Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD Award No. 29017
THIRD DIVISION Docket No. MW-27396
91-3-86-3-637
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:
(Union Pacific Railroad Company
STATEMENT OF CLAIM: "Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that:
(1) The Agreement was violated when outside forces were used to
perform track work at Capitol Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska July 1 through July
26, 1985 (System File M-175/013-210-52).
(2) The Agreement was fprther violated when the Carrier did not give
the General Chairman prior written notification of its plan to assign said
work to outside forces.
(3) Because of the aforesaid violations, Roadway Equipment Operators
C. Fisigaro, G. F. Dominguez, R. J..Hernandez, L. Goettsche and R. L. Wehrer
and Track Laborers R. R. Rangel, T. E. Kula, T. L. Bogenreif, F. S. Robak,
R. M. Rivera, K. D. Loudon, L. R. Rief, J. A. Miller, M. N. Murray, M.
Sandoval,.Jr. and D. J. Martinez, Jr. shall each be allowed pay at their respective rates for an equ
hundred (2400) man-hours expended by outside forces in performing the work
referred to in Part (1) hereof."
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.
Parties to said dispute waived right of appearance at hearing thereon.
This subcontracting dispute was precipitated when, from July 1
through July 26, 1986, Carrier allegedly failed to assign the construction,
maintenance and repair work involved with the renewal of trackage on Capitol
Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska, to the Claimants and instead assigned the work to
Peter Kewit Construction Company, an outside contractor. According to the
Organization, this is work which is expressly reserved to it and additionally,
Form 1 Award No. 29017
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91-3-86-3-637
has been traditionally performed by its employees in the past. Furthermore,
the Organization asserts that the burden of establishing an exception to the
prohibition from subcontracting under Rule 52 is on the Carrier, and that
burden has not been met here. The Organization rejects the Carrier's assertion that it had no contro
question is part of the city street. In the Organization's view, the controlling factor is that the
connection with its operations as a common carrier.
Carrier advances the following arguments in support of its contention
that this claim should be denied. First, Carrier maintains that Paragraph 2
of the instant claim, regarding Carrier's alleged failure to give prior written notification to the
forces, was raised for the first time on appeal. Given that posture, the
issue cannot be considered by the Board as it is deemed waived. Second, it is
urged that the employees have no right to the work in question, since it has
not been shown that the Agreement conveys an exclusive rio..~ to construct,
maintain and repair trackage that. is not controlled by the Carrier. Third,
Carrier stresses that even if the claim is meritorious, no damages are owing
as Claimants were fully employed during the claim period.
The Board has carefully reviewed the record evidence in its entirety.
At the outset, we reject Carrier's contention that Rule 52 was not timely
raised. The claim initially submitted by the Organization, dated August 20,
1985, clearly cites Rule 52 as one, among others, violated by the Carrier. In
addition, the Organization in that same letter of claim makes reference to the
"advance notice requirements" and "good-faith discussions" which are required.
It is our view that the information contained within the initial claim was
sufficiently specific so as to inform the Carrier of the basis for the claim.
Moreover, the Organization by separate letter dated November 5, 1985,
the day after its November 4, 1985 appeal, specifically informed Carrier that
the claim was based, in part, on Carrier's alleged failure to provide advance
notice to the General Chairman as required by Rule 52. While issues raised
for the first time before the Board are generally deemed waived, on the theory
that the parties should be afforded the opportunity to resolve any and all
issues during the handling of the case on the property, it is our view that
the Organization's November 5, 1985 letter did not come too late in the grievance process so as to n
parties had the opportunity to discuss the issue at a conference subsequently
held on June 11, 1986. Based on these facts, we find that Carrier was fully
and timely informed that the notice issue was a part of the instant claim.
Turning to the substantive issue, it has been argued by the Carrier
that it is not the sole owner of the trackage at issue and that the Omaha
World Herald was to bear the cost of the track work pursuant to an Agreement
between the Carrier and the World Herald. Reference is made by the Carrier to
a portion of that Agreement, Section 10, which states, in part, that the cost
of a "rearrangement or reconstruction" of track, where required by "public
enactment or regulation, or other contingency over which Carrier has no control," shall be borne by
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It must be remembered, however, that Carrier had the burden of proving as an affirmative defense
Carrier never offered any direct proof of an Agreement with the Omaha World
Herald. It merely quoted what it considered the pertinent portion thereof,
and even that was not produced until well after the parties conferenced the
subject. Having failed to produce the Agreement itself during the handling of
this case on the property, we are unable to ascertain the significance of the
portion thereof relied upon by the Carrier. An agreement, after all, must be
read as a whole, and without the benefit of the entire Agreement, we cannot
determine the context or significance of the quoted portion.
In addition, we are impelled to point out that the section of the
Agreement relied upon by the Carrier refers to allocation of cost. It does
not restrict the Carrier's contractual obligation to use its employees to
perform the work in quest=on in accordance with the Agreement. Thus, the
question of whether Carrier retained or could retain control of the work in
question is an issue not really addressed by Section 10.
Having proven a 7iolation of the Agreement, the only remaining issue
pertains to remedy. The record is undisputed that Claimants were fully employed and suffered no mone
Accordingly, Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Statement of Claim are sustained, but
Paragraph 3, which requests a monetary remedy, is denied.
A W A R D
Claim sustained :a accordance with the Findings.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Third Division
Attest:
6z
"e,
~,-Or
~~
Nancy J. a -Executive Secretary
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 28th day of October 1991.