Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 10123
SECOND DIVISION Docket No. 10152
2-S00-FO-'84
The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee Hyman Cohen when award was rendered.
( International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers
Parties to Dispute:
( Soo Line Railroad Company
Dispute: Claim of Employes:
1. That in violation of the current Agreement, Laborer J. Green, Laborer,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, was unfairly dismissed from service of the S00
Line Railroad Company effective July 29, 1981.
2. That accordingly, the Carrier be ordered to make Mr. Green whole by
restoring him to service with seniority rights, vacation rights, and
all other benefits that are a condition of employment, unimpaired, with
compensation for all lost time plus 6% annual interest; with reimbursement
for all losses sustained account loss of coverage under Health and Welfare
and Life Insurance Agreements during the time held out of service; and,
the mark removed from his record.
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 employes 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 Claimant was hired by the Carrier as a Laborer on August 4, 1977. On
July 8, 1981 at approximately 9:00 a.m., during his regular tour of duty at the
Carrier's Shoreham Diesel Shop, the Claimant pushed and verbally abused R. McGrorty,
a Machinist. Later that morning the Claimant approached H. Wenzel, a Laborer anal
proceeded to threaten and kick him in the shins, while swinging a broom. Foreman
L. Wolfe intervened and the Claimant left to attend a safety meeting. After the.
safety meeting concluded, the Claimant approached Wenzel and hit him in the jaw,
kicked him several times and verbally abused him. The Claimant then walked off
the job without permission. Each of the incidents on July 8, 1981 were not provoked
by McGrorty or Wenzel.
The Claimant was charged by the Carrier with violation General Safety Rule
"E" and Rule 14, Paragraph 2 of the Agreement which provide as follows:
RULE E: "Civil, gentlemanly deportment is required of all employees
in dealing with the public, their subordinates and each
other."
Form 1
Page 2
Award No. 10123
Docket No. 10152
2-S00-FO-'84
RULE 14: Paragraph 2:
"Permission to be absent from work for other causes must be obtained
from foreman."
Although he was duly notified by the Carrier that a hearing on the charges
would take place on July 14, 1981, and was aware of the time and place where it
was to be held, the Claimant did not attend the hearing. Following the hearing
the Claimant was dismissed from service.
The Organization claims that the Claimant failed to appear at the investigation
because he placed himself in the care of the Minneapolis Clinical Association in
Psychiatry. However, the record indicates that the earliest date that the Claimant
was a patient was July 28, 1981 which was subsequent to the date the investigation
took place.
It is clear to the Board that the Claimant's conduct on July 8, 1981 violated
General Safety Rule "E" and Rule 14, Paragraph 2 of the Agreement. The Carrier
cannot and should not tolerate the unprovoked and deliberate physical violence
committed by the Claimant against his fellow employes. As a result, the Board
concludes that the penalty imposed against the Claimant should not be disturbed.
A W A R D
Claim denied.
Attest: il
Nancy J. er - Executive Secretary
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Second Division
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this
17th day of October 1984.