"Claim of the General Committee of The Order of Railroad Telegraphers, Southern Pacific Company (Pacific Lines), that E. A. Earn is entitled to one day's pay under Rule 10 of their Agreement with that Company for service performed at Altamont, California, May 25th, 1934."
FINDINGS.-The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the whole record and all the evidence, finds that:
The carrier and the employs involved in this dispute are respectively carrier and employs 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.
The parties to said dispute were given due notice of hearing thereon.As result of a deadlock, Lloyd K. Garrison was called in as Referee to sit with this Division as a member thereof.
An agreement bearing date of September 1, 1927, is in effect between the parties.
'The parties have jointly certified to the following:"Extra Telegrapher E. A. Earn, Western Division, who resided in Company living quarters at Altamont, was notified by Section Foreman at about 4 A. M., May 25th, 1934, to call the Train Dispatcher on the telephone from Altamont Station for the purpose of copying a train order. Ile remained on duty two hours and was compensated for two hours at the rate of ,6625 per hour.
Altamont Station had been discontinued as a train order office on November 14, 1932. The building was boarded up but the depot and living quarters on the second floor were maintained, and extra telegrapher Earn was permitted by the Carrier to reside free of charge in the station.
Early in the morning on May 25, 1934, a freight train was on its way from Tracy to Altamont. This freight train was being assisted by helper engine No. 2753. At the same time a vegetable train was approaching Niles from
where it was to go to Allamont and then Tracy. Since t1erc was a steep grade between \ties and Altamont the vegetable train would either have to be supplied with a helper engine at Niles or else adopt the slower method of taking half the load to Altamorit and returning to Niles for the other half. Since the freight train's helper engine No. 2753 was already en route for Altaniont where the plan was for it to leave the freight train and return to Tracy, the sensible thing to (to was to get word to the helper engine to go on from Altanont to Niless and pick up the vegetable train there.
There was, however, an alternative. If word could not be gotten to the helper engine at Altamant in time to have it go on, another helper engine could be sent front Oakland to Niles, Onlcland being about the sanie distance from Nilcs that Altamont was. This second alternative would have been feasible, but since it would leave requited paying the wages for the helper engine crew from Oakland, the more economical plan was to get helper engine 2763 to do the jolt
Accordingly the Train Dispatcher at Tracy through tile Section Foreman at Altamont reached Harn and ;gave hiiu the necessary instructions to be delivered to helper engine 276.7. Harn handled the ,wders accordingly and helper engine 2753 went oil to Niles and picked up the vegetable train.
The sole question in this case is whether Hart's services were of finch a character as to call for compensation under Rule 10, set forth above. Telegrapbers who fire "taken from their nssigiied positions to be used at derailments, washouts, or similar emergency offices" are to be compensated under Rule 10. The petitioners take the position that for the purpose of what Earn was called upon to do, the Altamont Station was opened up as an "emergency office" within tile meaning of little 10. Rut tilde 10 speaks of "similar emergency oHt,es" find the word "similar" refers back to the words "derailments" and "washouts", clearly implying that the emergency offices embraced in the rule are those which are opened for the purpose of directing traffic following a derailiuent, a wrlslmut, or some shuilar emtingenvy, such us fire, earthquake, slides, breaking or dislocating of rails, Pte. This list of contingencies is not intended to he exclusive, but it cannot be stretched to include the type of happeniing which occurred in this case without doing violence to the language (if flip rule and extracting fill significance front the use of the word "similar" in its context with the words "derailments" and "washouts". The evidence indicates that if Barn lead not been available the Train Dispatcher at Tracy could have gotten to touch with Oakland and supplied the vegetable train at Niles with ii helper engine so that there would have been no delay in the hauling of the train. Harn, therefore, was called in not to deal with an emergency similar to a derailment or D washout but simply to direct a particular train moveinelit in the interests of railroad economy. Without attempting to define the precise extent of tile rifle, we do not think it wits intended to apply to such a case as this.