yaNATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD
PUBLIC LAW
BOARD N0. 2406
x
Brotherhood of Maintenance.of _
Way Employes
Case No. ll
-and-
t
Award No. 9
x
National Railroad Passenger
Corporation(AMTRAK)
Public Law Board No. 2406 was established pursuant to the
provisions of Section 3, Second of the Railway Labor Act and the
applicable rules of the National Mediation Board.
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes and the
National. Railroad Passenger Corporation(AMTRAK) (hereinafter the
Organization and the Carrier respectively) are duly constituted
labor organization and carrier representatives as those terms are
defined in Section 7 and 3 of the Railway Labor Act.
On October 8, 7979, a hearing was held in the Carrier's
offices in Philadelphia,, Pennsylvania at
which
the below-stated
claim was addressed:
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
-(a) The Carrier violated the Rules Agreement effective
May 19, 1976,
when it
refused to accept bid of Carpenter Helper
J.E. Warren for an Assistant Foreman Position, but instead awarded
such position,, effective August 30, 7977, to a junior employee.
"(b) Claimant Warren.be assigned to the position to which
his seniority entitles him and be compensated at the difference in
rate between that of an Assistant Foreman and the position he held
for each day commencing August 30,1977 until so assighi~d.^
z.
Claimant first acquired seniority with the Carrier as a
Carpenter Helper on August 18, 1976. He subsequently bid upon
and was awarded positions as a Painter Helper and a Painter. At
the time that three(3) permanent positions of Assistant B & B
Foremen were advertised by the Carrier, August 16, 1977, the Claimant
was holding a position as a Painter in Gang No. 113 at the Carrier's
Carpentry Shop in Morrisville, PA. The Claimant bid on the position
of Assistant Foreman and the Carrier awarded the three(3) Foremen's
positions to employees each of whom was junior to the Claimant.
The Claimant grieved the Carrier's action and the Organization
progressed his grievance through the appropriate steps in the procedure
prior to the submission of the claim to this Board for resolution.
The relevant rules in,the;..collective bargaining agreement
between the Organization and the Carrier provide:
"RULE 1 - ASSIGNMENT TO POSITION
In the assignment of employes to positions
under this Agreement, qualification being sufficient,
seniority shall govern. _
The word 'seniority' as used in this. Rule I
means; first, seniority in the class in which the
assignment is to be made, and thereafter, in the
lower classes, respectively, in the same group
in the order in which they appear on the seniority
roster."
"RULE 2 - QUALIFICATIONS FOR POSITIONS
In making application for an advertised position
or vacancy, or in the exercise of seniority, an
employe will be permitted, on request, or may be
required, to give a reasonable, practical demonstration
of his qualifications to. perform the duties of the
position."
It is the position of the
Organization that
the above-cited
Rules and Rule 10-Seniority, which provides that "Seniority Begins
at the time the employe's pay starts^, required the Carrier:to,award
the Claimant the Assistant foreman's position. The drgarlization
~o
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3.
further contends that Claimant should have been awarded the position
based upon his seniority and that if the Carrier had any qualms about
his ability to perform the job Rule 2 offered the way to resolve the
matter.
It is the position of the Carrier that no.rules of the agreement
have been violated; that the Claimant has not sustained the burden of
proof regarding his qualifications to hold an Assistant Foreman's
position; and, that Claimant is not entitled to any compensation
as he has claimed none.
It is clear that seniority will govern where qualifications
of several. bidding employees are first sufficient. In the case before
us the Carrier found that the-Claimant's qualifications werenot sufficient
and therefore he was not awarded one of the positions upon which he bid.
The Carrier did find that the other bidders had sufficient
qualifications and thus they were awarded the jobs they bid upon even
though they were junior to the Claimant.
The Claimant has not shown that the Carrier's actions in awarding
these Assistant Foremen positions was arbitrary, capricious and/or
discriminatory.
In fact, the Carrier has shown that on two separate dates,
April 24, 2978 and Feruary 12, 1979, the Claimant was offered the following
opportunity:
"Rule 2 of your Agreement clearly states that
'In making application for an advertised position
or vacancy, or in the exercise of seniority, an
employee will be permitted, on request, or may
be required, to give reasonable, practical
demonstration of his qualifications to perform
the duties of the position.'
Our records do not indicate that Claimant warren
has ever requested in writing the opportunity.zo
demonstrate his qualifications to perform the
duties of these positions.
'° However, the Carrier is agreeable to dlTodr :the
-2-CIN _/AwS
~F
Claimant an opportunity to demonstrate his
.. 4 ,
qualifications, if he so desires, provided he
makes application to do so through his immediate
supervisor.-
The Claimant, apparently, never, attempted to demonstrate to
the Carrier his ability or qualifications to perform the duties of
the job upon which he bid. The rules gave the Claimant the right
to make this showing; he chose not to do so.
Thus, we find that the Carrier did not violate any of the
Claimant's rights under the applicable rules of the collective
bargaining agreement
.
AWARD
Claim denied.
Richard R.. Kasher,
Chairman and Neutral Member
William E. LaRue, S.H. Heltzinge,
Organization Member Carrier Membe
P.L. Board No. 2406 P.L. Board No. 2406
DATE: i~
a2~06-fYW~ y'