Carrier advised the General Chairman:
"It is apparent you are seeking work that has been
performed by employees represented
bar
the Brotherhood of
Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks. Therefore, this
ire a icxisdictionc,l disrizte and ihoxi-ld be hA___li_d .,,_eo,.dingly. It is also suggested you review the Fetter of
Understanding dated
Dece:ter 20, 1967, which concerns the
' proper procedure to settle disputed-items of work."
and that it would be a violation of the December 20, 1967 Letter of
Understanding to change
the
work practice.
In its submission to this Board the representatives of the
Clerks' organization stated: .
"For more
than 50
years the assembling, dismantling, relocating
of metal shelving in storerooms has been performed by employes
represented by aar organization."
and
"The assembling of metal shelves requires no special
skill s..^.d has consistently been performed by unskilled
laborers employed in and around storerooms throughout the
system."
AWARD R0. 65
DOCKET h0. 2
Based on the record, there is absolutely no basis for the
conclusion of the Referee
that "The
Letter
Agreement (of December 30,
196?) is inapplicable as the issue was formed (sic) on the property."
There is likewise no proper basis for the conclusion
that "The
submission and rebuttal of the Br&lierhood of Railway Airline and
Steamship Clarks fail to in any way substantiate their claim to the
work."
Award 6594 is not supported by the recordlis palpably
erroneous, and we are compelled to register our most vigorous dissent
thereto.