NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY
(Eastern District)
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of The Order of Railroad Telegraphers on the Union Pacific Railroad, Eastern District, that:
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: An agreement bearing date of November 1, 1947, subsequently amended by a new agreement effective February 1, 1951, covering rules of working conditions and rates of pay, hereinafter referred to as Telegraphers' Agreement, is in evidence.
The Scope Rule of the Telegraphers' Agreement contains many classifications covering work belonging to the craft or class to be performed by employes holding seniority thereunder. Foremost of these classifications are those embracing the work of handling communications of record on the railroad. The classifications covering the work of "telephoners-telephoner clerks-telephone operators (except switchboard operators)" being particularly pertinent in this claim.
Commencing on or about June 24, 1948 the Carrier, acting alone, removed from the coverage of the scope of the Telegraphers' Agreement the performance of the work of transmitting and receiving messages and reports
The conduct of the parties in the instant dispute shows conclusively that the communications work performed by morning report clerks and dispatchers in the preparation and consolidation of Form 2810 has never been considered to be exclusively telegraphers' work.
There is no rule, interpretation, custom, practice or sound reason which supports the Organization's claim and it should therefore be declined.
It is hereby affirmed that all information and data herein set forth have been furnished to, discussed with, or are known to the Employes' Organization or the Claimants.
OPINION OF THE BOARD: The essence of the claim is an alleged violation of the scope rule. That rule does not purport to describe the work encompassed but merely lists the classes of positions covered. We have regularly held that in such case it is necessary to look to custom, tradition and historical practice to ascertain the work reserved exclusively to the craft by the contract.
The work in issue here is the transmission and receipt of information from Form 2810. Since it clearly appears that such information was transmitted and received by clerks via the telephone as well as being transmitted and received by telegraph prior to June 24, 1948, we are not able to say that the transmission and receipt of such information has been exclusively reserved to telegraphers by custom, tradition and practice. Hence the claim must be denied.
FINDINGS: The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, after giving the parties to this dispute due notice of hearing thereon, and upon the 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