THIRD DIVISION
(Supplemental)
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: The Agreement between the parties, effective December 16, 1957, as amended and supplemented, is available to your Board and by this reference is made a part hereof.
The rule which controls this dispute is Rule 9 of the Agreement, which reads as follows:
Extra Employe R. W. Merriman was instructed to and did relieve the agent at Carlinville, Illinois on August 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30 and 31, 1960. Carlinville is on Division No. 1. The assigned home station on Division No. 1 is Cavender, Illinois. Merriman turned in, in the usual manner, travel time of $1.96 per day for a total of $17.64, which was not allowed.
Again Extra Employe R. W. Merriman was used for relief purposes and relieved the agent at Carlinville on September 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, 1960, then relieved the agent at Champaign, Illinois on September 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30, 1960. Again he submitted his request for travel time pay in the usual manner at the rate of $1.96 on the dates he worked at Carlinville, and $17.50 on the dates he worked at Champaign, for a total of $311.22. The travel time was not allowed.
Extra Employe P. H. Davison was required to relieve the agent at Illiopolis on September 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23, 1960, and during his tour of duty at Illiopolis on September 12 and on September 21 was required to travel to Mechanicsburg, Illinois and return to Illiopolis. Illiopolis is on Division No. 3. The assigned home station for Division No. 3 is Mindale, Illinois. Davison submitted the usual request for travel time pay at the rate of $9.38 on each date and in addition $1.54 on September 12 and 21 to cover the round trip to Mechanicsburg on those dates. The travel time was not allowed. However, the Carrier did agree to pay the travel time between Illiopolis and Mechanicsburg on the condition that he would withdraw the request or claim for the travel time between Mindale and Illiopolis. 13370.-5 210
Chairman in his letter of December 26 to the Supervisor of Personnel (ORT Exhibit 8), calls the Carrier's attention to these prior settlements of similar claims.
Rule 9 of the Agreement is clear and does not lend itself to more than one interpretation. It has been applied as written from its effective date until the claims which are embodied in this dispute arose. It is patent that the Carrier is attempting to abrogate this rule, not in the proper manner, but by refusal to comply. The non-controversial facts and the clear-cut governing rule require a sustaining award.
CARRIER'S STATEMENT OF FACTS: The above claims are based on furloughed employes filling vacation vacancies, and the contention of the organization that in filling these vacancies, the employes should be paid car mileage in accordance with Article 9 of the Agreement between the parties. The agreement between the parties effective December 16, 1957, copy of which has been filed with your Honorable Board, and is by reference made a part of this submission.
Illiopolis and Mackinaw, Illinois are located in Seniority District No. 3 and Carlinville and Champaign, Illinois are located in Seniority District No. 1. Vacation relief at these points have in the past several years been filled by agents that have been furloughed.
POSITION OF CARRIER: The disposition of these claims hinges on Rule 9 of the current agreement, which rule provides for travel mileage by private car at the rate of 7 cents per mile when a regular, relief or extra employe is required by the company to travel by private car from his place of employment, or terminal, where an extra board is maintained, to another point where work is to be performed. The above claimants, Merriman and Davison, were furloughed employes, not regular, relief or extra employes. They certainly were not attached to any extra board.
When it became known that we would need vacation relief at the above points, Merriman and Davison, furloughed employes, were contacted, and they agreed to work the vacation relief at Mackinaw, Illiopolis, Carlinville and Champaign. The records will show that Merriman and Davison were not forced on these vacation relief jobs in question; they agreed to work them. They knew the conditions and filling same would ensue driving their cars from their homes to the above points.
It is the position of the carrier that the above claims are without merit and should be denied in their entirety. Claimants were furloughed employes and, therefore, Rule 9 of the current agreement has no application.
OPINION OF BOARD: This dispute involves the use of employes to relieve agents. The Carrier contends that the employes so used were furloughed employes and the Petitioner contends that they are extra employes.
The furloughed employes became extra employes under Rule 16(d) when they wrote the Carrier and complied with Rule 16(c).
We find that the claimants herein were required to travel as set forth in Rule 9. The Carrier and the Organization had agreed upon the home terminals.
Although there is some mention of the Time Limit Rule, it is not involved in this dispute.
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