Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 11333
SECOND DIVISION Docket No. 10488-T
2-AT&SF-SMW-'87
The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in
addition Referee Robert W. McAllister when award was rendered.
(Sheet Metal Workers' International Association
Parties to Dispute:
(The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company
Dispute: Claim of Employer:
1. That the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company violated
the controlling agreement, particularly Rules 82 and 36 when they arbitrarily
assigned the repairing of microphor toilets to the Carmen's Craft instead of
to Sheet Metal Workers who have historically performed this work at Barstow,
California.
2. That accordingly, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Company be ordered to compensate Sheet Metal Worker J. Quenga in the amount of
eight hours (8) per day, five (5) days per week beginning November 1, 1982,
until this work is returned to the Sheet Metal Workers' Craft.
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 employer involved in this
dispute are respectively carrier and employer 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.
As third party in interest, the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of the
United States and Canada were advised of the pendency of this case, but chose
to file a submission with the Division.
After this matter was docketed with the Board, the Carrier asked that
the Carmen be joined as a Third Party. (TCEU v. UP 38 U.S. 157, 1966) This
was done, and a Third Party Submission was received and considered.
This matter involves the assignment of work connected with the repair
of microphor toilets. This equipment is used in locomotives and cabooses.
Toilet repairs are completed throughout the Carrier's system by employees represented by practically every shop craft Organization depending upon location
performed and availability of personnel.
e
1
Form 1 Award No. 11333
Page 2 Docket No. 10488-T
2-AT&SF-SMW-'87
At Barstow, California, members of the Carmen's craft were assigned
to make repairs on toilets carried in cabooses. Members of the Sheet Metal _
Workers craft had been assigned to make repairs on toilets carried on loco
motives. Prior to November 1982, the time per day devoted to repairing loco
motive toilets averaged 2.4 hours. Effective November 1, 1982, all toilet
repairs, both locomotive and caboose, were assigned to Carmen. The Sheet
Metal Workers filed a grievance on behalf of the Claimant, a furloughed em
ployee, contending the reassignment involved was a removal of work from its
craft in violation of its Agreement.
The Sheet Metal Workers contend that members of its craft at Barstow
had exclusively performed all the repair work for microphor toilets carried in
locomotives. The Carrier admits the repair of locomotive toilets at Barstow
was assigned to Sheet Metal Workers, but argues that that craft does not enjoy
system wide exclusivity to the work. Accordingly, assignment of such work to
another craft that is already doing the same repairs on caboose toilets promotes efficiency and is not a violation of the Sheet Metal Workers' Agreement.
The Carmen contend its organization is entitled to be assigned this work and,
also, because this is a jurisdictional dispute between competing shop craft
unions, the matter should be resolved as provided in Rule 114 of the September
1, 1974, Agreement.
It is noted that servicing and repairing microphor toilets in either
cabooses or locomotives is not listed in the Agreement among the functions of
work considered as Sheet Metal Workers' duties. It is also noted that throughout the Carrier's system, Carmen, Machinists, Electricians, and Firemen and
Oilers, as well as Sheet Metal Workers do this work on a regular basis without
regard to whether located in a locomotive or caboose.'
Generally, in claims of this nature, the Organization must show that
its craft has an exclusive right to do all the work on a system wide basis.
Herein, this has not been done. Instead, we are asked to endorse the notion
that "generally recognized" Sheet Metal Workers' duties at a particular location controls the assignment of duties under the Agreement. The difficulty
with this concept here is that an initial showing has not been made , that repairing microphor toilets is "generally recognized" as Sheet Metal Workers'
work.
Servicing toilets at a single point is not enough to establish that
the work belongs to a particular craft. In this regard, see Award SS. PLB
2206:
"There is little room for doubt that the organization has established the existence of a custom,
practice or tradition of exclusive performance of
work of recharging the chemical toilet at Bridge #l
in Pasco, Washington. However, to prevail under a
theory of reservation through practice the Organization is required by principles, not of our
making, but imposed by the great weight of precedent in this industry, to show such exclusive
performance on a system-wide basis."
Form 1 Award No. 11333
Page 3 Docket No. 10488-T
2-AT&SF-SMW-'87
A W A R D
Claim denied.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Second Division
Attest:
Z"5r-~
Nancy J. e - Executive Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 9th day of September 1987.
"No