Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
SECOND DIVISION
Award No. 13468
Docket No. 13254
99-2-97-2-20
The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in addition Referee
Elizabeth C. Wesman when award was rendered.
(Brotherhood Railway Carmen, Division of Transportation
( Communications International Union
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
(CSX Transportation, Inc. (former Louisville & Nashville
( Railroad Company)
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
"Claim of the Committee of the Union that:
1. That the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, (now
a part of CSX Transportation and hereinafter referred to as
Carrier) violated the controlling Agreement, in particular
but not limited to Rules 29, 30, 104, and letter Agreement
dated November 11, 1976, rights of Chattanooga, TN (L&N)
Carman H. E. Fowler, (hereinafter Claimant) when Carrier
instructed and/or allowed Atlanta, GA Seaboard Coast Line
Railroad (SCL) Carman J. L. Jackson on January 12, 1997
to perform carman's work of mechanical inspections on
freight car UTLX 25712 on property at McDaniels, GA.
2. Carrier should now be ordered to compensate Claimant for
four (4) hours pay each at the overtime rate of pay account
of violation of Claimant's contractual rights to work
performed on January 12, 1996 by outsiders to this
property."
FINDINGS:
The Second Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the whole record and all the
evidence, finds that:
Form 1 Award No. 13468
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99-2-97-2-20
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.
Parties to said dispute were given due notice of hearing thereon.
On January 12,1996, a train crew discovered that tank car UTLX 25712 on L&N
property at McDaniels, Georgia, was leaking its contents into an adjacent creek. The
L&N crew found the bottom valve leaking and worked with the valve until they stopped
the leak. The CSX Hazardous Materials Response Team (HAZMAT) was called along
with several other Carrier personnel. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Carman J. L.
Jackson, who was a few miles from the site, overhead the radio transmission requesting
that the Mechanical Department be dispatched as quickly as possible. Carman Jackson
responded to the site.
The Organization alleges that the Carrier violated Rules 29, 30, and 104 of the
Agreement and the November 11,1996, Letter Agreement when it allowed SCL Carman
Jackson to perform mechanical inspections on the leaking freight car.
In pertinent part the Rules and Letter Agreement allegedly violated read as
follows:
"RULE 29 - SENIORITY
. . . 29(b) Seniority of employes in each craft covered by this agreement
shall be confined to the point employed for those who perform work as per
special rules of each craft ...
RULE 30 - ASSIGNMENT OF WORK
. . . 30(a) None but mechanics and apprentices regularly employed as such
shall do mechanics work as per special rules of each craft . . .
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RULE 104 - CLASSIFICATION OF WORK
Carman's work shall consist of . . . inspecting all passenger and freight
cars, both wood and steel . . .
Letter Agreement dated November 11. 1976
. . . If mechanical forces are needed north of Cartersville, L&N forces will
be used. If mechanical forces are needed at Cartersville or south thereof,
SCL forces may be used."
The Organization asserts that no emergency condition existed because the tank
car was loaded with latex, a non-hazardous material. A written statement from Local
Chairman J. M. Ridge adds that the difference in response time from Chattanooga,
Tennessee, and Cartersville, Georgia, where SCL Carman Jackson is based is about ten
minutes more.
The Carrier submits that CSXT policy mandates that any uncontrolled release
from a car is an emergency situation requiring immediate response. At the time of the
incident, it had not been confirmed that the leak was secure. SCL Carman Jackson
inspected the valve and determined it was secure.
There is nothing in the record to indicate that the Carrier employees at the scene
of the incident knew the leaking material was non-hazardous. Accordingly, it was
reasonable for Carrier to act as promptly as possible to assess the situation.
AWARD
Claim denied.
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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 5th day of October 1999.