(Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen PARTIES TO DISPI"E:

STATEMENT OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of the Brotherhood of
 Railroad Signalmen on the Western Pacific Railroad ,ompany:

 On behalf of Signalmen E. L. Field and K. L. Heineman, headquartered Oroville Signal Gang, that as TGS Signalman-Maintainer since they assumed the position of Signalman they held when the claim was initiated March 10, 1974.

OPINION OF BOARD: This claim on behalf of Signalmen E. L. Field and
 K. L. Heineman is that they should be classified and paid as TCS Signalmen - Maintainer. The position of "Signalman" is the lowest rated journeyman position in the Signal Department with pay at $5.74 per hour and the duties involve construction, shop repair and the testing of signal system components. Generally, these duties are performed in a gang under the direc Signalman - Maintainer carried a rate of $5.83 per hour and is required to maintain the various components of the signal system in the Traffic Control System (TCS) territory and are required to be proficient enough to perform such duties without supervision.

 The claim is premised upon the provision of the agreement between the parties related to three different foremen positions including the "Signal Maintenance Foreman" wherein it states in part:


Because claimants had been working under designated "Signal Maintenance Foreman" it is their contention they are entitled to the higher classification TCS-Signalman-Maintainers. We do not agree.

 In order to sustain this claim we would have to find that this foreman was not permitted to supervise anyone other than a TCS signalmanmaintainer and he could not language in the rule to support this view. Moreover, we cannot agree that this rule was intended to establish a rate of pay depending upon the


position of the supervisor. This would be a departure from the long standing principle, supported by Awards of this Board, that the rate of pay for any position is governed by the duties performed. See Awards 12398 (Referee Wolf); 13765 (Referee Weston); and 1445', (Referee Zack),

 The record here is devoid of proof that the claimants here performed the duties of the higher cl consideration. Absent such evidence we must hold claimants have failed to meet their burden of proof. Accordingly, their claims must be dismissed.

        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 Employee 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

        The Agreement was not violated.


                    A W A R D


        Claim dismissed.


                          NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD

                          By Order of Third Division


it
 ATTEST: i
        Executive Secretary


Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 28th day of September 1976.