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    Dispute: Claim of Employes:


            1. That the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) violated the current agreement when they worked the Electrical Workers on a holiday, October 25, 1876, which was designated by the federal government as Veterans Day and paid them at the straight time rate of pay for service performed by them on that day,


        2, That, accordingly, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation

            ' (Amtrak) be ordered to compensate the Electrical Workers the holiday pay plus time and one-half rate of pay for all service performed by them on October 25, 1876.


    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 Railvray Labor Act as approved June 21., 19321,


    This Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the dispute involved herein.


        Parties to said dispute waived right of appearance at hearing thereon.


    Veterans Day is an enumerated holiday in the September 1, 1975 Agreement between the parties. Under a letter of understanding dated August 7, 1975 the parties agreed that if the federal government designated a holiday as a date which did not coincide with a state designation the federally designated date would b e observed.


    The federal government designated October 25, 1976 as Veterans Day. The traditionally observed date had been November 11. The Carrier announced that with the exception of Rhode island and the District of Columbia, Veterans Day would be observed on November Ll in all states in the Northeast Corridor.

Form 1 Award No. 77+2
 Page 2 Docket No. 7739
 2-NRPC-Ew-'79

 The Carrier proceeded to treat October 25, 1976 as an ordinary work day in those states and applied the holiday rules to November 11, 1976. Holiday pay rates and formulas were applied to November 11, 1976. It does not appear that the claimants made arms attempt to treat October 25, 1976 as a holiday or resisted the Carrier's application of the holiday pay rules to November 11, 1976.

 The Carrier has raised the issue of unjust enrichment in that a sustaining award would compensate the employes for two Veterans Days. The question of whether the conduct of the parties manifested an agreement to amend their contract, also bears on this set of facts.

 During the pendanoy of this claim however, this Board rendered a decision in Docket No. 7560, Award No. 7849, which case is on all fours with the instant matter. In that Award the Board held, "However, two elements are controlling in this dispute. First, the cout·ts have held that the state laws are controlling irlLth respect to the dates on winch holidays will be observed (Consolidated fi.Iarketin_g, Inc. y. Busi. , La. App. 1972, 256 So. 2nd 695). Secondly, a fundamental tenet of contract law mandates that contractual provisions in violation of law are void". The Board went on to find that Carrier had the right to change the observance of Veterans day to November 11.

 This Board, havingruled on the matter and not finding the Award to be palpably in error, will follow Award 78+9 and deny the claim.

                      A W A R D


    Claim denied.


                          NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTTWNT BOARD

                          By Order of Second Division


Attest; Executive Secretary
 National Railroad Adjustment Board

 By -E~.r?~r~-~'~-- -~ t'Z_----_
 seznarie Braseh - Administrative Assistant

 Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 24th day of bay, 1979.