Rule 89 EWE-A position during the period of the violation or in the event there is no senior furloughed EWE-A, the senior EWE-A on the Southern District shall be compensated for all hours worked by the new Rule 89 incumbent EWE-A positions, and
(e) the senior furloughed truck driver on the Southern district roster shall be compensated for all hours worked by the new Rule 89 truck driver position during the period of the violation or in the event there is no senior furloughed truck driver, the senior truck driver on the Southern District shall be compensated for all hours worked by the new Rule 89 incumbent truck driver on the bucket truck during the period of the violation."
The Third Division of the Adjustment Board, upon the whole record and all the evidence, finds that:
The carrier orcarriers 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.
During the summer of 1993, Amtrak secured a new bridge inspection vehicle to assist with inspecting bridges. The vehicle is 47 feet long and weighs 60,000 pounds. It is a hi-rail overhead/underbridge inspection vehicle with four interconnecting booms. Amtrak engineers designed the vehicle so that employees and their tools could be moved in buckets 33 feet horizontally under bridges or 35 feet vertically downward. This allows employees to inspect difficult to reach bridges and supports, with minimum disruption to train traffic. Before this vehicle was obtained, these bridges were inspected visually. The vehicle took three years to design, plan and manufacture and cost over $600,000.
On March 7, 1994, Amtrak posted an advertisement for the position of Truck Driver for the hi-rail bridge inspection vehicle. The position was advertised in accordance with Rule 89 of the Agreement with the Organization. Rule 89 allows Amtrak to establish units that may operate over its Northeast territory without a fixed headquarters. Each of these so-called "Northeast Units" is considered a separate seniority district and may operate over seniority districts throughout Amtrak's Northeast territory.
The Organization protested the March 7, 1994, advertisement. In the Organization's view, the hi-rail overhead/underbridge inspection vehicle did not meet therequirementsofRule89. The Organizationmaintainsthatthisunitwasnot the type of equipment that was contemplated by Rule 89. Rather, it was merely a boom truck with bucket and hi-rail attachments. The Organization maintains that positions operating boom trucks are not subject to Rule 89.
This Board respectfully disagrees with the Organization's characterization of the equipment in question as a "glorified boom truck." In our view, this bridge inspection vehicle was an entirely new, specially designed and unique piece of equipment. It came within the rubric of "other high technology machines not on the property as of June 27, 1993." As such, Amtrak had the right to establish this new equipment as a Northeast Unit under Rule 89. The Organization's claim is denied as a result.