STATEMENT OF CLA131: Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that:
(7 ) The Carrier violated the Agreement and established practice thereunder when, effective 8/23/65, without negotiation and agreement with representatives of its Maintenance of Way employes, it discontinued the use of Maintenance of Way Department forces to perform car cleaning work at Kingsport, Tennessee and unilaterally transferred sueb work to two employes from the freight depot. (Carrier's file BofMofWE)
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: The work of car cleaning at Kingsport, Tennessee has been assigned to and performed by employes holding seniority rights in the track laborer's class for more than twenty years. Since December 30, 1957, the claimant bad been assigned to perform this work on a five day, forty hour per week basis.
Nonetheless, on August 23, 1965, the Carrier discontinued the practice of using track laborers to perform this work and unilaterally transferred the work to two employes from the freight depot who hold no seniority under the scope of our Agreement. Thereafter, the claimant was assigned to work with the section gang.
Claim was timely and properly presented and handled by the Employes at all stages of appeal up to and including the Carrier's highest appellate officer.
The Agreement in effect between the two parties to this dispute dated July 1, 1964, together with supplements, amendments and interpretation thereto is by reference made a part of this Statement of Facts.
CARRIER'S STATEMENT OF FACTS: W. P. Fletcher is a Section Laborer holding seniority as such and is assigned to Section 4 with headquarters at Kingsport, Tennessee. He was assigned to such position in ac-
Kindly note the attached papers, concerning above subject, which we are passing to your office for consideration.
The position of our organization is generally set forth in the file and therefore further comments at this time, in our opinion, are not necessary.
No further correspondence was exchanged, nor was conference requested by the Employes or held. The Carrier considered the claim dropped until on August 12, 1966, the Third Division notified the Carrier that the Brotherhood had filed notice of intention to file a submission in the dispute.
OPINION OF BOARD: We are met with a threshold contention by the Carrier that the dispute is not properly before the Board because no conference was had on the property as required by the Railway Labor Act and the Rules of Procedure of the National Railroad Adjustment Board.
The record contains no proof that a conference was held. We have stated in numerous awards that a conference is a requirement for properly progressing disputes to the Board. Awards 11434, 12499, 13097, 13120, 13959,
16567, 17113 among many others. We find, therefore, that the dipsute is not properly before the Board, and it will accordingly be dismissed.
FINDINGS: The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, after giving the parties to this dispute due notice of hearing thereon, and 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
That the facts of record do not show that the dispute has been properly progressed to the Board.