NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION Docket Number MW-21105
William M. Edgett, Referee
(Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employee
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
(The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood
that:
(1) The dismissal of Trackman Salvador Quijas on April 12,
1973 was arbitrary, unjust, an excessive penalty, an abuse of discretion and on the basis of charges
File 11-680-20-2).
(2) The decision dated May 1, 1973 by Superintendent J. W.
Tiehen does not conform with the requirements of Article VI, Section
1 of the Agreement.
(3) As a consequence of (1) and (2) above, the Carrier shall
now reinstate Salvador Quijas to his former position of trackman, with
seniority, vacation and all other rights unimpaired and compensate him
for all wage loss suffered.
OPINION OF BOARD: Basic fairness and justice requires Carrier to ad
vise an employee who waives investigation and ac
cepts discipline, when the waiver and acceptance will give him a total
number of demerits over the maximum permitted by the Brown system, that
by so doing he is thereby assenting to dismissal. The notice must be
clear and unequivocal.
Claimant was not given notice and he accepted demerits which
placed his total over sixty. His dismissal followed automatically and
was unjust, given all of the circumstances. However, his claim for back
wages is denied since the record shows that he had committed a rules
violation which, when viewed in the light of his record,supports suspension for the period he has be
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
Award Number 20937 Page 2
Docket Number MW-21105
That this Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the dispute involved herein; an
That Claimant should be suspended but not dismissed.
A W A R D
Claim sustained in part. Carrier is directed to restore
Claimant to service with full seniority and rights, but without pay
for time lost. His demerit total is not to exceed 58 at the time he
is reinstated.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Third Division
ATTEST:
~'~,
//
Executive Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 30th day of January 1976.