Form I NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
THIRD DIVISION
Award No. 41202
Docket No. SG-40841
12-3-NRAB-00003-090147
The Third Division consisted of the regular members and in addition Referee
Edwin H. Benn when award was rendered.
(Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
PARTIES TO DISPUTE: (
(Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad
( Corporation (Metra)
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
"Claim on behalf of the General Committee of the Brotherhood of
Railroad Signalmen on the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Rail
Corp.:
Claim on behalf of D. A. Moore and R. W. Sorensen, for 23 hours
overtime to each Claimant account Carrier violated the current
Signalmen's Agreement, particularly Rules 1, 15, and Side Letter 10
(dated May 16, 1999), when it used junior employees instead of the
Claimants for overtime service on April 1 and 2, 2006, and denied
the Claimants the opportunity to perform this work. Carrier's File
No. 11-21-572. General Chairman's File No. 124-RI-06. BRS File
Case No. 14038-NIRC."
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. 412022
Page 2 Docket No. SG-40841
12-3-NRAB-00003-090147
Parties to said dispute were given due notice of hearing thereon.
The Claimants are Signal Testmen headquartered at the Tinley Park Wire
Shop with an assigned territory of the Rock Island, CWI, and Southwest Service
Districts working Monday through Friday schedules. The Claimants also hold prior
rights on the Rock Island District.
On Saturday and Sunday, April 1 and 2, 2006, the Carrier assigned two
Signal Electronic Technicians who were junior to the Claimants, but in a higher
classification, to perform planned overtime work testing the proper downgrade of
signal aspects on the Root Street territory and the Gresham Interlocking on the
Rock Island Engineering District. According to the Carrier's June 27, 2006, letter
and due to a request by the F.R.A, the junior employees ". . . were verifying that the
solid state interlocking units were providing the proper aspects if alight unit had a
burned out bulb . . . [and work of this nature is generally performed by Signal
Electronic Technicians." This claim followed.
In Third Division Award 41188 the Board held that Side Letter No. 10 and
Public Law Board No. 5565, Award 34 required that for employees stationed on
their prior rights district, "[p]rior rights takes priority in the exercise of seniority,
overtime allocation . . . ." That same rationale governs this matter. An employee
with prior rights on the Rock Island District and stationed on that district is entitled
to overtime opportunities on that district based on greater seniority gained through
prior rights. Because of their greater seniority through their prior rights on the
Rock Island District, the Claimants were therefore entitled to the overtime on April
1 and 2, 2006.
The Carrier's assertion that the Claimants were not "stationed" on their
prior rights Rock Island District is not persuasive to change the result. The record
shows that the Claimants were stationed on the Rock Island District by virtue of
their bulletined district and by their working on that district where the overtime
work was performed.
Further, the fact that the overtime testing work was not performed by Signal
Testmen, but was performed by Signal Electronic Technicians also does not change
the result. There is no demonstration that the Claimants as Signal Testmen were
not qualified to perform the testing work.
Form I
Page 3
Award No. 41202
Docket No. SG-40841
12-3-NRAB-00003-090147
In terms of a remedy, the Claimants shall be made whole for any lost
overtime opportunities on the dates set forth in the claim. However, if the
Claimants earned overtime on any of the dates set forth in the claim, those amounts
shall be offset against the Carrier's liability.
AWARD
Claim sustained in accordance with the Findings.
ORDER
This Board, after consideration of the dispute identified above, hereby orders
that an award favorable to the Claimant(s) be made. The Carrier is ordered to make
the Award effective on or before 30 days following the postmark date the Award is
transmitted to the parties.
NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD
By Order of Third Division
Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this
day of February 2012.