Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No.
887:>
SECOND DIVISION Docket No. 8545
2-C&1VW-MA-'82
`I'he Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee Francis X, Quinn when award was rendered.
( International Association of Machinists and
Parties to Dispute: ( Aerospace Workers
(
( Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
Dispute: Claim of Employ s:
1. That under the current agreement and the Chicago and North Western
Transportation Company's schedule of rules, the Carrier unjustly dismissed
Machinist D, L. Regan from service effective July 24, 1978.
2. That accordingly the Carrier reinstate to service and compensate Machinist
Regan for all wages lost while dismissed from service, with seniority
rights unimpaired and all other rights and privileges restored.
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 aver the dispute
involved herein.
Parties to said dispute waived right of appearance at hearing thereon.
It is a long established principle in the railroad industry that responsibility
for theft is a dismissable offense. The carrier is extremely vulner.~ble to those who
decide that they would like to take advantage of the abundance of carrie material,
and goods entrusted to the carrier for shipping, which are for the most part in
places that are unsupervised and unwatched.
There is no question in this case that the facts established claimant's
responsibility. The only question involved is the employe's assertion that ouch
an offense is not worthy of the harsh discipline assessed. There are many awards
of the NRAB which deal specifically with dismissals for theft:
PLB 1178 AWARD N0. 141
"The Board has previously noted how widespread pilferage is in
all modes of freight transport - rail, air, marine and truck,
and that Carrier's primary, if not its sole means of holding
this pilferage to an irreducible minimum is to penalize any
and all employees caught stealing or attempting to do so,
irrespective of the value of the item improperly seized."
Form 1
Page 2
Award No.
8875
Docket No. 8545
2-C&NW-MA-X82
There is no doubt in this case that claimant was responsible as charged. Under
the circumstances, permanent: dismissal from service is warranted. This claim will
be denied.
A W A R D
Claim denied.
Attest: Executive Secretary
Iw7at3.ox·aj. Rallroad Adjustment Board
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Second Division
~marie Brasch - Administrative Assistant
Dated
A
Chicago, Illinois, this 27th day of January,
1982