36e Award No. 14913

Docket No. SG-13584

NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD

THIRD DIVISION

(Supplemental)

David L. Kabaker, Referee

BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD SIGNALMEN

STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company that:

(a) The Carrier violated the current Signalmen's Agreement when, on March 7, 1961, it assigned employes not covered by the Signalmen's Agreement to perform signal work which involved the removal of snow from snow-operated switches at the Topeka, Kansas, interlocking.

(b) The Carrier now be required to compensate Signal Maintainer A. E. Kellerman at his punitive rate of pay for eight and one-half (81/x) hours, the amount of time spent by the track forces in performing the signal work involved. [Carrier's File: L-130-232]

EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: On the date involved in this dispute, March 7, 1961, Claimant A. E. Ketterman was regularly assigned as Signal Maintainer at Topeka, Kansas, Interlocking Plant. At 11:30 P. M. on this date, the Carrier called its section men to remove snow from the power-operated (electrically-operated) switches at the Topeka Interlocker. Claimant Ketterman was not called and the section forces performed the work for which called until 8:00 A. M. the following morning.

The work involved in this claim is generally recognized signal work on this Carrier which has paid identical claims to signalmen in the past. In view of the obvious violation, Claimant Kellerman presented a Carrier Form G-87, dated March 7, 1961, on which he claimed eight and one-half (8'/a) hours' pay at the punitive rate account of not being called to perform signal work. On March 15, 1961, Supervisor J. E. Webb returned the Form G-87 to Claimant with a note, contending that to his knowledge no signal work was performed.

In a letter dated May 1, 1961, attached hereto as Brotherhood's Exhibit No. 1, Local Chairman A. E. Ketterman filed a claim for eight and one-half hours at the punitive rate of pay on behalf of himself account of not being called to perform the signal work in question.

priate division of the National Railroad Adjustment Board. * * * It is understood, however, that the parties may by agreement in any particular case extend the 9 months' period herein referred to."

(Exhibits not reproduced.)

OPINION OF BOARD: On March 7, 1961 Carrier called section men to remove snow from power-operated switches at the Topeka Interlocker which were in operative condition at the time.

The Brotherhood contends that a Signal Maintainer should have been called to perform the work.

Carrier denied claim, asserting that the work involved was not the exclusive work of Signal Maintainers.

The finding must be that the work of manual snow removal from switches at interlockers, where no malfunction exists, is not reserved to any craft.

This conclusion is supported by prior awards of this Board in disputes where the facts were essentially the same as in the instant dispute. See Awards 10422, 11759, 11760 and 11762.

The Claim must, therefore, be denied.

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 4lispute involved herein; and

That the Agreement was not violated.

AWARD