THIRD DIVISION
(Supplemental)
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company that:
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: For the past 40 years on this property, the Carrier's field signal forces have received from the Maintenance of Way Shop at Martinsburg, W. Va., gauge plates for installation in the field which were not completely assembled. The gauge plates which constitute the subject matter of this claim are those which are used at signal interlocking plants on the three ties at the switch point of interlocked and spring switches to assure maintenance of proper track gauge. In the past the gauge plates as furnished by the Maintenance of Way Shop were sent to the field signal forces without the base plate and riser plate attached. The signal forces required to rivet or weld the base plate to the gauge plate, rivet the rail braces to the gauge plate and do all other work necessary to complete the assembly of the gauge plate for installation.
About a year ago, the Carrier changed the established practice and the gauge plates were completely assembled by the shop craft forces in the Maintenance of Way Shop before they were sent to the signal forces in the field.
On or about August 14, 1058, gauge plates completely assembled were received by the field signal forces for installation on interlocking switches at D Tower, Grafton, W. Va. In view of the fact that a large part of the gauge plate assembly, which for the past 40 years has been exclusively performed
CARRIER'S SUMMARY: The Carrier submits that in this case there is no valid claim coming from employes under the scope of the Signalmen's Agreement. This claim at both its parts (a) and (b) are wholly without merit and should be denied. The Carrier respectively requests that this Division so rule and that the claim in its entirety be denied.
OPINION OF BOARD: Contention in this case arose out of the use by the Carrier of gauge plates for interlocking switches at D Tower, Grafton, West Virginia that had been wholly prefabricated in its Maintenance of Way Shop at Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Claim was made this use of wholly prefabricated gauge plates violated the Scope Rule of the Agreement between the parties dated October 1, 1951 in that it diverted the laying out, fitting, drilling, riveting, and/or welding toe plates and rail braces in preparing gauge plates from the Signal Forces.
A careful review of the record confirms the fact that the Carrier in line with its program of standardization should be able to use this standardized prefab gauge plate.
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