Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 6945
SECOND DIVISION Docket No. 6765
2 LI EW-' 75
The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee Irwin M. Lieberman when award was rendered.
( System Federation No. 156 Railway Employes' Department
( A.F.L. - C.I.O. - Electrical Workers
Parties to Dispute: ( (I.B.E.W. Local Union 589)
(
( The Long Island Rail Road Company
Dispute: Claim of Emploves:
1. That the Long Island Railroad Company improperly deprived
Electrician Helper (Rotary Tender) J. Maggiore from working
overtime on Sunday, January 21, 1973.
2. That, accordingly, the Long Island Railroad Company be ordered
to compensate J. Maggiore fifty-six dollars and sixty-four cents
($56.64) for eight (8) hours pay at the punitive overtime rate.
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 were given due notice of hearing thereon.
On Sunday January 21, 1973 Carrier blanked an Electrician Helper's
position a t its Woodhaven Sub-station due to the illness of a regularly
assigned employee, and his consequent absence. None of the duties of the
position were performed. Claimant contends that he should have been called
on his rest day to fill the blanked position at overtime rates.
Petitioner argues that the Electrician Helper position at the substation is an established seven day position and that a full complement of
employes was necessary on all shifts (until the automation was completed).
The Organization contends that the Carrier's only reason for not filling the
position was to avoid the payment of overtime. The Organization raised a
series of new arguments and presented :yew evidence with its rebuttal submission;
since none of that material was handled or raised on the property it is not
properly before us and has been disregarded.
Form 1
Pa ge 2
Award No. 6945
Docket No. 6765
2-LI-EW-'75
We find no provisions in any of the rules cited which would require
the Carrier to fill every vacancy due to an absence. In Award 3339 we said:
"The Carrier may elect to permit a position to be blanked
when the regular incumbent is absent. The Organization
would have a valid complaint if it were shown that due to
the blanking of a position, work exclusively reserved to
a craft or class of employes covered by the agreement
was improperly assigned to others..."
No showing has been made in the instant case that any work normally performed
by the incumbent was improperly assigned toothers.__Peti_tio_ner's
posit
in this dispute, that Carrier is obligated to fill vacancies in work crews
caused by the absence of the regularly assigned incumbent, has been consistently
held to be erroneous in numerous awards of this Board (see, for example, Awards
1132, 3339, 6258 and Third Division Awards 12099, 14252 and 12358). We see
no reason to depart from the previous reasoning on this issue.
A WA RID
Claim denied.
Attest: Executive Secretary j
National Railroad Adjustment Board
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Second Division
By.
Ro emarie Brasch - Administrative Assistant
i
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 26th day i of September, 1975.