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.

Parties to said dispute were given due notice of hearing thereon.

On April 28, 2001, the Organization filed the instant claim alleging that the Carrier violated Rule 14 of the Agreement dated October 1, 1987 when it failed to call the Claimant to fill a short vacancy of Welder Forman at Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, during the week of April 16-20, 2001. During the relevant time period, it is undisputed that the Claimant was furloughed and awaiting recall and as a result, placed his name on the System Welders call list in accordance with Rule 14. J. A. Johnson, the Welder Forman, was not available to work his assigned position during the relevant time period because he was released to assume his new position on Friday April 13, 2001. Instead of calling the Claimant, whose name appeared on a call list, the Carrier filled the short vacancy created by the departure of Welder Forman Johnson with C. Frey who was working the Welder position on the Detroit Lakes Welding Crew. While it is undisputed that Frey was senior to the Claimant as a Welder Foreman, it is also undisputed that Frey's name was not among those on the System Welders call list. Accordingly, the Organization maintains that under these circumstances, the Carrier was obligated to call Frey to fall this short term vacancy. The Carrier defended its action by asserting that it properly filled the short term vacancy in accordance with Rule 11 by assigning the most senior available employee to the Welder Foreman position. In this regard, the Carrier asserts that Rule 14 is not the applicable Rule because by its very title, it applies to "Increasing Forces." Because the Carrier argues that at no relevant time period did it "increase forces," it asserts that Rule 14 has no application.

Having carefully reviewed the record, the Board concludes that Rule 11 is the applicable Rule. Rule l I -Assignment Procedure provides, in relevant part, as follows:

"(a) Except as otherwise provided in this rule, vacancies or new positions will be filled by employes holding seniority in the rank in which the vacancy or new position occurs.

(d) New positions or vacancies of thirty (30) calendar days or less shall be considered temporary and will be filled without bulletining in accordance with Rule 14."

It is clear that the five day vacancy involved in the instant dispute was a temporary vacancy, and hence, Rule 11 (d) provides that the procedure for filling this temporary vacancy is governed by Rule 14. In relevant part, Rule 14 provides:

"Qualified employees on a call list who have indicated they wish to protect work in a particular group and rank in which the vacancy occurs will be called in seniority order and must protect the vacancy for which called (except in cases of personal illness or other unavoidable cause)."

While Welder Frey's seniority as a Welding Foreman is superior to that of the Claimant, a review of the System Welders call list reveals that Frey had not placed his name on such list to fill temporary vacancies in that capacity. Accordingly, Frey was not eligible under Rule 14 to fill the temporary vacancy that existed on the Welder Foreman position.

Finally, the Board reviewed the other defenses offered by the Carrier and finds them to be without merit. The instant claim will therefore be sustained.

AWARD