(Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
 PARTIES TO DISPUTE
 (Con Rail (Former Penn Central
 ( Transportation Cc=any)

 STATEMENT -OF CLAr·=: C1ai_m of the General Committee of the Brotherhood
 of Railroad Signalmen on the former ae·" York,
 New Haven & .ar tford Railroad Company:

 On October 20, 1975, the Carrier issued Bulletin No. 31 - 75, advertising a Signalmans position with headquarters located at Readville,
 M2 the Carrier issued Bulletin ~'
 assachusetts. C, November 17, 1975, -0.
 31A - 75, which awarded the position of Signalman with headcuarters at
 Readvil- i e to :i. ,. Coulombe, em,;1c,,,,e n=ber 709393 a Signal Helper
 located in the Signal Gang at Readville Instead of awarding the
 position to '..L~. Co-LLlombe, the Carrier should have applied Rule 36 of
 the SignaLfians Agreement and notified --L C. C. Carter of the position
 that was available to him as outlined in ;ale 5 paragraph (b) of the
 Signal=s Agreement. By failing to notify ~r_. Carter as outlined in
 Rule 36, the Carrier violated Mr. Carters rights and allowed a ,junior
 employee to go ahead of him in a higher seniority class.

 Mr. Carter returned to service on December 1, 1975, -,"her. the Carrier applied R',:ie 36 of the Agreement and notified -Mr. Carter there was work in the Ansistant SignaLmans class available for him at Readville. L. Carter replied pro^otly ::'hen notified of the available work at Readville.
allowed three months to qualify as a Signalman according to Rule 5
 paragraph (b) of the Agreement. Because of the violation. by the Carrier
 and his subsequent loss of a work opportunity, Air. Carter should be paid
 all the earnings earned by "'r. COulO-:5e from the first day that
 iL-. Coulombe covered the Sigg"nal-mans position awarded :1='2 on 31'Ilet_a
 No. 31A - 75 until December 1, 197_ the day that :·3'. Carter returned t0
 service at ReadVille On the Assistants position. From December 1, 1`315,
 M
 5. Carter should be paid the d_zffference between the Assistants rate he
 was earning and the SignaLmans rate that .,L-. COulcmbe was earning i.'..nt11
 :·L^. Coal cmbe l ee v that uositien.


Mr. Carter in the future ^2y place a bid on a SigraLmans position and should be allowed to apply the rights granted to Assistants under Pule 5, paragraph (b) of the Agreement and if Mr. Carter qualified for the Sigma mans position he should be placed ahead of Mr. Coulombe in the Signalmans rank because of the violation of his rights by the Carrier.

        Carrier File: Case No. BRS NH-327


OPIPTION OF BOARD: On October 20, 1975, Carrier's Supervisor C&S
 issued a Bulletin advertising a temporary position
 of Signalman, with headquarters at Readville, Massachusetts. No
 applications were received for the position from employes possessing
 seniority in the Signalman class and there were no employes reduced or
 furloughed from that class. However, Signal Helper W. F. Coullombe
 made application for and was awarded the position.

 In a letter dated January 9, 1976, the Local Chairman submitted a claim in behalf of C. C. Carter, Assistant Signalman, reading the same as the claim set forth in the Statement of Claim. The essence of the claim is that the Carrier should have recalled Carter from furlough and awarded him the position of Signalman in lieu of awarding the position to Coulombe. The Division Engineer denied the claim by a letter dated February 5, 1976, stating, among other reasons, that Claimant was not qualified for the Signalman position.

 The Petitioner relies primarily on Agreement tale 5, :which provides in pertinent part:

            "(b) Assistant signa?men or assistant signal :maintainers on a seniority district shat- be promoted in the order of their seniority to signalmen or signal maintainers if a position as such is open and they have qualified to perform signalman's or signal maintainer's work in less than four years. If a man so promoted fails to meet the requirements of the position within three months, he will be restcred to a position of assistant signalman or assistant signal maintainer to which he is entitled where he Pay secure the necessary training and


e:cperience to complete his apprenticeship..
                  Award Number 22003 Page 3

                  Decket "lu.^'.:ber SO-22003


This rule -provides for the promotion of Assistants in seniority order if a position is open and they have qualifiedto perform signalrments work. -:'e wording of this '=;Le does not require the promotion of u_ncualified employes.

 We have consistently held that when the qualifications of an emplcye are questioned, it is the emalofe's burden to prove qualification if he can.

        The claim must be denied.


        FTNDLIGS: The Third Division of the 1djllstment Board, upon the whole record and all the evidence, finds and holes:


        That the parties waived oral hearing;


That the Carrier and the J.°mloyes involved in this dispute are respectively Carrier and E.=loyes w=thin the meaning of the Railway labor Act, as approved June 21, 1934;

 That this Division of the Adjustment Board has *urisdiction over the dispute involved herein; and

        That the .agreement was not violated.


                  A ,'! A R


        Claim denied.


                        YATT01IP.L °AILRCAD AD~TJST:=1 BOAR-D.

                        B,,· Order of Third Division


ATTEST:, s~
 Executive Secretary

        Dated at Chica,o, -'~' inois, t'.-is 14th day of April 1973.