Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 27635
 THIRD DIVISION Docket No. MW-26703
 88-3-85-3-454
 The Third Division consisted of the regular members and in
 addition Referee Elliott H. Goldstein when award was rendered.

 (Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes PARTIES TO DISPUTE:

STATEMENT OF CLAIM: "Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that:

 (1) The Carrier violated the Agreement when it failed and refused to allow Messrs. R. Raley, J. March, W. Sutton and J. C. Conti holiday pay for December 31, 1983 (New Year's Eve) and January 1, 1984 (New Year's Day observed January 2, 1984) (Sy
(2) Because of the aforesaid violation, the claimants shall each be allowed sixteen (16) hours of pay at their respective straight time rates."

 FINDINGS:

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

 The carrier or carriers and the employe or employes involved in this dispute are respectively carrier and employes within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act as approved June 21, 1934.

 This Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the dispute involved herein.

This is a holiday pay dispute involving several Claimants who lost their regularly assigned positions through job abolishment or displacement by senior employees prior to or immediately after the New Year's holiday.

 The applicable agreement provisions, insofar as they are pertinent, are set forth as follows:







Form 1
 Page 2

 Award No. 27635
 Docket No. MW-26703
 88-3-85-3-454

 Decoration Day
 Fourth of July

 In the United States
Labor Day
 Veterans Day
 Thanksgiving Day
 *Christmas Eve
 Christmas

 *The day before Christmas is

 Victoria Day
 Dominion Day

 In Canada
Civic Day
 (Province of Ontario)
 St. Jean Baptiste Day
 (Province of Quebec)
 Labour Day
 Thanksgiving Day
 *Christmas Eve
 Christmas

 observed.

 shall be paid for at the rate of time and one-half, computed on the actual minute basis with a minimum of four (4) hours at the straight time rate for two (2) hours and forty (40) minutes work or less. Such work in excess of sixteen (16) consecutive hours shall be paid at the double time rate.

 (b) When any of the above holidays fall on Sunday, the q~observed by the State shall _be considered the holiday.

 (c) When a holiday falls within a four (4) day work week, it may, by agreement, be shifted to the first or last work day of the work week.

 RULE 14 - PAID HOLIDAYS
(a) Subject to the qualifying requirements applicable to regularly assigned employees contained paragraph (b) hereof, each regularly assigned employee shall receive eight (8) hours' pay at the straight time rate of the position to which assigned for each of the holidays enumerated in Rule 13.

 Subject to the applicable qualifying requirements in paragraph (b) hereof, other than regularly assigned employees shall be eligible for the paid holidays or pay in lieu thereof, provided (1) compensation for service paid him by the Company is credited to eleven (11) or more of the thirty (30) days immediately preceding the holiday and (2) he has had a seniority date for at least sixty (60) days or has sixty (60) days of continuous active service preceding the holiday beginning with the
 Form 1 Award No. 27635
 Page 3 Docket No. MW-26703
 88-3-85-3-454
 first day of compensated service, provided employ
 ment was not terminated prior to the holiday by
 resignation, for cause, retirement, death, non
 compliance with the union shop agreement, or dis
 approval of application for employment.
 (b) A regularly assigned employee shall qualify
 for the holiday pay provided in paragraph (a)
 hereof if compensation paid him by the Company is
 credited to the workdays immediately preceding and
 following such holiday. If the holiday falls on
 the last day of a regularly assigned employee's
 workweek, the first workday following the rest days
 shall be considered the workday immediately follow
 ing the holiday. If the holiday falls on the first
 workday of his workweek, the last workday of the
 preceding workweek shall be considered the workday
 immediately preceding the holiday.
 _All others _for whom holiday pay is provided _in
 paragraph (a) hereof shall qualify _for _such holiday
 pa if on the ~aX preceding and the day following
 the holiday they satisfy _one _or _the other _of _the
 following conditions:
 (i) Compensation for service paid by the
 Company is credited; or
 (11) Such employee is available for service.
 Note: 'Available' as _used _in subsection (ii)
 above is interpreted to mean that an
 employee is available unless he lays
 _off _of his _own accord or does not
 respond _to _a call, pursuant _to _the
 rules _of _the applicable agreement, _for
 service.
 (c) When any of the holidays enumerated in Rule
 13, or the day observed, falls during an employee's
 vacation period, he shall, in addition to his vaca
 tion compensation, receive the holiday pay provided
 for in paragraph (a) of this Rule provided he meets
 the qualification requirements specified. The
 'workdays' and 'days' immediately preceding and
 following the vacation period shall be considered
 the 'workdays' and 'days' preceding and following
 the holiday for such qualification purposes. An
 employee's vacation period will not be extended by
 reason of any of the ten (10) recognized holidays,
 or the day observed.
 Form 1 Award No. 27635
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 88-3-85-3-454
 (d) Special qualifying provision for employees
 qualifying for both the Christmas Eve and Christmas
 Day holiday:
 _An employee _who meets _all other qualifying
 requirements will qualif for holiday pay for both
 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day if on the 'workday'
 or the 'day', as the case may be, immediately pre
 ceding the Christmas Eve holiday _he fulfills the
 qualifying requirements applicable to _the 'workday'
 or the 'day', before the holiday and on the
 'workday' or _the 'day'as the case may be,
 immediately following _the Christmas Day holiday he
 fulfills the qualifying requirements applicable _to
 the 'workday' or the 'day' after the holiday.
 An employee who _does _not qualify _for holiday pay
 for both Chri_stmas Eve and Christmas Day may quali
 fy foroliday pay for either Christmas _Eve _or
 Christmas Day under the provisions applicable _to
 holidays generally." (Underscoring added)

