(Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks, ( Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes PARTIES TO DISPUTE: (Buffalo Creek Railroad

(a) The Carrier violated the Agreement when on July 3, 1975 it abolished the First and Second Trick Block Operator positions at P&B Junction Block Station.

 (b) The Carrier now be required to restore the above mentioned Block Operator positions at P&B Junction Block Station.

 (c) The Carrier shall be required to compensate Stanley Walter Rania, Anthony F: Zulawski and all other employes (to be designated by the Organization) affected by the improper abolishment, a day's pay at the Block Operator's rate for each and every day retroactive to July 5, 1975.

 OPINION OF BOARD: On August 27, 1954, the parties hereto made an agreement
 which provided, inter alia, that two Block Operator posi
 tions at P. & B. Junction would not be abolished until such time as the Car
 rier had natural attrition credits available. Notwithstanding this agree
 ment on attrition, the Carrier notified Claimants Zulawski and Kania that
 their positions were abolished as of the completion of their tours of duty
 on July 3, 1975.

 The abolishments were protested and continuing claims were filed on behalf of Claimants for an additional day's pay for each work day retroactive to July 5, 1975. Th appealed on September 26, 1975 to Carrier's highest officer designated to receive claims. Some seventy-four days later the appeal was declined.

 From the facts above there are two issues before this Board: the time limit question relating to the denial of the Claim at the highest level of Carrier; and secondly, whether or not the abolishments were proper under the agreement.

 With respect to the time-limit issue, under the authority of National Disputes Committee Decision 16, we will sustain the claims of both Claimants for a day's pay at Block Operator's rate for each work day (five days out of every seven) for the period beginning July 5, 1975 and ending (including) December 11, 1975, the date of receipt of Carrier's belated denial. It should be noted, parenthetically, that the record of the dispute shows nothing with respe for any purposes.


With regard to the merits of the dispute, we note from careful review of the record that while the claims were being handled on the property most of the parties' substantive arguments dealt with the application of the fourth paragraph of the August 27, 1974 Agreement. It was not until after the case was docketed with this Board that Carrier alleged that during the handling and prior to the date of their December 9, 1975 denial letter, two attrition credits became available, and thus the two positions could have been abolished at the time those credits became available. The Organization has challenged this assertion as not being handled on the property and under authority so well accepted as to not require citation, this challenge is valid.

 Nonetheless, we still have to dispose of the merits of the claim subsequent to December 11, 1975. Therefore, we order that a joint check of Carrier's records be made and if this check develops that two attrition credits became available prior to December 11, 1975, Carrier's liability on the claim terminated that date. If attrition credits did not become available until a date su and Zulawski are payable on the same basis as outlined above to the date such attrition credits became available.

        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 violated..


                      A W A R D


        Claim sustained to the extent set forth in the"nijonboxe~..'-


                        NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD 414,04 hozluzdLool By Order of Third Division


ATTEST:
        Executive Secretary


Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 31st day of yay 1977