NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION
Harold M. Weston, Referee
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
BROTHERHOOD OF SLEEPING CAR PORTERS
THE PULLMAN COMPANY
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: The Statement of Claim as expressed by the
Petitioner, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, in its appeal to the Third
Division reads as follows:
. . for and in behalf of R. J. Smith, who is now, and for
some(( years past has been, employed by The Pullman Company as
a porter operating out of the Chicago Central District.
"Because The Pullman Company did, under date of August 13,
195 7, take disciplinary action against Porter Smith in a decision rendered by Superintendent L. L. Schwarz by giving him an actual suspension of one round trip, which is equivalent to five (5) days, which
action was based upon charges which were not proved beyond a
reasonable doubt as provided for under the rules of the Agreement
between The Pullman Company and Porters, Maids, Attendants and
Bus Boys employed by the Pullman Company in the United States
of America and Canada, represented by the Brotherhood of Sleeping
Car Porters.
"And further, for the record of Porter Smith to be cleared of
the charge in this case, and for him to be reimbursed for any money
lost as a result of this unjust action."
OPINION OF BOARD: Claimant, a Porter in Carrier's employ since
1929, was suspended on August 13, 1957, for one round trip, allegedly because
of his refusal to obey a Pullman Conductor's instructions regarding the unloading of passengers.
While it is true that Rule 49 requires a greater degree of proof than is
customarily necessary under collective bargaining agreements, there is sufficient credible and competent evidence in the record, viewed as a whole and
making all due allowance for Claimant's testimony, to establish beyond a
reasonable doubt that Claimant was guilty of the charges levelled against him.
The suspension does not appear to be unreasonable under the circumstances and we are satisfied that in processing the claim proper regard was
had for the requirements of the applicable Agreement.
12257
10671-2
226
The Claim will accordingly be denied. See Awards 9494, 9493, 9175.
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 Employe 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 was not violated.
AWARD
Claim denied.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of THIRD DIVISION
ATTEST: S. H. Schulty
Executive Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 13th day of September 1961.