NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION Docket Number CL-19548
(Brotherhood of Railway, Airline & Steamship Clerks,
( Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employee
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
(St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company
STATEMENT OF CLAIM; Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood (GL-7009)
that:
(1) Carrier violated the Agreements between the parties when on June
22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 and July 1, 1970 it refused to permit Claimant R. M.
Peck to move up in line with his seniority to fill a higher rated position for
which he was qualified in violation of past practice and Agreement rules and instead, utilized a jun
(2) Mr. R. tt. Peck now be compensated for the difference in the rates
of pay of Store Helper Position No, 416, rate $24,8288 per day and that of Store
Clerk Position No. 4, rate $27.0969 per day, for the eight days vacation vacancy
as hereinbefore set forth.
OPINION OF BOARD: During the vacation of a Clerk 4 the Carrier refused to permit
the claimant, a Stores Clerk 3, to move up in line with his
seniority to fill that higher rated position for which he was qualified.
The Organization contends that this refusal is in violation of Rule 22
of the Agreement between the parties governing Status of Employees on Short Vacancies and Temporary
"In the filling of temporary positions or short vacancies
at locations where one or more employees are already employed, the
regular employees may, at the discretion of the supervisor in charge
(emphasis added) be given an opportunity to work the preferred position, and the extra employee
employees are given their choice. When temporary positions or short
vacancies terminate, the affected employees will return to their former position or status,"
This Board has already held in Awards 13178, Referee Dorsey and Award
16981, Referee Bitter and Award 17926, Referee Quinn, that where a rule is strictly
a permissive rule, as in the instant ca:.e "ac the discretion of the supervisor in
charge", then the employee. car, have no enforceable right as a result of that rule.
,j'u5.·,r:~-
Award Number 19628 Page 2
Docket Number CL-19548
This Board further finds that Article X Section 1, Par: (f) of the
Agreement of December 1, 1969 (pages 9-10) provides specifically that "Incumbents of extra Board pos
employees, to short vacancies, temporary assignments
.·..
and will be notified
or called to work on a rotating basis, first in, first out." And furthermore,
Paragraph 1(0) of the same Article and Section provides: "Organizations and
Management will cooperate in the establishment of the extra boards and extra
board positions and will give due consideration to the necessity of properly
scheduling annual vacations of employees in both crafts to permit Carrier to
relieve such employees for vacations with extra board employees."
The Carrier's refusal to permit the claimant to fill a higher rated
position was in accordance with the Agreements, including the Agreement of December 1, 1969,
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 Agreement was not violated.
A W A R D
The claim roust be denied.
NATIONAL
RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT
BOARD
By Order of Third Division
ATTEST:
44 Az~
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 27th day of February 1973.
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