f
F orm 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 9518
SECOND DIVISION Docket No.
9534
2-N8cW-CM-'
83
The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee David P. Twomey when award was rendered.
( Brotherhood Railway Carmen of the United States
Parties to Dispute: ( and Canada
( Norfolk and Western Railway Company
Dispute: Claim of Employes:
1. That the Norfolk and Western Railway Company unjustly assessed
discipline against the service records of Carmen G. E. Wright and
D. G. Rayls on September 17,
1980,
as a result of investigation held
on August 20,
1980,
at Frankfort, Indiana.
2. That the Norfolk and Western Railway Company be ordered to rescind
discipline assessed Carman G. E. Wright in letter dated September 17,
1980,
and compensate him for all time lost as a result of being
required to serve a thirty-five
(35)
calendar day suspension, beginning
at 7:00 A.M. on Monday, September 22,
1980,
and ending on Sunday,
October 22,
1980,
at x+:00 P.M., conclusive, as mentioned in carrier's
letter dated September
17, 1980,
and make him whole for all contractual
benefits, including seniority and vacation rights, holiday pay, health
and welfare benefits, that he may have lost during the period of unjust
suspension from work.
3.
That the Norfolk and Western Railway Company be ordered to remove the
ten (10) day deferred suspension assessed Carman D. G. Rayls in carrier
letter dated September
17, 1980.
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.
The Carrier maintains a freight car repair facility, locomotive servicing
track and extensive transportation yard at Frankfort, Indiana. Claimants G. E.
Wright and D. G. Rayls are employed as carmen at the car repair facility.
On July 6,
1980,
tank car GATX
72530
was set out of train 1 FB96 at Vernon,
Indiana some sixty-nine miles away from Frankfort, because of a hot box at the
L-2 location. Inspection of the car at Vernon revealed that the cause of the hot
Form 1 Award No. 9518
Page 2 Docket No.
9534
2 -N&W-CM-'
83
box was a pitted journal at the Z-2 location. It was further determined that this
car had been released from the repair track at Frankfort, Indiana on the previous
day, July
5, 1980.
On July
9, 1980,
the Carrier charged Carman D. R. Fulwider, G. E. Wright and
D. G. Rayls with:
"...
improper performance of duty in your failure to detect
and repair pitted journals on GATX
72530
on July
5, 1980."
Carman D. R. Fulwider admitted his responsibility concerning the July
9,
1980
charge by stating in a July
18, 1980
letter that:
"I hereby waive my rights to a formal investigation and accept
five
(5)
actual calendar days suspension for my improper
performance of duty in my failure to detect and repair pitted
journals on GATX
72530
in Frankfort Shop on July
5, 1980.
I fully realize that since I am currently on probation due to a
twenty (20) day deferred suspension account of the formal
investigation held on may
6, 1980,
that I will have to serve
that 20 calendar days as actual suspension days.
Signed: D. R. Fulwider, Carman"
A formal investigation in connection with the charge was scheduled and held
on July 22,
1980,
but "due to malfunction in tape" the Carrier reconvened the
investigation on August 20,
1980.
Following the investigation Carman G. E. Wright was advised by the Carrier on
September 17,
1980,
that:
"As a result of the investigation held on August 20,
1980,
a
five
(5)
day actual calendar day suspension will be assessed
against your service record.
However, since you failed to maintain a clear record during
the probationary period of discipline assessed as a result of
the investigation held on April
18, 1980, you will
be required
to serve that discipline in its entirety.
Consequently, this actual suspension will be a thirty-five
(35)
calendar day suspension, beginning at 7:00 A. M. on
Monday, September 22,
1980;
and ending on Sunday, October
26,
1980,
at 4-:00 P. M., conclusive."
Carman D. G. Rayls was advised by the Carrier on September 17,
1980,
that:
"As a result of the investigation held on August 20,
1980, a
ten (10) day deferred suspension will be assessed against
your service record."
Form 1 Award
No.
9518
Page
3
Docket No.
9534
2-N&W-CM-'83
We believe from the limited evidence before us that the transcript is accurate.
The Organization has not made the Carrier or the Board aware of specific testimony,
that was left out of the transcript. We find no prejudicial error in the transcript.
