NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD

Award Number 19960

THIRD DIVISION Docket Number CL-19940

Irwin M. Lieberman, Referee

(Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks,
( Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
(J. F. Nash and R. C. Haldeman, Trustees of the
( Property of Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, Debtor

STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood (CL-7148) that:

(a) Carrier violated the Agreement between the parties, effective
as revised May 1, 1955, when it blanked a regularly assigned position for an
excessive period of time, and permitted a Carrier Official holding a position exempt
from the Agreement, to perform essential duties of the blanked position.

(b) The Carrier shall be required to compensate H. F. McKellin and J. E. Sinclair, one hour each daily, at the punitive rate, from July 1 to August 9, 1971 inclusive, the dates position was blanked, and the work performed by Official Excepte
OPINION OF BOARD: Initially in this matter the Carrier contends that the
Claim as presented on the property was too vague and in, definite and hence defective: Carrier persisted in this position from the outset and throughout the handling of this Claim. Carrier states that the letter of July 17, 1971 presenting the Claim alleges that certain unspecified duties of a blanked position were performed by the incumbent of an excepted position. Nowhere in the handling of this Claim on the property was there any data furnished as to how claimants were affected, what duties were performed improperly, when th have a claim involving one position. Carrier concludes that the claim is improper under the provisions of Rule 33 (adopting the provisions of Article V of the August 21, 1954 National Agreement).

Carrier's position with respect to the deficiency of the claim is well taken. The Board has held in numerous Awards that the burden of establishing all the essential elementsof a claim must be met by Petitioner. In Award 16675 we said:

"...The awards emenating from this Board establishing the

principle that claims must be specific and that Carrier is

under no obligation to develop the claim for the petitioner '

are too numerous to mention. Suffice it to say that the

principle is well established and not subject to dispute. '· _~_,

The burden is on Petitioner to present facts sufficiently

specific to constitute a valid claim. The vagueness and in

definiteness of the instant claim is therefore fatal and

renders a proper adjudication of the merits impossible.

Award Number 19960 Page 2

Docket Number CL-19940

"We will dismiss the claim."

In this case also, we must dismiss the Claim.

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 Emplovec involved in this dispute are respectively Carrier and Employes within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act, as approved June =1, 1934;

That this Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over

the dispute involved herein; and -

That the Claim be dismissed.

A W A R D

Claim dismissed.

NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD

By Order of Third Division

ATTEST: ~~r~
Executive Secretary

Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 28th day of September 1973.

j