NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
Nathan Engelstein, Referee
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
THE ORDER OF RAILROAD TELEGRAPHERS
NORFOLK AND WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of The
Order of Railroad Telegraphers on the Norfolk and Western Railway that:
1. Carrier violated and continues to violate the agreement
between the parties when it assigns the work of transmitting
and/or receiving messages and reports by use of teletypes (mechanical
telegraph machines) to employes not covered by the agreement at:
Assistant to Superintendent of Transportation Office, Lambert%
Point, Virginia; Yardmaster's Office, Portlock Yard, South Norfolk,
Virginia; Yardmaster's Office, Lambert% Point Yard, Lamberts Point,
Virginia; Coal Office, Lamberts Point, Virginia; Coal Pier No. 5,
Lamberts Point, Virginia; Yard Office, Crewe Yard, Crewe, Virginia.
2. Because of the violations set forth above, Carrier shall
compensate the senior idle telegraphers, extra in preference, on the
Norfolk Division, in the amount of a day's pay for each eight hour
shift at each location (three each day at each location) beginning
at 4:00 P. M. on March 4, 1957 at Portlock Yard; 4:00 P. M. on March
21, 1957 at Yardmaster's Office and Coal Office, Lamberts Point;
8:00 A. M. on May 14, 1957 at Ass't Sup't Transportation Office,
Lamberts Point; 4:00 P. M. on June 19, 1957 at Coal Pier No. 5, Lamberts Point; 10:50 A. M. on February 5, 1958 at Crewe Yard; continuing
thereafter on a day to day basis until the violations are corrected.
The beneficial claimants to be determined by a joint check of the
Carrier's records.
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: The agreements between the
parties are available to your Board and by this reference are made a part
hereof. On the initial dates of the claims, the controlling agreement between
the parties was one effective December 1, 1939, revised September 1, 1949.
This agreement was superseded by the now current agreement effective
February 16, 1958. The instant claim begins under one agreement and continues under another but no rule changes were made which create any
difference between the claim dates prior to February 16, 1958 and those
subsequent thereto.
[225)
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an intent not to change the existing interpretations. This Carrier and the
Telegraphers' Organization at the time of the adoption of the Scope Rule into
the Agreement effective September 1, 1949, and the current Agreement
effective February 16, 1958, were fully cognizant of the fact that under the
previous Agreements the work of transmitting and receiving messages and
reports by teletype-printers located outside of telegraph offices was not being
treated as exclusively reserved to the classes of employes listed in the
Telegraphers' Agreement. Consequently, as your Board said in Third Division
Award 4791, it must be held that the re-adoption of the rule, in the effective
Agreement in the instant case as well as in other earlier Agreements, was
not intended to change the meaning previously given to it.
PART VIII
Third Division Awards
The Carrier's position as set forth in this submission clearly proves that
there is no merit whatever to the Employes' claims in this case. In support of
its position, the Carrier cites the following Third Division Awards:
652 2679 4643 4889 5318 5619 6007 6603 6788 6996 7154
653 3003 4733 4922 5404 5660 6159 6604 6824 7031 7401
700 4464 4791 5079 5416 5702 6363 6758 6903 7066 7402
752 4512 4827 5109 5468 5777 6364 6778 6929 7076 7403
1708 4585 2879 5120 5564 5866 6487 6779 6959 7153
The Carrier desires to point out that the jurisdiction of the Third Division,
National Railroad Adjustment Board, is limited to the matter of interpretation
or application of agreements and that such Division has no jurisdiction whatsoever to write any agreement or to read any non-existent rule into an agreement, which it would be doing if it sustained the instant claims. Denial of
the six claims in the instant case is, therefore, respectfully requested.
All material used in this submission was presented to or was know by
the Employes while this claim was being progressed on the property.
(Exhibits not reproduced.)
OPINION OF BOARD: The ultimate and narrow issue presented by
this dispute is whether the Carrier is obligated by its agreement with the
telegraphers to assign an employe of that class or craft to attend teletype
machines which have been installed at places where no telegraphers are
employed for the sole purpose of reciving communications which formerly
were received by means of the telephone from nearby telegraph offices.
While the record indicates that these parties have established certain
rights and obligations concerning the use of teletype equipment, there is no
showing that the Carrier has obligated itself in the manner contended for
by the Employes.
It is well established that in disputes of this nature the complaining party
must present convincing proof in support of its position. This the Employes
have failed to do, and their claim, therefore, must be denied.
In view of this conclusion it is unnecessary to consider other questions
raised in the record.
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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 involved herein; and
That no violation of the Agreement has been established.
AWARD
Claim denied.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of THIRD DIVISION
ATTEST: S. H. Schulty
Executive Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 26th day of September 1963.