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



1. Carrier violated the effective Clerks' Agreement when it abolished Position GT-197 and reinstated it under a different title and thereby reduced the rate of pay;

 2. Carrier shall now compensate Clerk J. Moran and/or his successor or successors in interest; namely, any other employe or employes who have stood in the status of Claimant as occupant of Position GT-480 for the difference between the rate of pay of that position and the rate of pay of Position GT-197; commencing on July 22, 1980 and continuing for each and every day thereafter that a like violation exists.

 OPINION OF BOARD: This claim arises over yard clerical jobs'in Carrier'-s
 operations serving the U. S. Steel facility in South Chicago.
 During the spring and summer of 1980, as steel production slowed, the Carrier
 made corresponding reductions in yard clerical jobs. later, as production
 increased, the Carrier instituted increases in the level of yard clerical help as
 needs warranted.

 Prior to April 23, 1980, Claimant was assigned to Yard Clerk Position GT-202, duties as follows:

When Position GT-202 was abolished on April 23, 1980, Carrier assigned its residual yard clerical duties to Position GT-197, Assistant Chief Yard Clerk, a higher rated position. Duties of GT-197 related to calling employes for vacancies and general supervision of yard clerical forces. This situation continued from April 23 to June 29, 1980 when steel operations stopped and the Carrier abolished virtually all yard clerical jobs, including GT-197.
yard clerical work force. Thus, effective July 22, 1980 an extra job was
 started -- GT-480 -- to perform train checking duties. GT-480 as the work
 continued and it was determined by the Carrier that GT-480 was needed on a
 regular basis it was bulletined with the following duties:
                      Docket Number CL-24308


        "Checking yards, carding cars and miscellaneous yard clerical work including weighing cars and handling related records. Perform janitorial duties as directed."


The claim is based on the contention that the train checking duties, absorbed by GT-197 when GT-202 was abolished entitles incumbent of GT-480 the higher rate of GT-197, which was also abolished. Rules cited by the Brotherhood in support of the claim are:

        "RULE 19 - REDUCING AND INCREASING FORCE


        MMM


        (b) When a position is abolished, the remaining work will be assigned to positions with rates equal to or in excess of the rate of the position abolished. If an abolished position is restored with original duties, its former rate, subject to general wage revisions, will be restored."


        "RUIE 53 - PRESERVATION OF RATES


        Employes temporarily or permanently assigned to higher rated positions or work shall receive the higher rates for the entire day. Employes temporarily assigned to lower rated positions or work shall not have their rates reduced. A 'temporary assignment' contemplates the fulfillment of the duties and responsibilities of the position during the time occupied whether the regular occupant of a position is absent or whether the temporary assignee does the work irrespective of the presence of the regular employe."


        "RULE 55 - NEW POSITIONS


        (a) The wages for new positions shall be in conformity with the wages for positions of similar kind or class in the seniority district where created. When there are no positions of similar kind or class where the new position or positions are created the rates of pay shall be fixed by negotiation and agreement between the management and the General Chairman."


        "RULE 66 - ABOLISHING ESTABLISHED POSITIONS


        Established positions shall not be discontinued and new ones created under the same or different title covering relatively the same class or kind of work for the purpose of reducing the rate of pay or evading the application of these rules."


The Brotherhood agrees that when GT-202 was abolished and its train checking duties were absorbed by GT-1979 the requirements of Rule 19(b) were properly complied with by the Carrier. But the Brotherhood disagrees with Carrier actions when yard service jobs were restored. In this connection it
                        Award Number 24272 Page 3

                        Docket Number CL-24308


is important to note that the duties referred to from GT-202 were routine yard clerical duties of train checking, not the calling and supervisory work of GT-197.

 The Carrier listed five yard clerical positions in South Chicago having the same routine yard checking duties and same rate of pay as GT-480, without complaint. The routine train checking work absorbed temporarily by GT-197 during the period when operations were being contracted from April to June 29, 1980, were never exclusively reserved to the position as evidenced by many other positions with routine yard checking duties. It is also noted that when positions were restored,the higher rated duties of CT-197 were assigned to position GT-191 which carried the title of Chief Yard Clerk with a correspondingly higher rate than routine yard checking positions such as GT-480. Actually the rate for GT-191 was higher than the rate of former supervisory job GT-197. This would appear, as stated by the Carrier, to be in accord with the requirements of Rule 19(b). Thus, as new jobs were established with the increase of business the wage rates set appear to conform with "the wages for positions of similar kind or class in the seniority district where created", as required by Rule 55.

 The Awards 4, 5 and 6 of Pt8 No. 31 dealt with a similar set of claims between these same parties. This Board sees no basis to vary from the reasoning adopted in those cases. Thus, in this case, just as in those, the lower rated yard clerical work absorbed by GT-197 when GT-202 was abolished was later included in GT-480, with a comparable rate of pay to other yard clerical positions performing the same level of work. This Board does not agree that such action violates provisions of the Agreement cited by the Brotherhood and it is, therefore, our determination that the claim is without merit.

        FINDINGS: The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the whole record and all the evidence, finds and holds:


        'East 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.

                      Award Number 242'(2 Page 4

                      Docket Number CL-24308


                            NATIONAL RAIIROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD

                            By Order of Third Division


Attest: Acting Executive Secretary
 National Railroad Adjustment Board

 BY F
 Rosemarie Brasch - Administrative Assistant

 Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 23rd day of March 1983.

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