We have reviewed pages 17 and
18
of the transcript and find that Mr. Camp's
statement which the Hearing Officer ordered to be stricken from the record, and
which statement was marked-out but a legible part of the transcript before this
Board, is not prejudicial error. Mr. Camp was allowed to pursue his question on
how men start out their assignments at
7:00
A.M. with Mr. Herman;
and Mr. Herman did not agree with him. Also the tank car in question was not
the first
assignment; Mr
. Camp had not called himself as a witness; and he was
not present on the morning of the incident in question.
The Organization contends that Acting Assistant Car Foreman Herman could not
positively identify Carman Wright as working on GATX
72530
at a time during the
work day. The argument is contrary to the record. Mr. Herman's testimony on
pages
7, 14, 15
and
18
indicate that he assigned Mr. Wright to repair GATX
72530;
and that he was positive that Mr. Wright was on
2
track between
7
and
8
in the
morning having worked the first two cars. Mr. Herman disagreed with the testimony
of Mr. Wright and Mr. Fulwider that Mr. Wright did not work on the car in question.
We can understand the General Chairman's vigorous objection to the Carrier's
finding that Mr. Wright was responsible for failure to detect and repair pitted
journals on the car in question when Mr. Wright testified that he did not work on
the car but was working on No. 1 track with Fred Williams; and Mr. Fulwider also
testified that Mr. Wright did not work with him, but worked with Fred Williams.
Contrary to the testimony of Mr. Wright and Mr. Fulwider, Mr. Herman testified
that he assigned both Mr. Wright and Mr. Fulwider to make repairs to GATX
72530;
and he also testified that the "Daily Schedule Control" which showed both men to
have worked on the car was accurate. Mr. Herman also testified as to the small
crew assigned on that day. This Board does not make credibility determinatiazs.
The Hearing Officer, Mr. Hill, had the high judicial responsibility of making
fair and impartial credibility determinations. While recognizing that evidence
existed contrary to his decision, substantial evidence of record, including Mr.
Herman's complete testimony as well as the Schedule Control record of work that
day, supports Mr. Hill's finding that Mr. Wright was responsible. We point out
that Mr. Wright had the right to call witnesses on his behalf. The testimony of
Mr. Herman had been given at the previous hearing where the tape recorder had
malfunctioned and he was well aware of Herman's position. Mr. Wright testified
that he was working with Fred William . Fred Williams was not called as a
witness. Mr. Rayls was inspecting and marking up cars on the 2 and
3
tracks;
he did not testify as to where hr. Wright was working.
Form 1 Award No. 9518~
Page 4 Docket No. 9534
2-N&W-CM-'83
We must find, based on the credibility determination of the Hearing Officer,
which was based on substantial evidence of record, that the Carrier's finding that
Mr. Wright was responsible for the offense charged must be sustained, and the
claim on behalf of Mr. Wright is denied.
Mr. Rayls admitted that it is the responsibility of the checker to certify
the repairs that are billed. His testimony indicates that he did not do so. He
explained that he did not have a chance to further inspect the car, because there
were more cars on the two and three tracks that he was inspecting and marking up,
and the car in question was worked and shoved out while he was on the two and three
tracks. Also he testified that he was not notified by the carman that anything
was wrong, which is the usual practice.
The record indicates that Mr. Rayls did not inspect the car while it was on
the repair track to certify the repairs that were billed. The car had been
inspected and chalked, and the bill had been "headed up" on July 3 by another
checker the day before the holiday; and it was sitting onihe repair track at the
start of work at 7:00 A.M. on July 5, 1980. The work on the car was completed
at 9:00 A.M. on July 5, 1980. It was Mr. Rayls' responsibiliy to manage his
time to certify the repairs that are billed. Since he did not do so, he was
properly subject to discipline. We cannot find. that the ten day deferred suspension
was either arbitrary, capricious or excessive. We must deny Mr. Rayls' claim.
A W A R D
Claims denied.
NATIONAL RAIIROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Second Division
Attest: Acting Executive Secretary
National Railroad Adjustment Board
By
osemarie Brasch - Administrative Assistant
Date at Chicago, Illinois, this 15th day of June, 1983.