NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION Docket Number MW-24142
Edward L. Suntrup, Referee
(Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employee
PARTIES TO DISPVfE:
(Soo Line Railroad Company
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: "Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that:
(1) The dismissal of Machine Operator-Helper J. L. Zeltinger was
excessive and wholly disproportionate to the charge leveled against him (Carrier's
File 800-16-B-63).
(2) The claimant shall be reinstated as a section laborer with
seniority and all other rights as such unimpaired."
OPINION OF BOARD: Claimant entered service of Carrier on August 6,
1970.
From
that date until September 12,
1979
(minus several periods
of time when he quit to go to school or when he was furloughed) Claimant worked,
inter alia, as a section laborer, timekeeper, helper and relief operator for a
brushcutter. Because the nature of the work of a brushcutter helper and relief
operator required him to live away from his home or from headquarters point during
the week Claimant was, therefore, entitled to reimbursement for the cost of meals
and lodging is accordance with Rule 16(b)(2) of the Agreement between the
parties. Rule 16 reads, in pertinent part:
"(b) Employees while away from their regular outfit or
regular headquarters by direction of the Carrier will be
reimbursed for cost of meals and lodging as follows:
(2) Other employees, including those covered by Rule
17,
shall be reimbursed for the actual cost of lodging
and meals, except that this shall not apply on the first
day to the mid-day lunch customarily carried, nor shall it
apply to employees traveling in exercise of their seniority
rights."
On September 12,
1979
Claimant was held out of service by the Roadmaster for
allegedly falsifying his expense account. Claimant requested a hearing which
was held on September 21,
1979.
As a result of this investigation Claimant was
notified on September 28,
1979
by Carrier that he had been found guilty as charged
and that he was dismissed from service.
A review of the transcript of the investigation shows that sufficient
substantial evidence is present to lead a reasonable mind to conclude that
Claimant is guilty as charged. It only remains, therefore, to determine if the
penalty imposed by Carrier is appropriate. There have been numerous Awards by
this Board in the past which have pointed out that dishonesty and theft are
matters of serious concern in the railroad industry and that this Board will not
Award Number
24117
Page
2
Docket Number
MW-24142
substitute its own judgment for that of a Carrier when such acts are proven to
be true (Second Division No.
1850;
Third Division Nos.
2646, 2696
and
8717).
Given the incontrovertible facts of this case as they relate to these issues,
this Board will not disturb this tradition.
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
That the Agreement was not violated.
A W A R D
Claim denied.
NATICNAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOAM
By Order of Third Division
Attest: Acting Executive Secretary
National Railroad Adjustment Board
By > ~-e~L~.e-~ ~ _iUC~-
z
Rosemarie Brasch - Administrative Assistant
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 14th day of January
1983.
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