NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION Docket Number CL-20235
(Brotherhood of Railway, Airline & Steamship Clerks,
( Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employes
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
(Houston Belt & Terminal Railway Company
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood (GL-7352)
that:
1. The Carrier violated the Clerks' Agreement when on December 29,
1971, it summarily dismissed A. Jenkins, Clerk, Houston, Texas, from service
of the Houston Belt & Terminal Railway Company.
2. Clerk A. Jenkins shall now be reinstated to the service of the
Carrier with seniority and all other rights unimpaired.
3. Clerk Jenkins shall now be compensated for all wage and other
losses sustained account this dismissal.
OPINION OF BOARD: This is a disciplinary discharge case wherein claimant Andrew
Jenkins was removed from the service of Carrier on January 7,
1972 following an investigative hearing into charges contained in a letter of
December 30, 1971 reading in pertinent part as follows:
"Arrange to report to the office of the Superintendent,
Houston Belt & Terminal Railway Company, 203 Union Station,
Houston, Texas 1:00 p.m., Monday, January 3, 1972, when a formal
investigation will be held to develop facts and place your responsibility, if any, in connection wit
influence of an intoxicant or narcotic at or about 2:50 p.m. December 29, 1971, while you were worki
Warehouse.
You are being held out of service pending outcome of formal
investigation.
You are entitled to representation and to bring any witness
you so desire in accordance with the current agreement between the
Houston Belt & Terminal Railway Company and the BRAG "
No useful purpose can be served by reiterating the evidence adduced
at the investigative hearing. Suffice it to say that Claimant admitted, both
at the hearing and under questioning by Supervisors on the day of the incident
that he had consumed bourbon whiskey during his lunch break on December 29,
1971. Several Carrier witnesses, including claimant's immediate supervisor,
Award Number 20111 Page 2
Docket Number CL-20235
testified that from their observation he was unsteady in movement, slurred
in speech, exuded the odor of alcohol and was incapable of performing his
assigned duties.
Petitioner contends that dismissal in this case is so unreasonable
and unjust as to constitute a violation of the Agreement, citing Rule 27.
Upon review of the entire record, we cannot agree with this contention.
The procedure was fair and impartial, the charges were supported by substantial evidence on the reco
Agreement. While discharge of an employee with a long service record is a
severe penalty, it cannot be said on the basis of this record to constitute
abuse of discretion.
Nor are sufficient extenuating or mitigating circumstances by
Carrier shown to warrent modification of the discipline assessed. Accordingly, we will not substitut
taken by Carrier herein and the claim must be denied.
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
Claim denied.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
~ By Order of Third Division
ATTEST:
Executive Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 25th day of January 1974.
i