Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
SECOND DIVISION
Award No. 13387
Docket No. 13283
99-2-97-2-58
The Second Division consisted
of
the regular members and in addition Referee
Robert L. Hicks when award was rendered.
(Brotherhood Railway Carmen, Division
of
( Transportation Communications International Union
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
(Delaware & Hudson Railway Company, Inc.
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
"Claim
of
the Committee
of
the Union that:
1. That the Delaware and Hudson Railway Company violated the
terms
of
our current agreement, in particular Rule 6.8 when they
arbitrarily utilized an outside contractor to perform wrecking
service without calling the regular assigned wreck crew.
2. That, accordingly, the Delaware Hudson Railway Company be
ordered to compensate J.P. Hough, R.E. Ives and V.P. Pettinato in
the amount of nine (9) hours pay ($142.02). This amount of
compensation that this crew would have received if properly called
by the carrier."
FINDINGS:
The Second Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the whole record and all the
evidence, finds that:
The carrier or carriers and the employee or employees involved in this dispute
are respectively carrier and employee 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.
Form 1 Award No. 1338'1
Page 2 Docket No. 13283
99-2-97-2-58
Parties to said dispute were given due notice
of
hearing thereon.
On August 12, 1996, four cars derailed blocking the entire west side
of
the
Saratoga Yards and a customer's siding.
Carrier utilized the services
of
an outside contractor to rerail the four cars. The
contractor's force consisted
of
two sidewinders, each with an Operator and three
Groundmen. The contractor was on the property from 8:00 A.M. and until 12:00 Noon.
The Organization filed claim arguing that the Carrier was obligated by Rule 6
to call and utilize the services
of
the one and only wrecking crew headquartered at
Binghamton, New York.
The Carrier defends its position by arguing that the Binghamton wrecker was not
"reasonably accessible" as provided in Rule 6. The contractor was only 30 miles from
the wreck, whereas the wrecking crew was approximately 170 miles away. The Carrier
also defends its actions by referring to Appendix "L" which reads:
"This has reference to the handling of work pursuant to Rule 6 . . . It was
agreed that . . . Emergency service in yards may be handled by Carmen at
that point or by appropriate wrecking crew . . . ."
The Organization agreed in the on-property handling that emergency service at
Saratoga, New York could be performed by Carmen, but it argues that although the
Carrier called two Carmen to come to work from the overtime list at Saratoga, the two
Carmen were not used to work in the rerailing project with the contractor, but were
assigned to and worked on repairing bad order cars on the repair track.
The Board finds that the phrase contained in Rule 6.8 reading, "reasonably
accessible to the wreck" leaves to the Carrier the right to determine if the wrecking crew
is reasonably accessible. To the Board, the wrecking crew, which was located 170 miles
from the wreck, was not reasonably accessible, whereas the contractor was located only
30 miles from the wreck.
Furthermore, the derailment occurred in the Saratoga Yards and Appendix "II'
permits the Carrier to utilize Carmen at that yard to perform emergency service. The
issue of whether the Carrier was in violation of Appendix "L" is not a matter for the
Form I Award No. 13387
Page 3 Docket No. 13283
99-2-97-2-58
Board's consideration because the claim is on behalf of the Binghamton wrecking crew,
not Saratoga Carmen.
Under the circumstances, the Board finds no merit to the instant claim.
AWARD
Claim denied.
ORDER
This Board, after consideration of the dispute identified above, hereby orders that
an award favorable to the Claimant(s) not be made.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Second Division
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 12th day of April 1999.