THIRD DIVISION
(Supplemental)
TRANSPORTATION-COMMUNICATION EMPLOYEES UNION
(Formerly The Order of Railroad Telegraphers)
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of The Order of Railroad Telegraphers on the St. Louis-Southwestern Railway, that:
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: The Agreement between the parties, effective December 1, 1934, as amended and supplemented, is available to your Board and by this reference is made a part hereof. The instant claim is primarily based on the provisions of the National Vacation Agreement of December 17, 1941, as amended.
At the time cause for this claim arose, Ben Bethany, Jr. was a regularly assigned clerk-telegrapher at Stamps, Arkansas. He had qualified for ten work days of vacation during the calendar year 1962 in accordance with the provisions of Article 1 of the Vacation Agreement. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 4 (a) of the Vacation Agreement, he was assigned a vacation period beginning on May 17, making the last day of his vacation May 28.
Article 5 of the Vacation Agreement provides for advancing or deferring an employe's vacation by proper notice. Article 5 of the Vacation Agreement reads as follows:
Claimant was granted his 1962 vacation as rescheduled June 21-July 2, inclusive.
The claim was denied, was appealed, and denied on appeal as shown in Exhibits 1 to 14, inclusive, which are attached hereto and made a part hereof.
The applicable schedule agreement is that with The Order of Railroad Telegraphers effective December 1, 1934, as amended by Supplemental Agreement covering 40 hour week effective September 1, 1949, copies of which are on file with the Board.
OPINION OF BOARD: Claimant was assigned a vacation period to commence May 17, 1962. May 16, 1962 Carrier's Manager at Pine Bluff died, whereupon five employes, including the decedent's wife and niece, were called to administer the funeral. The vacancies depleted the Telegraphers' extra list. Claimant was immediately notified that an emergency had occurred which required deferment of his vacation.
The Organization asserts that the Carrier has not sustained its burden of proving the emergency condition envisioned by Article 5 of the National Vacation Agreement of December 17, 1941.
What constitutes an "emergency"? In Award Nos. 10839, 10919 and 12429, this Board held it to be an unforeseen combination of circumstances requiring immediate action. Death is unquestionably certain to occur, but the occurrence is somewhat unpredictable regarding time. The combined fact that five employes would be relieved to attend the funeral was equally unpredictable.
We disagree with the Organization's assertion that Carrier has failed to prove the emergency by its failure to detail the extenuating circumstances involved in this deferment. Emergencies demand immediate action based upon instant judgment. The judgment may have been severe when viewed in retrospect. Nevertheless, if the Carrier acted in good faith without abuse of discretion, the basic circumstance of death of the employe will support the action taken. We are persuaded that an actual emergency existed and was proved by the Carrier.