 In addition, Sections (a) and (b) of Article IV - Holidays of the December 11, 1981 National Agreement are applicable:



The parties have taken widely divergent positions as to the meaning and application of the foregoing provisions. During the handling of this dispute on the property, Carrier contended that Claimants' failure to exercise seniority on January 3, 1984, precluded any holiday payment in accordance with Rule 14(b) of the Agreement. In its submission before the Board, Carrier took a different stance, arguing that Claimants Raley and March were "regularly assigned employees" who did not meet the criteria for holiday pay embodied in Rule 14(b) because they were not paid any compensation by Carrier for the workday, Tuesday, January With respect to Claimant Sutton, Carrier insists that he was an "other than regularly assigned employee" who failed to meet the criteria of being "available for service" the da 3, 1984, in lieu of exercising his displacement rights. Similarly, Claimant Conti, in the Carrier's view, was an "other than regularly assigned employee" who, in effect, laid off of his own accord by not taking the position of
 Form 1 Award No. 27635
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 88-3-85-3-454

 Welder Helper on January 3, 1984. Finally, in its rebuttal argument, Carrier contended for the first time that the claims should be dismissed because the Organization had incorrectly stated the dates of holiday in its Statement of Claim to this Board.
It is noted from the record, that in all the handling on the property, the reference was to the New against qualifying for Holiday Pay was fully addressed. The Statement of Claim to this Board may not be technically correct, but both parties fully understood the basics of this dispute and the procedural error is not of such significance to warrant dismissal for the New Year's Eve Holiday.

 The Organization maintained that each of the four Claimants were available for service on the day following the holiday, Tuesday, January 3, 1984; therefore, the Organization argued, each qualified for holiday pay in accordance with Rule 14(b).

 We cannot agree fully. There is no dispute that each of the Claimants met the qualifying requirement the holidays. The only issue, then, is whether Claimants met the qualifying requirements for the day following the holidays; i.e., January 3, 1984. Claimants Kaley and March, e positions just minutes prior to the start of their work day.

 Neither was able to displace prior to the starting time of a position occupied by a junior employee at another location.

 We, therefore, conclude that Claimants Kaley and March were available for service on January 3, 1984, and thus each qualified for holiday pay.

 In regards to Claimants Conti and Sutton, however, the situation is different. The position of each Claimant was abolished by appropriate notice prior to the holidays, and there is no evidence either attempted to determine who they could displace prior to the starting time of the position on January 3, 1984.






Attest:
      Nancy Jer - Executive Secretary


Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 16th day of December 1988.