PARTIES Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes
 _TC
 DISPUTE: and
 Consolidated Rail Corporation
 STATEMENT 1. Claimants should be paid one day's pay
 _OF
 CLAIM: for each date contract forces performed work
 on railroad property in connection with relocat
 ing or rehabilitating tracks in connection with
 Interstate Route 78.
 2. A joint study be made by the Carrier and
 Organization to determine the dates the con
 tractor performed work from December 26, 1975,
 the date forces were reduced and all subsequent
 dates until the forces were increased and claim
 ants recalled.
 FINDINGS: There is no question but that this claim would
 have merit if, as alleged in paragraph 1 thereof,
 ~2 .2- 03 -lj-wO~ an outside contractor actually did perform work on Carrier's property during the claim period in connection with the Route 78 track project. Carrier has clearly committed itself to an agreement that no Track Department employe would be furloughed while a contractor was working on Carrier's tracks under those conditions. That claimants were on furlough during the period in question is undisputed.
 The problem here is that there is not a scintilla of evidence in the record that work was performed by an outside firm during the claim period on Carrier property.. That issue was squarely raised by Carrier when the claim was under consideration on the property, but at no time did Petitioner come forward with the necessary proof. Mere assertions, contentions and assumptions are not to be equated with evidence.
 The burden of establishing all elements of the claim rests with Petitioner and it is not relieved of that burden because of the difficulty in obtaining proof.
 In this posture of the record, the claim must be denied.

 AWARD: Claim denied.



°Carrier-ember Employe Member