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Form 1 NITIOUAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 7009,
SECOND DIVISION Docket No. 6762
The
Second Division
consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee Robert M.
Or
Brien when award was reneered.
( System Federation No. 21, Railway Employes'
( Department, A. F. of L. - C. I. 0.
Parties to Dispute
: ( Firemen & Oilers
( Southern Railway System
Dispute: Claim of Emoloyes
:
1. That under the Current and Controlling Agreement, as amended,
Service Attendant Charles J. Saffron, Social Security No. 290
23-3395, hereinafter called the Claimant, was unjustly suspended
from the service by Southern Railway System, hereinafter called
the Carrier, for sixty (60) days, from July 12 through Sept. 10,
2. That accordingly, the Carrier be ordered to reverse the sixty
' (60) days discipline assessed the Claimant, and that he be
. properly restored to his rightful position with all rights
unimpaired and compensated for all time lost.
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 July 12, 1973, claimant was notified that he was charged with conduct
unbecoming an employe., and, that an investigation would be held on July 14,
1973. On July 14, 1973, claimant was handed a second notice that additional
charges of insubordination and threatening an officer of the Carrier were
being added. The hearing was held as scheduled, following which claimant was
adjudged guilty of the aforementioned charges and suspended from service for
a period of sixty (60) days.
It is the Organization's initial contention that claimant was not afforded
a fair and impartial hearing inasmuch as Carrier waited until the morning of
Form 1
Pa ge 2
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r
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Docket No. 6762
2-SOU-F&0-'76
the scheduled hearing before
apprising claimant
that charges of insubordination
and threatening an officer of the Company were to be added to the c1larges of
conduct unbecoming an employe* If this Board
were convinced that claimant
was not given
adequate
opportunity to prepare his defense to the charges
added on July 14, then the Organization's argument that clairant was thereby
deprived of a fair
and
impartial
hearing in
violation of the governing Agreem..ent.might
have
validity. However, such is
not the case here.
The Organization, when apprised of the additional charges,
was
given the opportunity to
postpone the Hearing. However,
after
consultation with the claimant, Mr. Benton,
claimant's representative at the Hearing, agreed to proceed with the investi
gation.
If there was a valid due process argument, it was certainly waived
when the claimant and his representative weed to proceed with the
Hearing;.
At the foregoing Hearing, substantial evidence was adduced indicating that
at the end of his tour of duty on July 10, 1973, claimant had cursed and
threatened several other Carrier employees in the parking lot adjacent to the
Diesel House at Ludlow Shop. Claimant
offered no
plausible explanation for
his actions. Nor was there brought forth any extenuating or mitigating circumstances which would justify his tirade. When you couple the foregoing to
claimant's obvious insubordination toward General Foreman Brown on July 12, 1973,
the conclusion is readily apparent that the Carrier has sustained the burden
of proving by
substantive evidence the charges preferred
against the claiment.
And sixty days suspension was clearly not excessive in light of the gravity of
claimant's actions `on July 10 and July 12, 1973.
Claimant was afforded a fair and impartial Hearing; the charges were
proven; and the discipline meted out was not excessive. Therefore, the claim
lacks merit and it will be denied.
A W A R D
Claim denied.
Attest: Executive Secretary
National Railroad Adjustment Board
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Second Division
By / age
'"
r
o~emarie Brasch - Administrative Assistant
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 24th day of February, 1976.