(Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and ( Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, ( Express and Station Employes PARTIES TO DISPUTE: (Canadian National Railway Company, ( St. Lawrence Region Lines in ( the United States

1. Carrier violated Agreement 7.12 between the parties, in particular, Rules 4.3, 18.14, and 18.15 among others when they forced D. N. Fournier and G. L. Gagnon to take their vacations ahead of requested dates, allotting superior vacation dates to Junior Telegraphers on the Area of Chief Dispatcher's territory.

 2. They further violated said Agreement when they failed to cooperate with the Organization in assigning vacation dates, which would have prevented violation under 1. above.

 3. The Carrier shall now be required to compensate D. N. Fournier and G. L. Gagnon at the rate of time and one-half for the period they were forced by the Carrier to take as vacation over their protests.

 OPINION OF BOARD: The Claimants are two of twelve employes occupying
 positions in the United States and governed by
 Agreement 7.12. The remaining one-hundred and seventy-six employes
 making up the Chief Dispatcher's territory occupy Canadian positions
 and are governed by Agreement 7.1. One seniority roster exists for
 the St. Lawrence Region, and it is made up of 589 employes.

 Article 18.15 of Agreement 7.12 (the United States Agreement) states:



Clearly Agreement 7.12 requires cooperation in assigning vacation dates; and to the extent that this was not done there is a violation of Article 18.15. The Carrier is ordered to give ample prior notice to the District Chairman so that arrangements can be made for the Organization and the Carrier to commu dealing with the assigning of vacation dates under Agreement 7.12.

        Article 18.14 of Agreement 7.12 states:


        "Vacations may be taken from January 1st to December 31st and due regard consistent with requirements of service shall be given to the desires and preferences of the employees in seniority order when fixing the dates for their vacations."


We find that under Article 18.14 of Agreement 7.12 (the United States Agreement) "preferences of the employees in seniority order" refers to the preferences of employes, in seniority order, covered by and working under Agreement 7.12. For preferences of employes for vacation assignments on a seniority basis under Agreement 7.12 can only be logically applied to employes working under that Agreement, absent clear language to the contrary. The Claimants have not established that junior employes working under Agreement 7.12 received vacation assignments more preferable than themselves. As such we shall deny the 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.

          Award Number 22137 Page 3

                    Docket Number CL-22090

                    A W A R D


        Claim denied.


                        NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD

                        By Order of Third Division


ATTEST: ~s~ pAa.-~
        Executive Secretary


Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 30th day of June 1978.