STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of The Order of Railroad Telegraphers on the Missouri Pacific Lines in Texas and Louisiana,
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: An agreement bearing date of October 15, 1940, as to rates of pay and working conditions, is in effect between the parties to this dispute.
On May 22, 1944 Bulletin No. 37 was issued on permanent vacancy at Kenefick Texas, and telegrapher C. D. Winters bid on the position and, on June 5, 1944, received the following wire:
Telegrapher Winters hereby became regularly assigned to third trick Kenefick and under Rule 3-E (quoted below), should have been transferred within thirty (30) days, and if not placed on his position within thirty (30) days should have been paid "resulting necessary expenses for each day (100 days) held from newly assigned position". He also became a regular assigned telegrapher performing EXTRA WORK which is covered by Rule 14 and Rule 30.
meals, his expenses during the period in question would have been $90.00 less tan the figure presented in his first revised expense account of $476.00 (Carrier's Exhibit ' B"), or a total of $386.00, approximately the amount the employes at one time agreed to accept and which the Carrier on May 29, 1947, offered to pay.
Aside from and in addition to the several irregularities and inconsistencies of the employes' claim and their handling with the Carrier, as pointed out and discussed in the foregoing, it is desired in conclusion to also direct attention of the Board to the Employes' Ex Parte Statement of Claim wherein it is stated that the claim for $740.00 expenses should be allowed "under the provisions of Rule 14 of the Telegraphers' Agreement". This rule reads as follows:
"REGULAR ASSIGNED EMPLOYES DOING
EXTRA WORK
It will be noted that Rule 14 is Captioned "Regular Assigned Employes doing extra work", and has to do entirely with regularly assigned employes being required to perform relief or extra work. In the case under consideration Mr. Winters was not performing relief or extra work within the intent and meaning of this rule, therefore, Rule 14 is not applicable to and accordingly does not support this claim. Rule 3 (e), quoted and discussed by the Carrier, is the rule here applicable, not Rule 14.
The claim here presented for $740.00, nearly double the above amount, of $386.00 referred to, is so obviously unreasonable and unjustified as to merit no favorable consideration. It is the position of the Carrier, therefore, that this claim should either be denied, or remanded by your Board to the parties for disposition by them upon satisfactory proof by the claimant of the necessary expenses incurred by him and on such basis as your board should find is reasonable and proper.
OPINION OF BOARD: Based on the facts and circumstances of this case, the Employes' offer in letter of September 19, 1945, and Carrier's acceptance thereof in letter of May 29, 1947, was fair and reasonable. The claim should be disposed of on that basis.
FINDINGS: The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, after giving the parties to this dispute due notice of hearing thereon, and upon the whole record and all the evidence, finds and holds:
That the Carrier and the Employes involved in this dispute are respectively carrier and employes within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act, as approved June 21, 1934;
That this Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the dispute involved herein; and