THE NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD
(Western District)
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of The Order of Railroad Telegraphers on the New York Central Railroad, Western District, that:
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: On August 6, 1957, the Carrier assigned employes who were not covered by the Telegraphers' Agreement to perform the necessary telephone communication work at FR Office, Fairview, Pennsylvania. The communications were of record and were required in connection with an automatic electronic hot journal detector placed in operation at FR Office on that date. Each time a train passed FR Office the hot journal detector would indicate on a graph recorder whether or not there was a journal in the train with a higher than normal temperature. When such indications were recorded on the graph, the Carrier required an immediate report of the record to be transmitted to Wesleyville Tower, which is located 14.45 miles east of FR, by means of the telephone. Employes at FR thus performed the work of a telephone operator or clerk-telephoner classification which is shown in Article 1, Scope Rule of the Telegraphers' Agreement. The
Therefore, the Carrier submits that awards of the Third Division, NRAB support the Carrier's position that there is no merit to this claim and it should be denied.
OPINION OF BOARD: This dispute arose as the result of the Carrier installing testing, and communicating results obtained from a Servo Hot Box Detector by telephone to the train dispatcher. The incident took place at Fairview remote interlocker on June 15, 1957, to December 30, 1957. The device recorded journal temperatures (hot boxes) automatically while a train was in motion. The device is attached to the track and connected by cable to an electronic cabinet mounted in a signal case, and a graphic recording device records on a tape, hot boxes, if any, while the train is in motion.
An employe available, read the tape, and if a hot box was indicated, advised, by use of the telephone, the tower operator at W.V. Tower, Wesleyville, Pennsylvania, of the hot box and its location in the train. The recorder is now being maintained by employes, on their regular tour of duty, clerks, telegraphers, dispatchers.
The Claimants filed a claim on September 13, 1957, alleging that employes not covered by the Telegrapher's Agreement were performing the work of a telephone operator (except switchboard operator) and also performing the work of clerk-telephoner, in violation of the Telegrapher's Agreement.
It was the position of the Claimant that Article 1, of the scope rule required the Carrier to assign this work, of transmitting information obtained from the tape recording to employes covered by the Telegrapher's Agreement as this information was a communication of record and such work properly belonged to employes working under the Telegrapher's Agreement.
In addition Article 27 (a) and (k) were alleged to be violated. This Article is entitled Vacancies and New Positions and the work assignments were not made in compliance with this Article. 12518--13 496
(a) This agreement applies to wire chiefs, operators of mechanical machines used for transmitting or receiving communications from one city to another, agents, agent-telegraphers, agent-telephoners, towermen, levermen, tower and train directors, telegrapher-levermen, telephoner-levermen, telegraphers, telephone-operators (except switchboard operators), block operators, clerk-telegraphers, clerktelephoners, telegrapher-switchtenders, telephoner-switchtenders, and others whose positions are shown in the attached wage scale, hereinafter termed employes.
(b) Employes performing service in the classes specified in the preceding paragraph shall be classified in accordance therewith.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (i) of this article, permanent vacancies or new positions shall be bulletined for 10 days to all employes covered by this agreement on that seniority district with copy to the General Chairman. When two or more vacancies or new positions are bulletined employes shall have the right to apply for any or all, stating preference.
The Carrier contended that this work was not reserved exclusively to telegraphers. The scope rule merely lists the positions which are covered by and subject to the Agreement. The scope rule does not describe the work that is to be done by the employe under the scope rule. Hence, it is necessary to look to past practic and custom to determine the communication work that is exclusively reserved to the Telegraphers by their scope rule. It was further the position of the Carrier that the Servo Hot Box Detector was a new machine and the work in connection therewith was not exclusively the work of any craft.
An examination of the record fails to reveal what work was actually performed by employes, not covered by the Telegrapher's Agreement, when transmitting messages concerning information obtained from the tape record- 12518 -19 497
ings. Furthermore, no evidence has been submitted in the record to show that the communications were train orders or communications of record. Such evidence is necessary to support the contentions of the claimant.
Thus, this Board is of the opinion that the Claimants have failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that Article 1, the Scope Rule and Article 27, (a) and (k) Vacancies, and New Positions of the Telegrapher's Agreement was violated.
FINDINGS: The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, 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