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 Boston & Maine Railroad, that:
1. Carrier violated and continues to violate the Agreement between the parties when effective September 1, 1962, acting without agreement it removed from the employes subject to the Agreement at the stations named below the work of checking, rating, preparing waybills, preparing freight bills, and all other work incidental to the handling of less than carload freight shipments originating at and destined to said stations named below, and transferred said work to employes not subject to the Agreement at other stations,
2. Carrier shall restore the work listed above to the agency stations named above and to the employes subject to the Agreement at the respective stations from whom it was unilaterally taken.
On September 1, 1962, pursuant to appropriate procedures of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the company cancelled all tariffs covering interstate less carload freight shipments consigned to or from the above listed stations. Carload and intrastate less carload traffic continues to be handled at each point. There was no change in the assignment of employes at any of the affected stations.
The contention is the company transferred the handling of less carload interstate shipments to the stations noted above and to employes at such stations not covered by the Agreement.
The claims here involved were filed and handled in the usual manner up to and including the highest officer of the Carrier and have been denied.
CARRIER'S STATEMENT OF FACTS: On September 1, 1962, pursuant to appropriate procedures of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Railroad cancelled all tariffs covering interstate less-than-carload freight shipments (LCL) consigned to or from the stations in the above outlined claim.
OPINION OF BOARD: This is a claim for restoration of work in connection with LCL freight shipments allegedly transferred by the Carrier from employes assigned to the eight one-man agency stations enumerated in the statement of claim to employes of another craft at other stations.
Carrier denies that any such transfer of work took place. It contends that the handling of interstate LCL shipments was discontinued at these stations, and that if any business formerly constituting interstate LCL shipments is handled at other stations, it is done at the election of the patrons.
If the Carrier's contention is true, there certainly could have been no transfer of work, as alleged by the Employes.
This Board has held in many awards that under such circumstances the burden of establishing facts sufficient to support the claim is upon the Employes.
The only evidence offered by the Employes is an exhibit of copies of freight bills covering interstate LCL shipments to certain consignees. These documents show, in the line captioned "Destination", the names of some of the one-man stations; but, they also show, under the caption "Station" in the line headed "Consignee", the names of the stations of Dover, Portsmouth, etc., the stations to which, the Employes allege, the work was transferred. No explanation of the use of both station names is offered, and no statement is made as to the precise manner in which these exhibits support the position of the Employes.
It is our judgment, therefore, that the Employes have not met the burden of proof required to establish grounds for a valid claim. Accordingly, the claim must 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 dispute involved herein; and