Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 10905
SECOND DIVISION Docket No. 10226
2-SCL-CM-'86
The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee John J. Mikrut, Jr. when award was rendered.
(Brotherhood Railway Carmen of the United States
( and Canada
Parties to Dispute:
(Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company
Dispute: Claim of Employes:
1. That the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad company violated the
controlling agreement when Wrecker Crewmen D. C. McDaniels, T. H. Williams and
G. W. Rumph were not called to a derailment along with the rest of the crew on
Wrecker No. 3 at Kennesaw, Georgia on October 1, 1978.
2. That accordingly, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company be
ordered to compensate these three (3) wrecker crewmen who were assigned to
Wrecker No. 3 the amount they would have made had they been called in the
proper manner to fill these assignments and that they be made whole for any
other benefits that would have been accrued in a normal flow of circumstance.
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.
At 5:00 P.M. on either September 30 or October 1, 1978, the record is
unclear on this aspect of the case, the Carrier called out both the #1 and #3
Atlanta Wrecking Crews to work a tank car derailment at Kennesaw, Georgia.
The full complement of the #1 Atlanta Crew was called out and responded;
however, after having been properly called, only one Operator, one Foreman,
and one Groundsman from the #3 Wrecking Crew responded to the call. Thereafter, the Carrier determined that the response was sufficient to perform the
task and dispatched the full #l Crew and the partial #3 Crew to Kennesaw. The
Carrier in this dispute did not fill the Wrecking Crew from the overtime
Board, and the record further indicates that Claimants would have been the
next three (3) Carmen called from that Board.
Form 1
Page 2
Award No. 10905
Docket No. 10226
2-SCL-CM-'86
A Claim was timely filed by the Organization; the applicable time
limits were extended; and this dispute is properly before this Board.
The Organization, in its argumentation, contends that the Carrier
violated Rule 103(b) of the Controlling Agreement which specifies:
"When wrecking crews are called for wrecks
or derailments outside of the yard limits, a
sufficient number of regularly assigned crew
will accompany the outfit".
The violation, according to Organization, occurred because Carrier
did not send a sufficient number of Carmen from the #3 Wrecking Crew to
accompany the wrecking outfit. The Organization argues alternate theories in
an attempt to prove that the Carrier did not send a contractually sufficient
number of employes of the Carmen Craft to work the Kennesaw wreck. The
Organization's first line of argument attempts to define the concept of
"sufficient number" in terms of Carrier's actions herein. Basically, the
Organization maintains that, by calling the entire #1 Wrecking Crew, the
Carrier thus admitted that a "sufficient number" meant a number equal to the
entire Crew, and hence the Carrier violated the applicable Rule by merely
dispatching only part of the #3 Wrecking Crew. The Organization's alternate
theory is based on an alleged violation of applicable seniority provisions.
In this regard, the Organization contends that Carrier bulletined the Wrecking
Crew assignments separately, thus creating separate Seniority Districts for
each Wrecker. Upon consideration by this Board, the Organization's alternate
argument, if applied to these facts, would mean that when and if the #1
Wrecker Groundsmen worked with the equipment of the #3 Wrecker, those Carmen
would be working outside of their bid positions in violation of the
collectively bargained Agreement. Therefore, if the Carmen at the site had to
perform tasks outside of the contract, the Carrier did not send a sufficient
number of Carmen.
The Carrier counters the Organization's allegations by arguing that
the Organization failed to cite or prove a violation of a currently applicable
Rule. In support of its basic position, the Carrier asserts that it complied
with the Wrecking Rules by calling out the entire #3 Wrecking force, since the
Agreement only requires the act of calling out and does not require the
Carrier to supplement the Crew from the Overtime Board. Basically, the
Carrier asserts that Organization failed to sustain its burden of proof.
The Board agrees with the Carrier's position as presented herein.
The record in the instant case fails to establish that the Carrier was
contractually required to do more than call the Wrecking Crews. Furthermore,
the Organization has failed to offer any evidence that the separate Wreckers
have separate Seniority Rosters. Moreover, the record is totally devoid of
evidence demonstrating any cross-utilization between the #1 and #3 Wrecking
Crews in such instances. The Organization thus has failed to prove a contract
violation and the Claim is consequently denied.
Form 1 Award No. 10905
Page 3 Docket No. 10226
2-SCL-CM-'86
A W A R D
Claim denied.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Second Division
Attest:
Nancy Jer - Executive S retary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 9th day of July 1986.