NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION
Peter
M.
Kelliher, Referee
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
AMERICAN TRAIN DISPATCHERS ASSOCIATION
CENTRAL OF GEORGIA RAILWAY COMPANY
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
Claim of the American Train Dispatchers
Association that:
(1) The Central of Georgia Railway Company, hereinafter referred to as "the Carrier" has failed and refused and continues to refuse to comply with the intent of the provisions of the current
Schedule Agreement, effective April 1, 1938, and particularly Article
1 of said Agreement, when on December 20, 1951, and continuously
thereafter required and continues to require trick train dispatchers
employed in its Cedartown, Columbus, Macon and Savannah, Georgia
offices, in addition to the performance of trick train dispatcher duties,
to also perform duties of Assistant and/or Night Chief Train Dispatchers, and
(2) Because of the Carrier's improper action, as set forth in
above paragraph (1) of this claim, the Carrier shall now compensate
all trick train dispatchers employed in the offices specified in above
paragraph (1) who have been required or who may hereafter be required to perform duties of Assistant or Night Chief Train Dispatcher
in addition to their trick train dispatcher duties, for a minimum day's
pay at the straight time daily rate of Assistant Chief or Night Chief
Dispatcher in addition to their compensation as trick train dispatcher
which they have received or may receive, for each day on which they
have been or may be required to also perform duties of Assistant
and/or Night Chief Dispatcher, from December 20, 1951, until the violation is corrected.
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: There is an agreement between
the Central of Georgia Railway Company and its train dispatchers represented
by the American Train Dispatchers Association, effective April 1, 1935. Said
agreement and subsequent amendments thereto are on file with your Honorable
Board and are by this reference made a part of this submission as though fully
incorporated herein. The rules of said agreement pertinent to the instant
claim read as follows:
"ARTICLE 1 (a) Scope:
"The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to all positions of
Train Dispatcher as the term `train dispatcher' is defined, and the
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OPINION OF BOARD:
The claim is that the employes were required to
perform duties of an Assistant Chief or Night Chief Train Dispatcher during
hours when employes in such classifications were not on duty and, therefore,
the Claimants are entitled to a separate day's pay at the applicable rate on
each day that they were required to undertake such duties.
The issue is whether the Claimants were performing the duties defined in
the scope rule of the Agreement as that of Assistant Chief or Night Chief
Train Dispatcher. The evidence is that there has been no change in duties in
any of the classifications here involved for at least the last fourteen (14)
years. The Claimants do not perform the type of supervisory duties belonging
to the higher classifications. The actual duties set forth simply involve "related work".
The Board in Award 6138 stated:
"The outstanding distinction between the positions of Trick Train
Dispatchers and Night Chief Dispatchers appears to be that the latter
have supervisory jurisdiction over other Dispatchers. What supervisory
authority the Claimants exercised when no Night Chief Dispatcher was working with them is not clear. The Employes have
caused to be set out in the record copies of some 230 instructions
issued by the Claimants over the signature or initials of the Chief
Dispatcher during the period when no Night Chief was on duty, but
we find nothing in these instructions to indicate that they would have
been issued by the Night Chief if he had been on duty or that they
would not have been issued by the Claimants if a Night Chief had
been on duty. * * *"
"The case before us is quite unlike that considered and resolved
in Award 1828, relied on by the Employes. That case involved the
abolition of the position of Night Chief Dispatcher and the assignment of a substantial proportion of his duties to an employe not covered by the Dispatchers' Agreement. We find nothing helpful in that
Award, other then some dicta of doubtful application here."
In another recent Award, 6274, the following language of the Board is
clearly applicable to the factual situation in the case here presented:
"Claimant supervises no other train dispatchers, he being the
only one on duty. The evidence is not conclusive that he performs
any duties at this time which he had not previously so performed.
Any supervisory duties performed are those which are normal to the
position.
The Chief Train Dispatcher leaves written orders, generally
known as a 'line-up' for use by the second and third trick dispatcher.
The second trick dispatcher transfers orders in writing to the third
trick dispatcher.
It is the opinion of the Board that the duties performed, including the coordination of operations, are nothing more than routine and
related work of the position and that the work so performed, and
the responsibilities assumed in connection therewith, are no greater
than those which have normally been required of the occupant of the
position for a substantial period of time prior to the institution of
this claim."
Based upon an analysis of all of the evidence, it must be found that the
petitioners have failed to sustain the burden of proof and, therefore, claim
is accordingly denied.
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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 Employe 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
That the agreement has not been violated.
AWARD
Claim denied.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Third Division
ATTEST: (Sgd.) A. Ivan Tummon
Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 23rd day of October, 1953.