NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION
(Supplemental)
Bill Heskett, Referee
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
TRANSPORTATION-COMMUNICATION EMPLOYEES UNION
(Formerly The Order of Railroad Telegraphers)
GULF, COLORADO AND SANTA FE RAILWAY COMPANY
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of The
Order of Railroad Telegraphers on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway
Company, that:
1. The Carrier violated the Agreement between the parties when
it refused to assign the senior qualified applicant, J. M. Finck, to
a bulletined temporary vacancy on the 9:30 A. M. to 5:30 P. M.
printer clerk position beginning May 22, 1961, forward.
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: There is in effect an Agreement between the parties with effective date of June 1, 1951 and by reference thereto, it is made a part of this dispute.
There exists between the parties an unadjusted dispute which arose
when Carrier issued a bulletin to employes under the Agreement on its
Gulf Relay Division reading:
"Galveston
May 8, 1961
File 27538-Telegraphers
BULLETIN NO. 2
ALL CONCERNED:
The following temporary position in the Gulf Lines Relay Division is open for bid for a period of seven (7) days. Bids must be
in this office by 5:00 P. M., May 14, 1961.
Location Title Class Assigned Hours Rate of Pay
Galveston Printer Clerk 2 9:30 AM-55:30 PM Rate applicable
under Telegra
phers' Schedule
Days of Rest- Saturday and Sunday
This position does not normally work on holidays.
Applicants must be experienced and qualified Printer Clerks.
`An employe having established seniority in Class 1 must
thereafter remain
in that class so long as he is able to hold
a regular position therein, or forfeit seniority in such
class ° * *.
Mr. Finck's regular assignment was Relief Wire Chief Position
No. 1. Upon termination of the Class 2 temporary vacancy, Mr. Finck
would have returned to his Relief Wire Chief Position in accordance
with Article XXI, Section 10-g.
This is to advise your decision is not satisfactory, and the claim
will he appropriately appealed to the Third Division for a final determination.
Yours truly,
/s/ R. 0. Norton
General Chairman"
(Exhibits not reproduced.)
OPINION OF BOARD:
On 8 May, 1961, Carrier bulletined the temporary Class 2 position of Printer Clerk at Galveston, Texas. Claimant, Flack,
who was a regularly assigned employe of a Class 1 position at Galveston,
bid on the position as follows:
"Provided this does not affect in any manner my Class 1 seniority, please accept this as my bid on Bulletin No. 2, Temporary Vacancy, Class 2, Galveston, Texas."
On 22 May, 1961, a Class 2 employe junior to Claimant was assigned
to said position. The Carrier justified its action upon its view of the
provisions of Article XXI, Section 5-c, of the then current 1 June, 1951,
Agreement, the pertinent part of which reads as follows:
"SECTION 5-c. An employe having established seniority in Class
1 must thereafter remain in that class so long as he is able to hold
a regular position therein, or forfeit seniority in such class, unless,
as a result of a force reduction, the employe, in order to remain in
the office in which the reduction occurred, is compelled to displace
in Class 2, in which event his seniority in Class I will be protected
provided he files bids on all positions bulletined in that office in
such class.
~" :,: ,:
The Organization contends that by other provisions of the agreement
Claimant held the higher seniority and should have received the position.
Without surrendering his Class 1 seniority, it is clear and unequivocal
that Section 5-c prohibits a Class 1 employe from accepting a Class 2
position, except for the instances therein enumerated, none of which instances were applicable to Claimant. Here, Claimant was seeking to reserve
his Class 1 seniority and the Carrier was correct in denying him the Class 2
position.
The claim should be dismissed.
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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
That the Carrier did not violate the Agreement.
AWARD
Claim dismissed.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of THIRD DIVISION
ATTEST: S. H. Schulty
Executive Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 20th day of September 1967.
Keenan Printing Co., Chicago, Ill. Printed iu t!.:;.A.
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