NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood:
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: On or about December 1, 1951, the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Company increased the rental charges of company-owned houses by certain employes coming within the scope of the Agreement with the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes. These increased charges are still in effect.
Although the Carrier was not a party to the various Wage Agreements negotiated on a National basis between the majority of the Nation's Carrier's and certain so-called non-operating Brotherhoods, the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Company entered into subsequent Agreements with the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes accepting the provisions and effective dates of each so-called National Wage Agreement, beginning with the Wage Agreement effective December 1, 1941, and ending with the Wage Agreement effective February 1, 1951. These Wage Agreements together with the basic Agreement effective December 7. 1950, between the parties of this dispute are by reference made a part of this Statement of Facts.
POSITION OF EMPLOYES: The Carrier owns and maintains along its railroad a number of houses which it rents to Employes. These houses are, for the most part, boxcars or caboose bodies which have been converted into housing quarters, with certain additions thereto in some instances. These houses are located near the location of each respective designated headquarters station and are furnished to the employes because there are no other available houses convenient to the location of the work which the Carrier wants the Employes to perform.
Furnishing these houses to the Carrier's employes serves as one of the inducements and considerations for the employes to accept employment at certain locations which are generally inaccessible to schools, shopping
Carriers rates of pay are uniform for all employes of a class. The 31 Sectionmen who rent dwellings from the company now receive and have always received the same hourly rates of pay as the approximately 300 other Sectionmen who do not live in company dwellings.
OPINION OF BOARD: For many years the Carrier has owned some thirty houses, located on its railroad property and occupied by its Maintenance of Way employes. The employes using these properties sign written leases therefor, which are subject to being terminated by either party on seven days' notice. As of December 1, 1951, the Carrier substantially increased the rentals, as the following examples will indicate. For five houses the rent was increased from $1.00 to $5.00 per month, two from $4.00 to $18.00, one from $6.00 to $20.00, one from $8.00 to $25.00, and one from $11.00 to $21.00.
The Organization contends that the Carrier was precluded from making these increases effective because of the force of Article I (g) which reads:
Section 3 (m) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 provided that in determining whether a carrier was paying the minimum wage to its employes, "wage" should be considered as including "the reasonable cost as determined by the Administrator, to the employes of furnishing such employe with board, lodging or other facilities, if such board, lodging or other facilities are customarily furnished by such employer to his employes."
The Organization contends, therefore, that the rentals which the Carrier may charge for the buildings in question are frozen as of August 31 1941 citing Awards 4141 and 4337. Award 4141 involved an agreement that expressly provided that, "So far as practicable, comfortable houses will be furnished," while it was stated in Award 4337 that it had been the practice of the carrier to furnish houses for its employes.
On the other hand, this claim involves only 30 out of more than 300 of the Carrier's sectionmen. While the rentals paid by the claimants are deducted from their wages, pursuant to written authorization, it does not appear that occupancy of any of these buildings is attached to any of the positions, or that the rentals are in any manner reflected in the wage schedule thereof. There is no showing that the claimants are required to occupy the buildings in question or that it is necessary for them to do so to hold their jobs.
Under the circumstances, we are of the opinion that the contractual provisions relied upon by the Organization have no application here, and that the claim is not sustained by the evidence. The situation appears to be one of private contract between the parties, wholly unrelated to the claimants' positions or wages, and they are free to terminate their leases, in accordance with the terms thereof, without jeopardizing their positions or affecting the wages to which they are entitled.
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; 6738-7 515