Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT' BOARD Award No.
6860
-. SECOND DIVISION Docket No.
6650
_ 2-CRI&P-CM-175
the Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee Nicholas H. Zumas when award was rendered.
( System Federation No.
6,
Railway Employes'
( Department, A. F. of L. - C. I. 0.
Parties to Dispute: ( (Carmen)
( Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company
Dispute: Claim of Employes:
(1) That under the terms of the applicable Agreement the Carrier
unjustly suspended Locomotive Carpenter K. D. Alexander for
60 days.
(2) That accordingly the Carrier be ordered to compensate K. D.
Alexander for the
60
days and for any overtime he was deprived
of during this
60
days period.
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.
Parties to said dispute waived right of appearance at hearing
thereon.
Claimant, an employe with 20 years of unblemished service, was given
a 60 day suspension for sleeping on duty.
Testimony of two Carrier officials was that they observed Claimant
reclining in an overstuffed chair, feet up, eyes closed, and snoring
between
4:03
a.m. and 4:20 a.m. They awakened Claimant with considerable
difficulty. They further testified that shortly after Claimant was
awakened, he told them that he was on a coffee break and "fell asleep".
. They also testified that he had already had his lunch.
At the hearing Claimant denied telling the Carrier officials that he
had already had his lunch or that he had fallen asleep. Rather, Claimant
testified that he was called to work on an engine from 2:00 a.m. to 2:20 CL.m.
(his regular lunch period) and was on his lunch break from 4:00 a.m. to
4:20 a.m.
Form 1
Page 2
Attest:
Award No.
6860
Docket No. 6650
2-CRI&P-CM-'75
In order to sustain this claim this Board would have to reject as
fabrication or ignore the testimcny of the two Carrier officials and
accept only the testimony of Claimant. This we are not empowered to do.
It has been held many times or. this and other Divisions that it is not
the function of this Board to weigh the evidence as if it were an original.
hearing. It is our function to determine only whether there is evidence
of substantive and probative value which, if believed, would sustain
Carrier's actions.
However, the Board finds that, under the particular circumstances of
this dispute and given Claimant's long years of unblemished service, the
discipline was excessive and should be reduced to twenty days. Fu.rther,Carrier should compensate Claimant one days' pay for each of the days
unjustly suspended with no aslei-rance for casual and unassigned overtime.
A W A R D
Claim disposed of per findings herein.
Executive Secretary
National- Railroad Adjustment Board
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSU~ENT BOARD
Py Order of Second Division
~semarie Brasch - Administrative Assistant
at Chicago, Illinois, this 16th day of May, 1975.