J~Form 1 NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
The Third Division consisted of the regular members and in addition Referee
John C. Fletcher when award was rendered.
(Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes
PARTIES TO DISPUTE:
(CSX Transportation, Inc. (former Louisville and
( Nashville Railroad Company)
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
"Claim of the System Committee
of
the Brotherhood that:
(1) The Agreement was violated when the Carrier failed to allow
Trackman J. C. Hall to exercise his displacement rights on the
Eastern Kentucky Division beginning August 19, 1991 [System File
2(112)(91)/12(91-1691) LNR1.
(2) As a consequence of the aforesaid violation, Mr. J. C. Hall shall `Be
paid 8 hours straight time from August 19, 1991 and continuous
until claimant is allowed to return back to service at Track
Repairman's rate of pay."'
FINDINGS:
The Third Division
of
the Adjustment Board, upon the whole record and all the
evidence, finds that:
The carrier or carriers and the employee or employees involved in this dispute
are respectively carrier and employee 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.
Form 1 Award
No.
32369
Page 2 Docket
No.
MW-31238
97-3-93-3-107
Parties to said dispute were given due notice of hearing thereon.
Claimant initially established seniority as a Track Repairman on October 3, 1988.
As a seasonal employee he was subject to periodic layoff: On June 6,1990 Claimant was
mailed a recall notice to fill a vacancy on Extra Gang 5C80 at Hazard, Kentucky,
effective Monday, June 11, 1990. Claimant did not respond to this notice. On August
19,1991, Claimant attempted to displace a junior employee on the E.K. Division Tie and
Rail Gang. He was not allowed to do so, on the contention that he had forfeited his
seniority, as provided in Rule 22(f), when he failed to respond to the June 6, 1990 recall
notice.
Rule 22(f) of the parties' Agreement provides:
"Employees will forfeit all seniority rights
if
they fail to return to
work, or give satisfactory reason for not returning, within 10 calendar
days from the date
of
notification by mail or telegraph sent to the address
last given."
Rule 22(f) is a self-executing Rule.
If
an employee subject to recall fails to return
to work, or give a satisfactory excuse for not doing so, acquired seniority will be
forfeited. In this case Claimant ignored the recall notice. The literal application
of
the
Rule requires that his seniority be forfeited.
The claim is without merit.
AWARD
Claim denied.
Form 1 Award No. 32369
Page 3 Docket No. MW-31238
97-3-93-3-107
ORDER
This Board, after consideration of the dispute identified above, hereby orders that
an award favorable to the Claimant(s) not be made.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Third Division
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 30th day of December 1997.