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 employe 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.
On Tuesday, August 1, 1989, the Richland Water Company was digging under carrier property at Mile Post 252.2 to repair a water line. The digging progressed under a pole which could have toppled unless it was supported. The pole was located in Seniority District 14. Carrier directed a Seniority District 13 employee working 16.5 miles away, to proceed to the digging site to hold the pole with a boon truck until the project was completed. Claimant, a District 14 employee, working 23 miles away, contends that he should have been given the work. Carrier argues that the use of the District 13 employee on District 14 was excusable because it was an emergency requiring immediate action.
Carrier has defended its use of a District 13 employee on District 14 on the grounds that it was emergency work. Carrier is obligated, when relying on an emergency excuse, to demonstrate that an emergency actually existed. This record fails in this respect. The facts present suggest that the situation was not as grave as Carrier indicates. The digging activity obviously was suspended until the pole was supported. There is no showing that the employee entitled to perform the work could not have arrived at the site in relatively the same amount of time as the employee used. The difference between the work locations of the employee used and the employee entitled to be used was relatively insignificant, 16.5 miles in one case, 23 miles in the other. Additionally, there is no showing that a boom truck could not have been made available to Claimant.