Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 10726
 SECOND DIVISION Docket No. 10423-T
 2-SOO-EW-'86
 The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
 addition Referee Hyman Cohen when award was rendered.
 ( International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
 Parties to Dispute:
 ( Soo Line Railroad Company
Dispute: Claim of Employes:








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.


The Claimant is employed by the Carrier as an Electrician at the Fond du Lac Shops in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The instant claim alleges that the Carrier violated the Agreement on April 14, 1982 when it improperly assigned Machinist to perform electrical work, which should have been assigned to the Claimant.
Rule 86, the Electrician's Classification of Work Rule that was in effect at the time of the claim, states:
 Form 1 Award No. 10726
 Page 2 Docket No. 10423-T
 2-SOO-EW-'86
 "1. Electricians' work shall consist of maintaining,
 repairing, rebuilding, inspecting and installing the
 electric wiring of all generators, switch boards, meters,
 motors and controls, rheostats and controls, motor
 generators, electric headlights, and headlight generators,
 electric welding machines, storage batteries, axle
 lighting equipment, radio equipment, electric clocks,
 and electric lighting fixtures; winding armatures,
 fields, magnet coils, rotors, transformers and starting
 compensators; inside and outside wiring at shops,
 building, yards, and on structures, and all conduit
 work in connection therewith, including steam and
 electric locomotives, passenger trains, motor cars,
 electric tractors, and trucks; cables, cable splicers,
 high tension power house and substation operators,
 high tension linemen, and all other work generally
 recognized as electricians' work.
 2. Men employed as generator attendants, meter atten
 dants (not including water service meters), and sub
 station attendants who start, stop, oil and keep their
 equipment clean and change and adjust brushes for the
 proper running of their equipment, power switchboard
 operators."
Although Rule 82 is specific on the nature of Electicians' work, it makes no reference to fire extinguishers. Accordingly, Rule 82 is of no assistance to the Organization. In Third Division Award No. 11526, the following was stated:


The initial paragraph of Rule 82 concludes with the phrase "and all other work generally recognized as electricians' work". To come within the scope of this broad generalized phrase, the Organization must prove the existence of a controlling practice whereby the work on fire extinguishers has been reserved exclusively to Electricians. In this connection, on October 24, 1983 D. Halkyn, General Chairman, sent C. M. Gormley, Director of Relations, a statement signed on September 26 and 27, 1983 by employes of various crafts (Machinists, Laborers, Pipefitters and Blacksmiths), which states as follows:
 Form 1 Award No. 10726
 Page 3 Docket No. 10423-T
 2-SOO-EW-186












It was not until December 14, 1983 that Gormley, Director of Labor Relations, challenged the statement and the signatures of the employes who signed the statement. However, the letter and attached documentation by Gormley, Director of Labor Relations, was not exchanged on the property and made known to the organization prior to its submission to this Board. As a result, the December 14, 1983 Letter and the attached documentation cannot be considered. Since the statement on the historical practice was not disputed by the Carrier as required under the Rules of the National Railroad Adjustment Board, the probative value of the document must be evaluated. The statement is specific in referring to the "historical practice" on the Carrier's "property to assign all installation and maintenance of fire extinguishers (particularly on roadway equipment or motor cars) to the Electricians." The statement goes on to indicate that "this work has been generally recognized as Electrical Craft Work for as long as I have been employed here." The seniority dates of the employees range from 1941 to 1974. There is nothing in the record to impair the trustworthiness and probative value of the statement and the employees of the various crafts who subscribed to the statement. Contrary to the contention by the Machinists organization in its Submission to the Board, as an interested third party, that Machinists have performed work on fire extinguishers, eight (8) Machinists subscribed to the statement on the historical practice of the Electricians. Indeed, as opposed to the statement on the historical practice, the Carrier has submitted mere assertions that other crafts, including the Machinists have handled, installed, maintained, tested and recharged fire extinguishers. However, "assertions are not an adequate substitute for probative evidence". Therefore, consistent with Third Division Award No. 11526, "the intent of the parties has been ascertained by past practice, custom and usage on the property.-
Based upon the record this Board cannot conclude that the work in question was de minimus or inconsequential. However, the Board has determined that there is no monetary loss inasmuch as the Claimant was working at the time the Machinists performed the work on the fire extinguishers. Thus, since there was no monetary loss to the Claimant, he is not entitled to any compensatory damages.
 Form 1 Award No. 10726
 Page 4 Docket No. 1042-T
 2-SOO-EW-X86





                            By Order of Second Division


Attest: ,
        Nancy J. r - Executive Secretary


Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 5th day of February 1986.