BROTHERHOOD OF RAILWAY, AIRLINE AND STEAMSHIP
CLERKS, FREIGHT HANDLERS, EXPRESS AND STATION
EMPLOYES
(Formerly The Order of Railroad Telegraphers)
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of The Order of Railroad Telegraphers on the Atlanta and West Point Railroad, that:
1, Carrier violated and continues to violate the Agreement between the parties by rrquirmg or permitting employos not covered by said Agreement at "J" Train Dispatchers Office at Atlanta, Georgia, to handle (receive, copy and deliver) telegraphic train delay reports and telegraphic Freight Train Performance Reports from various stations.
2. Carrier shall, commencing on May 19, 1.961, and continuing until the violations outlined above are corrected, Ix, required to compensate the senior idle telegrapher, extra in preference, on a day-today basis, one day's pay of eight (8) hours for each such day that said violations continue. Names of claimants to be determined by joint check of the Carrier's records.
EMPLOYES' STATEMENT OF FACTS: The Agreement between the parties, effective September 16, 1956, as supplemented and amended, is available to your Board and by this reference is made a part hereof.
"G" Relay Officd is locat d in the Carrier's General Office Building at Atlanta, Georgia. The Carrier's Train Dispatchers Office is also located at Atlanta. The train dispatchers perform service for The Western Railway of Alabama and the Georgia Railroad, as well as for this Carrier.
There are two telegrapher positions in the "G·" Office at Atlanta. The duties of the positions, among others, include the handling of all messages and/or communications addressed to Carrier officers located at Atlanta. Such communications (messages) are daily reports, car orders, furnishing of cars, ordering train reservations, delay reports of trains, instructions as to special handling of cars, records of cars, accident reports, quotations of freight and passenger rates, instructions to trains to pick up cars, record of cars picked up by trains, receiving of train consists, receiving of interchange reports of
extra in preference, account Carrier allegedly violating the agreement. These claims were declined, progressed in the usual and normal manner through the channels on the property, and are now before you.
OPINION OF BOARD: The respondent Carrier, Atlanta and West Point Railroad Company, is one of three railroads - the other two being: The Western Railway of Alabama and The Georgia Railroad - each a separate legal entity, but operated under a common management having its headquarters in a gene,-al office building in Atlanta, Georgia.
The involved agreement, which was effective September 16, 1956, covers in a single colletcive bargaining unit telegraphers employed by respondent and the Western Railway of Alabama. Employes under this agreement are placed on a single seniority roster; but, when working on respondent railroad or The Western Railway of Alabama are administratively considered employes of the Railroad on which they are working. There is one general chairman representing both properties. The agreement was executed on behalf of both railroads by "Marshall L. Bowie, Director of Personnel."
The Georgia Railroad has its own telegraphers' agreement, with its own general chairman.
Located in the general office building is a dispatchers' office whch exercises the functions of such an office over the trackage of all three corporate entities. 1n effect the three railroads are managed and operated as one.
Also, in the general office building a telegraph office has been maintained for many years. Known as "G" office it is a two-shift operation: One shift from 8:00 A. M. to 4:00 P. M., another from 4:00 P. M. to 12:00 midnight. By agreement between the telegraphers employed by respondent and those employed by Corgia Railroad, the first trick is filled by an employs of the Georgia Railroad and the second trick by an employe of respondent. Reserved to the operators occupying those positions is all communication work to and from the general office which by application and interpretation of the rules agreement is exclusively vested in telegraphers.
For a number of years it had been the practice that after operators at Atlanta, Montgomery and Augusta had communicated Delay and Freight Train Performance Reports to the train dispatcher via telephone they would thereafter repeat same through medium of telegrams to the chief dispatcher or assistant superintendent. The telegrams were received and handled by the telegrapher on duty in "G" office. On May 19, 1961, the Assistant Superintendent issued the following istructions:
and on June 21, 1961, he promulgated the following bulletin addressed to Augusta, Camak and Montgomery, with copy to the Atlanta Joint Terminals:
It is the contention of petitioner that: (1) the receipt and handling of the telegrams was work exclusively reserved to telegraphers; and (2) the instructions transferred the work to dispatchers in violation of telegrapher's agreement - Award No. 998, involving the same parties as herein, is cited in support.
Prior to the instructions taking effect the dispatcher upon receipt of the telephoned transmittal of the messages from operators on the line would incorporate the information in his written reports. This was a practice of long standing. Therefore, its continuance cannot be said to be violative of the telegrapher's agreement.
The issue is whether Carrier's discontinuance of the former procedure of confirming telephoned messages to the dispatcher by telegram to the chief dispatcher or assistant sunerintandent resulted in a transfer of workreceipt of communications at "G" office - exclusively reserved to telegraphers to dispatchers in violation of telegraphers' agreement. The evidence in the record does not support an affirmative finding.
Award No. 998 is distinguishable. In that case Carrier abolished the second trick telegrapher positon in "G" office and bulletined that "Any telegraphing required during the time this office is closed will be handled by trick train dispatcher, "J" office, Atlanta." The Board found that work of the abolished position, exclusively reserved to telegraphers, was transferred to another craft in violation of telegraphers' agreement. In the instant case no work perforated by the telegraphers at "G" office was transferred to dispatchers - historically the dispatcher in the general office has always received messages, such as here involved, directly from out linv~ oDeratorsnot through "G" office - via telephone and incorporated the mcs.<ages in written reports that he was required to compile.
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 Art, as approved June 21, 1934;
That this Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the dispute involved herein; and