The Second Division consisted of the regular members and in addition Referee James E. Conway when award was rendered.
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.
This dispute, as with several others decided concurrently by the Board, centers on a Claim for reimbursement of meal expenses incurred while the Claimant was away from headquarters performing services for Carrier as a Telephone Form 1 Award No. 13973
Maintainer. In this instance the Carrier disallowed meal expenses totaling $27.07 submitted during the month of September, 2006.
As with the companion cases, Grievant Martin's Claim suffers from fatal procedural defects and is thus improperly before the Board. Specifically, the record shows that on January 31, 2007, he submitted a Notice of Intent to file a Submission to the National Railroad Adjustment Board over this issue without previously conferencing the dispute with Carrier representatives as compelled by the Railway Labor Act (RLA). Since Section 2, Second of the RLA requires that parties attempt to resolve their disputes in conference on the property prior to referring them to the NRAB, and since it is undisputed no such mandatory conference occurred with respect to this claim, the Board lacks jurisdiction to hear the merits of the Claim.
This Board, after consideration of the dispute identified above, hereby orders that an Award favorable to the Claimant(s) not be made.