PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
TRANSPORTATION-COMMUNICATION EMPLOYEES
UNION (Formerly The Order of Railroad Telegraphers)
LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD COMPANY

STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of The Order of Railroad Telegraphers on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, that:












EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: The action taken by Carrier, giving cause for the herein claim, is briefly set forth in Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of the Statement of Claim. Extensive correspondence has been exchanged between the parties in the property handling of this dispute, copies of each letter being reproduced and appended hereto as ORT Exhibit Nos. 1 through 16.


Said documentation will disclose that Carrier was forewarned, when it first came to the Committee's attention, that its contemplated action would be violative of the agreement terms. Carrier paid no heed to the Employees' request that the planned action be postponed until negotiations could be had and agreement reached (page 2 of ORT Exhibit 2). As evidenced by Carrier's letters identified as ORT Exhibits 3 and 4, it instituted its program without employment of collective bargaining procedures. The correspondence exchanged between the parties will disclose that this dispute has been handled in accordance with the requirements of law and rules of procedure of your Board but failed of settlement.




CARRIER'S STATEMENT OF FACTS: There is an agreement between the parties in this dispute bearing effective date of February 1, 1948, a copy of said agreement is on file with the Third Division, National Railroad Adjustment Board and by reference is made a part of this submission.


This claim arose at Royce, New Jersey, a point on the main line of this carrier. Royce, New Jersey, is part of the NJ&L seniority district, extending from New Market, New Jersey, to Penn Haven Junction, Pennsylvania, a distance of 101.5 miles. The position of Car Distributor, the position of Freight Agent, Royce, New Jersey and all employes involved in this claim are part of the NJ&L seniority district.


At the time of the writing of the first Telegraphers' agreement on this property, this railroad was divided into seven operating divisions with seven seniority districts covering the territory of the operating divisions. The seven present Telegrapher agreement seniority districts have the same territory coverage today as the original seven operating divisions. In other words, the seniority districts have not changed. The NJ&L division office was located in Jersey Gity, New Jersey. In the wage scale appendix of the January 1, 1935 Agreement is the following:






Easton Car Distributor-Telegrapher 80.00

During 1939, the NJ&L operating division offices in Easton were discontinued and the NJ&L Car Distributor position, located at that point, was


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"Further, your claim is being progressed for two employes, each date. In part 5 you make the claim that Mae Brydon be compensated for all wages lost because the Car Distributor-Telegrapher position was abolished. Then, in part 7, you make an additional claim for one day's pay, each date, for the senior idle employe, extra in preference. You cite no rule which permits two telegrapher agreement employes to be on one position at the same time, and both parts 5 and 7 are rejected for this reason.


"Further, there is no rule in the Telegraphers' Agreement which limits or restricts the duties that may be performed by Freight Agents. The duties of a Freight Agent are those assigned to him by management; the duties of the Freight Agent at Royce, N.J., on and after April 23, 1963, first date of this claim, included all the remaining car distributor-duties of the abolished position, duties properly coming under the Telegraphers' Agreement. There is no basis to your contention that an agent can only perform certain duties and the May 18, 1938 letter-agreement was violated.



In letter dated August 31, 1963, the General Chairman advised the Chief of Personnel this claim was now with President Leighty, removing same from further discussion on the property.




OPINION OF BOARD: The statement of claim, the facts, the parties and the basic issues in this matter are identical to those raised and disposed of in Award 15443 (Dorsey). This Board concurs in and adopts that finding as controlling.


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














Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 1st day of August 1969.

Central Publishing Co., Indianapolis, Ind. 46206 Printed in U.S.A.

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