PUBLIC LAW BOARD N0.
2452
PARTIES Brotherhood of Maintenance of 'play Employee
DISPUTE : and
Western Maryland Railway Co.
STATEMENT Claim on behalf of the following M of W employee
A~F~: for five
(5)
days' pay each account Carrier's
failure to serve them a five working day notice
prior to the abolishment of their positions:
H. Snyder Trackman W. L. Mayhew Trackman
E. W. Morris Chauffeur D. H. Shaffer Trackman
C. L. Conrad Trackman R. W. Wilfong Trackman
C. L. Nelson Trackman R. M. Cost Trackman
T. R. Fitzwater Trackman R. W. Hamrick Trackman
H. L. Broughton Chauffeur C. H. Merritt Trackman
W. W. Currence Trackman J. A. Newlon Trackman
W. E. Morgan Trackman T. L. Bodkins Trackman
R. N. Chenoweth Trackman
FINDINGS: By reason of the Agreement dated June 14, 1979, and
upon the whole record and all the evidence, the Board
finds that the parties herein are employe and carrier within the
meaning of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, and that it has
jurisdiction.
The conference issue raised by the Employee is
similar to the same issue raised in Docket No. 2 and fully
discussed in Award No. 2. For the reasons stated in Award No. 2,
the issue of conference is resolved in favor of the Carrier.
Rule 3 of the Agreement provides, in part, as follows:
r ., a A-
;L
5<S2-
Award No. 6
Docket No. 6
page 2
(P) FORCE REDUCTION
(Effective July 16, 1962) Gangs will not be laid
off for short periods but in lieu thereof, junior
men will be laid off. Not less than five
(5)
working
days' advance notice will be given to regularly
assigned employees or employees who are substituting
for regularly assigned employees, who are subject
to the rules of the existing collective agreement
whose positions are to be made abolished before such
reductions in force are made, except as provided in
Article VI of the Agreement of February 10, 1971
(Rule
4).
Rule 4 of that Agreement reads as follows:
ABOLISHING POSITIONS IN EMERGENCY
(As amended by the February 10, 1971 National Agreement)
Rule
4.
(a) Rules, agreements or practices,
however established, that require advance notice
before positions are temporarily abolished or forces
are temporarily reduced are hereby modified so as
not to require advance notice where a suspension of
an individual carrier's operations in whole or in
part is due to a labor dispute between such carrier
and any of its employees.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (a) hereof,
rules, agreements or practices, however established,
that require advance notice to employees before
temporarily abolishing positions or making temporary
force reductions are hereby modified to eliminate any
requirement for such notice under emergency
conditions,
such as flood, snow storm, hurricane, tornado, earth
quake, fire, or a labor dispute other than as defined
in paragraph (a) hereof, provided that such conditions
result in suspension of a carrier's operations in
whole or in part. It is understood and agreed that
such temporary force reductions will be confined
solely to those work locations directly affected by
a
54sr. Award No. 6
Docket No. 6
page 3
any suspension of operations. It is further understood
and agreed that notwithstanding the foregoing, any
employe who is affected by such an emergency force
reduction and reports for work for his position
without having been previously notified not to report,
shall receive four hours' pay at the applicable rate
for his position. If an employee works any portion
of the day he will be paid in accordance with existing
rules.
Carrier hauls coal from the mines within its terriroty.
At midnight on December
6, 1977,
the United Mine Workers went on
strike. On Friday, December
9, 1977,
Carrier advised the Claimants
that due to the Miners' strike, their positions would be abolished
effective with the close of business on Monday, December 12,
1977.
On the same day - December
9, 1977 - Employes
protested the
abolishment and advised the Carrier that the emergency force
reduction rule was not invoked within a reasonable time and that
it was necessary for the Carrier to give the Claimant five working
days advance notice under Rule 3(f). Carrier replied on
December
13, 1977
that the positions were abolished under Rule 4.
The claim was thereafter presented and processed. The issue is
whether or not Carrier was obliged to abolish Claimants' positions
under Rule
3.
The strike closed the mines. It did not, however,
immediately stop the hauling of coal. Stockpiles of coal remained
which were hauled away by trains operated by the Carrier. When
all this stockpiled coal was loaded and carted away fewer trains
operated. With fewer trains operating the road bed did not require
as much active maintenance and repairs. It was then that the
emergency triggered by the strike created an emergency within the
meaning and intent of Rule 4. It was then that the Carrier
abolished the positions occupied by the Claimants. When Rule 4
became operative, no five work day advance notice was required.
Since all
'these positions
were abolished on December 12,
1977
and all Claimants except E. W. Morris were in furlough status
on January 1,
1978,
they are not entitled to holiday pay for that
date under the National Holiday Agreement of August 21,
1954,
as
amended. Morris qualified and was allowed holiday pay for January 1,
197$.
Award No.
6
Docket No.
6
page 4
For all these reasons, the Board finds that the
Carrier
did
not violate the Agreement and that there is no
merit to the claim.
AWARD
Claim denied.
PUBLIC LAW BOARD N0. 2452
rman and eu ra
DAVID DOLNICKo Ch, L Member
W. . C. COMISKEY-, Carrier *mber
DATED:
6),~.t re.,
/QrD
M E. RUE,
p oye Member