NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION
(Supplemental)
Raymond E. McGrath, Referee
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
BROTHERHOOD OF MAINTENANCE OF WAY EMPLOYES
THE ALABAMA GREAT SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
Claim of the System Committee of the
Brotherhood that:
(1) The Carrier violated the effective Agreement when it failed
and refused to allow certain of its Maintenance of Way employes
eight hours' straight time pay for Thanksgiving Day, November 24,
1955.
(2) Each of the claimants be allowed eight hours' pay at their
respective straight time rates because of the violation referred to in
Part (1) of this claim.
NOTE: The claimants have been identified in a letter
dated May 16, 1956 addressed to Mr. J. F. Beaver, Assistant Chief Engineer by General Chairman G. W. Ball and
confirmed in a letter dated June 22, 1956 addressed to General Chairman Ball by Mr. Beaver.
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: The Claimants referred to in
the Statement of Claim were regularly assigned to various hourly rated positions in the Maintenance of Way and Structures Department. On or about
November 23, 1955 the Claimants were notified that they were laid off, effective with the close of the work period on Wednesday, November 23, 1955.
On or about November 26, 1955 each of the Claimants was notified to report
for service on his respective position and gang at the beginning of the work
period on Monday, November 28. 1955.
In complying with the Carrier's instructions, each of the Claimants
received compensation credited by the Carrier to Wednesday, November 23,
1955, and to Monday, November 28, 1955.
In August of 1954 the parties consummated an agreement providing for
eight hours' straight time pay for each of the seven designated holidays, which
includes Thanksgiving Day, not worked. The Carrier has refused to allow each
of the Claimants eight hours' pay at his respective straight time rate for
Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1955.
[535]
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544
The following awards sustain this conclusion: Awards 2052, 2169,
2170, 2171, 2172, Second Division; Awards 7430, 7431, 7432, Third
Division."
Also, see Second Division Award No. 2300, Referee Carter, denying a
similar claim because claimant was not, on the involved holiday, a regularly
assigned employe, or the owner, on such holiday, of a regularly assigned position.
Claim not being supported by the effective Agreement, the Board cannot
do other than make a denial award.
All evidence here submitted is known to employe representatives.
Carrier not having seen the Brotherhood's submission reserves the right,
after doing so, to make appropriate response thereto.
OPINION OF BOARD:
Both parties agree that in Sections 1 and 3 of
Article II of the August 21, 1954 Agreement the pertinent sections of Article
II read as follows:
"Section 1. Effective May 1, 1954, each regularly assigned hourly
and daily rated employe shall receive eight hours' pay at the pro
rata hourly rate of the position to which assigned for each of the
following enumerated holidays when such holiday falls on a workday
of the workweek of the individual employe:
New Year's Day Labor Day
Washington's Birthday Thanksgiving Day
Decoration Day Christmas
Fourth of July
"Note: This rule does not disturb agreements or practices now in effect under which any other day is substituted
or observed in place of any of the above-enumerated holidays.
"Section 3.
An employe shall qualify for the holiday pay provided in Section 1 hereof if compensation paid by the Carrier is
credited to the workdays immediately preceding and following such
holiday. If the holiday falls on the last day of an employe's workweek,
the first workday following his rest days shall be considered the
workday immediately following. If the holiday falls on the first
workday of his workweek, the last workday of the preceding workweek shall be considered the workday immediately preceding the
holiday.
Compensation paid under sick-leave rules or practices will not
be considered as compensation for purposes of this rule."
The issue in dispute is whether Claimants are entitled to the holiday
pay provided for in Article II of the 1954 Agreement.
Under the above quoted sections of the Agreement three requirements
are necessary.
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545
1. The employe must be a regularly assigned hourly or daily rated
employe,
2. The holiday must fall on a workday of his (the individual employe's) workweek.
3. The employe must have compensation paid by the Carrier credited to his workdays immediately preceding and following the
holiday.
In our case the Claimants were notified by the Carrier prior to November
23. that they would be laid off effective Wednesday, November, 23, 1955.
Thursday, November 24, 1955. was Thanksgiving Day and of course a holiday.
On November 26, Claimants were recalled to service effective Monday,
November 28, 1955.
There is equity in the Claimants' position but this Board has no power
to change the Agreement between the parties.
Similar factual situations have been presented to this Board. It is not
possible to distinguish the claims which led to our Awards 10175 (Daly),
10287 (Wilson) and 10512 (Dolnick). We see no reason for reaching a different conclusion. Since the Claimants failed to qualify for the holiday pay under
the terms of the Agreement, we hold that the claim is without merit.
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 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 6th day of August 1962.