Claimant was terminated from the service of the Carrier on June 21, 1995 as a result of an Investigation held on .June 7, 1995.
The transcript of the Investigation reveals that on May 17, 1995 Claimant was assigned to protect signal equipment while a contractor demolished the Polk Street Bridge in Chicago, Illinois. Claimant reported for duty in a van at 10:00 P.M. At approximately 1:45 A.M. the contractor's employees destroyed signal R66.
Both the contractor's Supervisor and a Flagman, a Carrier employee, testified that from the time the Claimant arrived at the job site until the time of the incident, the Claimant never left the van. The Supervisor further testified it took over five minutes to awaken the Claimant to report the accident.
The Organization takes the position that Claimant did not destroy the signal equipment, and that the Flagman did not prevent the accident. The fact that the contractor paid for repair of the equipment meant no financial loss. It also argues that the Carrier did not meet its burden to prove that the Claimant was guilty.
The Carrier takes the position that the Flagman was there to protect train movements, not the signal equipment. That was the purpose of the Claimant being assigned to the work site.
Numerous tribunals have held that the Hearing Officer is in the best position to determine witness credibility. In this case two witnesses testified that the Claimant never left the van and that it took over five minutes to awaken him. Claimant testified that when the Supervisor rapped on the van window he was reaching for a cigarette, he was not slumped over, and the reason it took so long to respond was because there was so much noise outside.
The record is clear that the Claimant received a fair and impartial Hearing, and that the Carrier proved the Claimant guilty. This is the sixth disciplinary action taken against the Claimant in the five years prior to the incident.