THIRD DIVISION
(Supplemental)
TRANSPORTATION,COMMUNICATION EMPLOYEES UNION
(Formerly The Order of Railroad Telegraphers)
THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE RAILWAY COMPANY
(Coast Lines)
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of The Order of Railroad Telegraphers on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, that:
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: An Agreement between the parties, bearing effective date of June 1, 1951, is in evidence.
This dispute involves four separate claims which were filed by the Employes claiming violations of the Telegraphers' Agreement at various points on the dates listed in Item 1 of the Employes' Statement of Claim. For the purpose of enabling all concerned to identify each individual claim, should it be necessary to do so, the Employes will number each case consecutively and briefly state facts in connection with each claim.
Typical examples of the handling in dispute and the exchange of correspondence between the parties are reflected by Employes' Exhibits Nos. 1 to 12, inclusive, which are attached hereto.
The Employes filed claims in behalf of employes covered by the Telegraphers' Agreement which were subsequently appealed to the highest officer designated by the Carrier to handle such disputes and were denied. These disputes have been handled on the property as provided by the Agreement
Claimant P. E. Brown was assigned as Telegrapher-Clerk at Cadiz from 4:00 P, M. to 12:00 Midnight, Wednesday through Sunday.
Subsequent to the Carrier's declination of each of the four (4) claims as heretofore related, the time limit for the appeal of those claims was, by mutual consent, extended for a period ending sixty (60) days following discussion of those claims in conference, A docket of claims, including the four (4) described herein, were discussed in conference by a representative of the Carrier and General Chairman Bobo on June 25,26 and 27, 1962, during the course of which the Carrier's prior declination of each of those four claims was reaffirmed. The four claims were then consolidated and appealed to this Board as one dispute by President G. E. Leighty of the ORT in his letter of August 24, 1962 to Executive Secretary Schulty.
OPINION OF BOARD: Briefly, the facts in this case are, as followsmembers of wheel crews employed at Pisgah, Java and Darby, California, closed stations, had repaired certain cars and had called by telephone and communicated with a telegrapher at Cadiz, California, and transmitted messages that the work had been completed. There were no operators at Pisgah, Java nor Danby.
It is contended by Petitioner that violations of their Agreement occurred in the transmission of these messages.
It is the primary contention of the Carrier that during the progress of the Claims on the property there were four individual claims filed; that in the presentation to this Board by the Petitioner all four of these claims were combined into one single claim and that as a result thereof, there is a variance between the Claims submitted on the property and the one submitted here and the Claim should be dismissed.
The original four claims are not dissimilar in nature. The cases here in dispute involve the identical principle, the same rules and in each the same penalty is asked. In fact, in three of the cases presented the same claimant is involved. There is nothing in the Railway Labor Act which precludes such handling. Carrier's contention in the foregoing respect is without merit and will be given no further consideration.
As to the merits of the case, it is not the position of the Petitioner that all telephone communications are subject to the Telegraphers' Agreement but in the instant case these messages were of a nature that they were wrong-
sound managerial procedure to have the wheel truck crews telephone their progress reports to the nearest telegrapher. The information, involved herein, conveyed by telephone was clearly incidental to the work of the crew and not a message exclusively reserved to telegraphers. See Award 13729 (on this property).
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