PARTIES TO DISPUTE:

STATE OF CLAIM: Claim of the General Committee of the Brotherhood of
 Railroad Signalmen on the Penn Central Transportation
 Company (former New York Central Railroad Company-Lines West of Buffalo):

              WESTERN REGION - CHICAGO DIVISION


Appeal of claim presented initially by the Organization's Local Chairman D. E. Brown on behalf of signal employes affected who hold seniority on the Chicago Terminal Signal District to the Division Engineer J. R. Beard on February 3, 1974, such claim account their starting time was changed arbitrarily by the carrier and they were denied their displacement rights as provided in Rule 30(d) of the current working agreement.

 OPINION OF BOARD: The facts out of which this dispute arose are not contested.
 Pursuant to Federal law passed in response to the energy
 "crunch" during the Winter of 1973-74 the Nation went on mandatory year
 round Daylight Savings Time (DST) in January 1974; rather than, as had been
 customary, in April through October. We take arbitral notice of the fact that
 the days are shorter in January than in April and recall, for example, school
 children wending their way to classes and awaiting buses in darkness during
 the late Winter of 1973-74. Likewise, the change to D.S.T. in January
 affected many workers who thereby found themselves traveling and reporting
 to work in the dark pre-dawn hours. The instant dispute involves a change
 in reporting time growing out of this situation for certain employes in
 Carrier's Chicago Terminal Signal District.

        The employes herein involved were employed in Carrier's Signal

Department and, prior to January 6, 1974 their assigned hours were 7:00 am
 to 3:30 In Central Standard Time (C.S.T.). Effective January 6, 1974 by
 the "Daylight Savings Time Act of 1973" Standard Time was advanced one hour
 thus giving Claimants' assigned hours of 7:00 am to 3:30 pm Central Daylight
 Savings Time (D.S.T.). The net effect of the legislature was no change in
 "clock time" for Claimants but a one-hour earlier "solar time" for reporting
 to work. (i.e. Clock time of 7:00 am DST was the equivalent of a solar time
 of 6:00 AM). Because at 6:00 am solar time (7:00 am DST) it was still dark
 in January 1974, Carrier on January 4, 1974 gave oral instructions to
 Claimants to report at 8:00 am D.S.T. beginning January 7, 1974. Thereafter,
 by Supervisors Bulletin dated January 5, 1974 the Claimants were notified as
 follows:
                  Award Number 21476 Page 2

                  Docket Number SG-21258

                  "Chicago, Illinois

                  January 5, 1974


        TO ALL CONCERNED:


        Confirming verbal advice given on January 4, 1971+, the starting time on the following positions will be as indicated below: Effective January 8, 1974. 8:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. 12:00 P.M. - 12:30 P.M. (Lunch) 12:30 P.M. - x+:30 P. M.


        T & T Cable Splicers Relay Inspectors

        T & T Maintainers Lead Signal Maintainers

        Electronic Technicans Signal Mechanics

        Hot Box Technicans District Lineman

        Signal Inspectors Radio Maintainers

        C & S Inspectors Maintainers C & S

        C & S Foremen Signa3men

        Wire Chief


        Trick positions at Elkhart and Englewood Humps are excluded also Radio positions at Elkhart.


        The change in starting time is due to the adoption of Year Round Daylight Saving Time under recent Federal Law.


        Received at B & 0 on Jan 16.


                              C. S. Paden

                              Supervisor C&S, Chicago"


By letter dated February 3, 1974 the instant claim was filed alleging as follows:

        "In the afternoon of January 4, 1974, I was verbally ordered to report to work on the seventh of January at 8:00 am (D.S.T.) instead of 7:00 a.m. (D.S.T.), as my advertised assignment states. This was done over the entire Chicago Terminal territory on Penn Central. The men affected by this were denied their option to exercise displacement rights. Then on January 16, 1974, we received a bulletin stating, starting time of positions, effective January 8, 1974.


        (1) Therefore the undersigned presents the following claim.


              (a) Carrier violated rule 5 and 30(d), of Agreement of March 1, 1951 as amended between former New York Central Lines West and Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen of America.

                    Award Number 21476 Page 3

                    Docket Number SG-21258


          "(b) Claim that this arbitrary action, without cause

          of reason and not having the consent of the

          organization, also extended the end of tour of

          duty from 3:30 P.m. to x:30 P.m., thereby placing

          these employees on overtime status in accordance with

          Rule 10.


              (c) Claim that the Carrier now be required to pay each and every employee, one (1) hour at the time and half rate of pay, for each and every assigned working day, beginning on January 7, 1974 and continuing until such time that this illegal practice is discontinued, and that immediately, each employee be given his option of displacements rights." .


It is undisputed that all Signal Department employes on the Chicago Terminal Signal District were notified by written bulletin dated February 1, 1974 that effective February 11, 1974 their starting time would revert to 7:00 am (D.S.T.). Therefore, the 8:00 am (D.S.T.) starting time was in effect only from January 8 to February 10, 1974 and the claim period is so restricted.

 Rule 5 of the Agreement requires inter alia that starting time for Claimants be between the hours of 6:00 A. M. and7:00 A. M. and that starting time be fixed by bulletin and not changed without 48 hours notice to affected employes. As we understand this record the "new" starting time was 8:00 am and Claimants did receive the requisite notice. We can find herein no violation of Rule 5.

        Rule 30 provides in pertinent part as follows:


                      It= 30


        An employe may elect to retain his position or within 14 consecutive calendar days exercise displacements rights if changes occur in any of the following conditions of his position:


        (d) Starting time, except due to Daylight Saving Time.


The crux of the dispute regarding Rule 30(d) is the Organization's insistence that the change in starting time from 7:00 am (DST) to 8:00 am (DST) was not "due to Daylight Savings Time". In this connection the organization apparently asserts the change was due to arbitrary and inconsistent determination of operating convenience by Carrier and constituted a violation of past practice whereby "clock time" had never been changed notwithstanding the annual conversion to a new "solar time" under Daylight Savings Time.
                  Award Number 21476 Page 7+

                  Docket Number SG-21258


Upon careful reflection we cannot agree with the Organization's reading of the Rule and the facts of record. The language of Rule 30(d) is clear and unambiguous and must be interpreted and applied by us as written without recourse to practice. See Award 2061+3. We find that the phrase "due to Daylight Savings Time" when given its plain and ordinary meaning must cover the change of starting time which affected Claimants in January 1971+. Accordingly, that change was within the single exception to Rule 30 set forth in 30(d) and we can find no Rules violation therein. Finally, we are not persuaded that the disputed change of starting time affected a violation of Rule 10. Having found no Rules violation in this record we must conclude the claim is without Agreement support. Accordingly we have no alternative but to deny this 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 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 31st day of March 1977.,....


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