NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
BROTHERHOOD OF RAILWAY AND STEAMSHIP CLERKS,
FREIGHT HANDLERS, EXPRESS AND STATION EMPLOYES
MISSOURI PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
Claim of the General Committee of the
Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express
and Station Employes on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, that the Carrier
violated the Clerks' Agreement:
1. When, effective on July 16,
1954,
it arbitrarily removed the
clerical work of keeping time of Traveling Electricians and performing of accounting work incidental to the timekeeping from the
Consolidated Auditor Disbursements-Stores Accounting (Supply Department) Clerks Class "A" seniority district and roster, amounting
to approximately
116
hours of clerical effort monthly, to he General
Managers' territorial Clerks Class "A" seniority districts and rosters
of the Southern and Western Districts, thus crossing seniority district and roster lines, in violation of Rule
5
of the current Clerks'
Agreement;
2. The Carrier shall be directed by appropriate order to restore the work of keeping the time of the Travelling Electricians
and the performance of the accounting work incidental to it, amounting to approximately
116
hours time per month, to the Auditor
Disbursements-Stores Accounting (Supply Department) Clerks, Class
"A" seniority district and roster from which it was removed, in
violation of the Clerks' Agreement, and that the clerical employes
in the Auditor Disbursements-Stores Accounting (Supply Department) seniority district and roster, who filed monetary claims
account this work being taken away from their seniority district and
roster, be compensated as set forth in Claim Statement attached
hereto and made a part hereof.
CLAIM STATEMENT
Classification Amount
or Title and Claim Claimed
Name Rate Dates Per Day Amount
Miss Marie Schuh Lead Voucher J u 1 y 16,
.75
hours at
Clerk,
$16.55 1954,
a n d p u n i tive
per day. each work hourly rate
date there- of $3.101
after per hour $2.33
[727
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Classification Amount
or Title and Claim Claimed
Name Rate Dates Per Day Amount
Holly Baker Stenographer, Same as .38 hours at
$14.06 per day above p u n i tive
hourly rate
of $2.636
per hour 1.00
Mrs. Eva Wolters Labor Same as 1.5 hours at
Statistical above p u n i tive
Clerk, $15.81 hourly rate
per day of $2.964
per hour 4.46
Francis J. Chulick Labor Same as .38 hours at
Statistical above punitive
Clerk, $15.81 hourly rate
per day of $2.964
per hour 1.13
Eldon E. Hall Timekeeper- Same as 1.7 hours at
Clerk, $16.17 above p u n i tive
per day hourly rate
of $3.032
per hour 6.15
Edwin A. Fisher Chief Same as 1.5 hours at
Accountant above punitive
$17.37 per day hourly rate
of $3.257
per hour 4.89
Joseph Feranec Timekeeper- Same as .38 hours at
Clerk, $16.17 above p u n i tive
per day hourly rate
of $3.032
per hour 1.15
Robert A. Scheve Timekeeper- Same as .38 hours at
Clerk, $16.17 above p u n i tive
per day hourly rate
of $3.032
per hour 1.15
Total per day claimed $21.25
Claims to continue each work day after July 16, 1954, until
the dispute is disposed of and the claims satisfied.
EMPLOYES STATEMENT OF FACTS: The consolidated seniority district and roster of clerical employes of the Auditor Disbursements-Stores
Accounting (Supply Department) was created by mutual agreement of the
parties effective February 1, 1954; copy of Memorandum of Agreement dated
December 30, 1953 is made a part of the record designated as Employes'
Exhibit "A". It embraces all employes of Class "A" and "B" of the Auditor
Disbursements Department and also of the Stores Accounting (Supply
Department) in the General Offices and on the line of road (system).
The two General Managers' territorial seniority districts and rosters of
Class "A" and "B" clerical employes are divided into two separate and
distinct seniority districts-
One, Southern District-under the jurisdiction of the General
Manager at Little Rock, Arkansas, and it embraces all Class "A"
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Agreement involved in the instant case specifically authorizes what was done
in Award 2354.
The situation in Award 3656 is similar to that in Award 2354 except
that hours of caller positions in Group 2 were adjusted to leave no caller on
duty for two hours within a twenty-four hour period and an employe in
Group 1 did the calling during the two-hour period.
In Award 4653 the same work involving the same freight traffic movement was discontinued at a station in one seniority district and assigned to
employes in another seniority district. There was no abandonment of traffic
movement in one district and establishment of a different movement in
another.
In Award 4674 an employe in one seniority district was utilized to perform a portion of the duties of a position in another seniority district while
the incumbent of the latter position was absent due to illness.
We think it is obvious the circumstances in the instant case are not the
same as in any of the cases covered by the Awards cited by the Employes.
AR the Carrier did in this case was to put the timekeeping and accounting work for the newly established traveling electrician force in the offices
where it belonged under the seniority districting prescribed in the Agreement. There was no crossing of seniority district lines; work was abandoned
in one district, and work was established in another. The work belongs to
the employes to whom it is assigned, and these claimants have no rights to it.
(Exhibits not reproduced.)
OPINION OF BOARD:
Petitioners contend that Carrier could not
transfer work across seniority district lines without negotiations and that
no negotiations were had prior to the transfer of the work in question. This
contention Carrier denies.
It is further contended by petitioners that the effect of Carrier's action
was to permit the employes in the seniority district and on the seniority
rosters of the General Managers at Kansas City and Little Rock, to perform
the timekeeping and related clerical work in question, to the detriment of
the seniority rights of Claimant employes in St. Louis, citing Awards 753
and 1808 with rules of the Agreement, notably Rule 5.
Respondent Carrier contends that all positions of traveling electricians
and helpers were abolished, except lead positions at St. Louis, Little Rock
and Kansas City offices and new seniority districts were estblished on a
division instead of the former system basis. That the timekeeping and
accounting work was assigned to clerical forces holding seniority rights to
all division work under Rule 5, and that as traveling electricians were no
longer system forces and Claimants were no longer entitled to the work
here considered as the same by this change belonged to division clerical
forces. Also that no employes were adversely affected as the work was
placed where it belonged and under the seniority districts provided by the
Agreement in Rule 5.
We are of the opinion that Carrier has the right to determine the
method by which work shall be performed if no contract provision limits
such right. Therefore that change made in the performance of work from
a system to a district setup is permissible and we find no fault with the
method by which the work was then assigned and do not believe such
assignment was in violation of cited rules of the Agreement. The sysetm
work ceased to exist and as we view it the work was placed in the proper
districts and cannot be said to have been taken across senioriy district lines
as here contended and therefore conference and agreement was not necessary. On this record we feel that the claims should be 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 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
That Carrier did not violate the Agreement.
AWARD
Claims denied.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Third Division
ATTEST: A. Ivan Tummon
Executive Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois this 28th day of June,
1966.