NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION
(Supplemental)
Paul C. Dugan, Referee
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
TRANSPORTATION-COMMUNICATION EMPLOYEES UNION
(Formerly The Order of Railroad Telegraphers)
NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
Claim of the General Committee of The
Order of Railroad Telegraphers on the Norfolk Southern Railway Company,
that:
1. The Carrier acted improperly when it charged V. C. Marten's record with fifteen (15) demerits for his alleged responsibility
in connection with the improper movement of train Extra 16'11 South
from Norfolk to Fentress, Virginia, September 1, 1961.
2. Carrier shall now be required to:
(a) Clear Mr. Martell's record of the charge, and;
(b) Shall compensate him for one day's time lost
from his assignment plus $6.00 (six dollars) expenses incurred on October 2, 1961, when he was required by the
Railway Company to appear at investigation
held in
Raleigh,
N. C., in accordance with Article 14 of the
Telegraphers'
Agreement.
OPINION OF BOARD:
On September 27, 1961, Claimant was served
with the following notice:
"Please attend a formal investigation to be conducted in the
Board Room of the General Office Building, Raleigh, at 1:00 p.m.,
Monday, October 2, 1961, to ascertain the cause and determine your
responsibility, if any, for Extra 1611 South leaving Carolina Yard
September 1,
1961 before the arrival of overdue train No. 98 without authorization by train order to do so.
"You are privileged to bring witnesses and representation in
your behalf, but you must make your own arrangements in this
respeet."
Thereafter the claim shown herein was filed and progressed on the property and duly appealed to
this Board.
The burden of proof in a discipline case is upon the Carrier, First Division Award 20471. Said award states:
"It is firmly settled in the law of labor relations that, in discipline cases, the burden of proof squarely rests upon the employer
convincingly to demonstrate that an employe is guilty of the offense
upon which his disciplinary penalty is based. Mere suspicion is insufficient to take the place of such proof. This principle is so well
established and so universally accepted in the industrial relations
world as to require no detailed discussion."
Careful examination of the record in this case shows that the Carrier
failed to sustain its burden in this case. Award 11222. The claim is hereby
sustained.
FINDINGS:
The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the
whose 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 the Agreement was violated.
AWARD
Claim sustained.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of THIRD DIVISION
ATTEST: S. H. Schulty
Executive Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 27th day of May 1966.
Keenan Printing Go., Chicago, Ill. Printed in U. S. A.
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