NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION
(Supplemental)
Phillip G. Sheridan, Referee
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
AMERICAN TRAIN DISPATCHERS ASSOCIATION
ERIE RAILROAD COMPANY
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
Claim of the American Train Dispatchers
Association that:
(a) The action of the Erie Railroad Company, hereinafter referred to as "the Carrier" was arbitrary, unjust, and in abuse of its
discretion, when on or about September 17, 1958, it imposed discipline of fifteen (15) days actual suspension upon Mr. Russell Cisco,
of its Hoboken, New Jersey train dispatching office, upon charges
unjustified in the record.
(b) The Carrier shall now remove this record of discipline
from the record of Claimant Russell Cisco and shall compensate him
for actual time lost as a result of Carrier's unjustified action.
OPINION OF BOARD:
This is a discipline case, and the Claimant was
suspended for a period of fifteen (15) days.
The Claimant was the dispatcher on duty when a head-end collision occurred which resulted in the death of five persons and the injury of thirty-six
persons.
The claim herein centers about the interpretation of Rule 207.
"To transmit a train order, the signal '31' or the signal '19' followed by the direction must be given to each office addressed, the
number of copies being stated, if more or less than three-thus '31',
West, copy '5' or '19', East, copy 2.
"When an operator receives the signal '31' or '19' followed by the
direction, he must immediately display the 'stop signal' for the direction indicated and then reply 'Stop Displayed' adding the direction."
Did the Claimant comply with rule 207?
[643]
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Our findings must be in the negative and we are sustained in our opinion
by Claimant's testimony expressed at the investigation convened for the
purpose of ascertaining the responsibility for the cause of the fatal collision,
we quote from the Claimant's testimony as follows:
"Q. Before issuing train order 103, did operator Roth inform
you that stop signal was displayed?
"A. No. May I elaborate on that?
"Q. You may.
"A. It has been the custom and the past practice to report
'SD' meaning, of course, 'Stop Displayed' immediately after repeating
the Order and that is, of course, before the 19 Order would be completed."
It is apparent from reading the second paragraph of operating Rule 207
that the tower operator must reply 'Stop Indicated' adding direction". This
imposes a mandatory duty upon the Dispatcher to hear that portion of the
quoted rule before he proceeds further by transmitting the train order. This
was not done.
Employes cannot disregard the Carrier's operating rules to do so, would
promote chaos rather than safety and efficiency.
The penalty imposed herein was most lenient, Carrier's imposition of
discipline towards the Claimant was neither arbitrary nor capricious.
FINDINGS:
The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the
whole record and all the evidence, finds and holds:
That the parties waived oral hearing;
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 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 28th day of September 1962.