(Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen PARTIES TO DISPUTE:

STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claims of the General Committee of the Brotherhood of
 Railroad Signalmen on the Texas and Pacific Railway Company:

For and on behalf of Signalman D . 0. Jones, Gang 1681, for an additional payment of 176 hours at his straight time rate and 168 hour his straight time rate ($5.27 per hour in March - $5.52 per hour in April, 1973) for the period March 20 through April 18, 1973 as indicated below; account required to suspend work of his permanent assignment on Gang 1681 to relieve a temporary vacancy (maintenance position) at Centennial Yard, Fort Worth, Texas, which act violated his seniority rights and resulted in an arbitrary change in his assigned working hours and rest days in violation of Rule 30, 43, 44, 45(a), 28(k), 12 and 11 of the Signalmen's Agreement . Payment as claimed is due under Signal Agreement Rules 15, 15(a), 19 and 28(k).

 Straight-time pay as follows account required to suspend work during his regular working hours to absorb overtime.








Having been paid only straight-time for the following hours he is due an additional half-time for these hours account they were worked outside his regular assigned hours and on rest days.

 Date Shift Rest Days Hours

 March 20 & 21 3rd 16
 24 & 25 1st Yes 16
 26 2nd 8
 27 & 28 3rd 16
 31 1st Yes 8


April 1 1st Yes 8
 2 2nd 8
 3 & 4 3rd 16
 7 & 8 1st Yes 16
 9 2nd 8
 10 & 11 3rd 16
 14 & 15 1st Yes 16
 16 2nd 8
 17 3rd 8
 168



For and on behalf of Signalman D. 0. Jones, Gang 1681, for an additional payment of 64 hours at one-half his straight time hourly rate ($5.52 per hour) for the period June 3 through June 13, 1973 as indicated below; account required to suspend work of his permanent assignment on Gang 1681 to relieve a temporary vacancy (maintenance position) at Cente seniority rights and resulted in an arbitrary change in his assigned working hours and rest days in violation of Rules 30, 43, 44, 45(a), 28(k), 12 and 11 of the Signalmen's Agreement. Payment as claimed is due under Signal Agreement Rules 15, 15(a), 19 and 28(k):

 Straight-time pay as follows account required to suspend work during regular assigned working hours to absorb overtime.





Having been paid only straight-time for the following hours he is due an additional half-time payment for these hours account they were worked outside his regular assigned hours and/or on rest days.

 Date Shift Rest Days Hours
 June 3 1st Yes 8
 4 2nd 8
 5 & 6 3rd 16
 9 & 10 1st Yes 16
 11 2nd 8
 12 & 13 3rd 16
 72



OPINION OF BOARD: Both Claims herein involve situations in which Claimant
 was required to suspend work during his regular working
 hours as a member of a construction Signal Gang in order .to work a vacation
 relief assignment as a maintenance signalman with different shifts and dif
 ferent rest days. The rates of pay on the two positions were identical.

 Petitioner's position is bottomed on the premise that Carrier has no right to require permanently assigned employee& to fill temporary vacancies (vacation or otherwise) against their will. It is contended that Carrier should have used one of several available unassigned signalmen to fill the vacancies. Petitioner's arguments are based on the seniority, bulletining and assignment rules as well as the Vacation Agreement.

 Carrier argues that the Vacation Agreement specifically allows Carrier to blank the position of a vacationer's position with all the working conditions of that latter position applied. Further Car of such temporarily transferred employees is covered by Rules 16 and 17 of the Schedule Agreement.

 It is apparent that by practice (as well as by special agreement over a period in the past) Carrier has always filled vacation vacancies in the signal maintenance crew at signal construction gang - and awarding the temporary assignment to the senior volunteer. It is also evident that in the event there were no volunteers, Carrier would assign the junior signalmen from the construction crew to the vacation vacancy. The General Chairman decided to terminate this practice shortly before the instant claims were filed, thus precipitating this dispute.

 The Organization's theory in these Claims is that Claimant's temporary transfer to the vacation assignment was invalid and therefore he should be compensated for on the ba were operative during all the days of the temporary work. After careful evaluation and study of all is no rule support for Claimant's position. We note that in the Vacation Agreement in Rule 12(b), th


Under the provisions of the Rule above, had Carrier not filled the assignment with the Claimant but rather had used an unassigned employe, it could well have been faced with a valid Claim by Claimant, based on his seniority. It ,ist be noted that under no circumstances was Carrier required to use an un-
 ained unassigned signalman for the vacancies herein. We have examined prior
                  Docket Number SG-20827


Awards of this Board dealing with this same issue and find that Carrier's position is sound (see Awards 17916, 17222, and 16306 for example). We find that Carrier acted within the provisions of the Vacation Agreement in making the assignments herein, and there is no showing that Claimant was unduly burdened when he returned to his regular position, which had been blanked.

 Claimant did not work more than eight hours in any one day or more than 40 hours in any work week. The overtime rule requires Carrier to pay overtime when an employe works outside of the established work period of the position he is f days and rest days of the vacation relief assignment; 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 Employee 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: Awl Executive Secretary

 Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 31st day of March 1976.