PUBLIC LAW BOARD NO. 5606
PARTIES) BROTHERHOOOD OF MAINTENANCE OF WAY EMPLOYES
DIVISION OF THE INT'L BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
TO )
DISPUTE) SPRINGFIELD TERMINAL RAILWAY COMPANY
STATEMENT OF CLAIM:
Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that:
1. The Agreement was violated when the Carrier failed and refused
to allow I&R Foreman Terry Maschino several different foreman
positions he had bid on and had been assigned to commencing
May 11, 2005, and continuing.
2. As a consequence of the violation referred to in Part (1) above,
I&R Foreman Terry Maschino shall now be allowed one hundred
dollars ($100.00) per day for everyday that he is withheld from the
positions he bid for and was awarded. (Carrier File MW-05-08)
FINDINGS:
The Board, after hearing upon the whole record and all the evidence, finds that the
parties herein are Carrier and Employee within the meaning of the Railway Labor
Act, as amended; this Board has jurisdiction over the dispute involved herein; and,
the parties were given due notice of hearing thereon.
The record in this case supports the position of the Carrier that in application of
Article 8.3(e) and Article 35.1 of the current Agreement that Claimant was not
denied an exercise of seniority to the several different foreman positions he had bid
on since it was necessary and proper in accordance with those rules to force assign
him to a fill a vacant I&R Foreman position and to remain on that position when the
Carrier did not receive a bid from a qualified bidder for that position.
Article 83(e) of Article 8, Filling Vacant Positions, reads:
In the event no bids are received from qualified employees for an
advertised vacancy, the Carrier will promote, if applicable, in
accordance with Article 35 of this Agreement.
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AWARD NO. 57
CASE NO. 57
Article 35.1 of Article 35, Promotion by the Carrier, reads:
Employees who are working in other than their highest rated position
may be promoted by the carrier to a higher rate position in which
they hold seniority as the needs of the service dictate. Such promotion
by the Carrier will be in reverse seniority order from the roster of the
promoted class. The designated headquarters point or reporting
point will determine the seniority zone from which the promoted
employee will be selected.
In denial of the claim on the property, the Carrier, in a letter of June 17, 2005 to the
Organization, presented the following rationale for its decision:
After having no qualified bidders for the Danville I&R Foreman
position, the Carrier then followed Article 35 and promoted Mr.
Maschino, who owned the lower rated job position of Tamper
Operator in Crew #2723, to the higher rated position of I&R Foreman
in Danville I&R Maintenance Crew #3741. Mr. Maschino was paid
the applicable rate for this position in accordance with Article 30,
Rates of Pay. The Danville I&R Foreman position that Mr. Maschino
has held since his initial promotion by the Carrier has been up for bid
on five separate occasions. Having received no bids for this position,
the Carrier, in meeting the needs of service and the provisions of
Article 35, has maintained Mr. Maschi..9's promotion to the higher
rated position. While Mr. Maschino has bid on equally rated
positions, the Carrier has no other qualified employees working in a
lower rated position that would allow for promotion by the Carrier to
fill the position that Mr. Maschino has been promoted to.
In part, the Organization protests that it does not understand what it says is the
Carrier position of not allowing younger employees to become qualified Track
Foremen; that Claimant has offered to help qualify a younger employee for the
Track Foreman position in Danville; and, there have been other employees who
have forfeited their Foreman seniority so they did not have to be force assigned at
this time in their railroad careers. These are not arguments that overcome the
application of rules governing the force assignment of an employee. As the Carrier
avers, such argument acknowledges the Carrier right to force assign individuals to
an I&R Foreman position pursuant to Article 8 and Article 35.
The record as presented and developed not being found to support the contentions
of the Organization, the claim will be denied.
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PLA ND.
56eDGv
AWARD:
Claim denied.
Anthony F. Lomanto
Carrier Member
North Billerica, MA
Dated)5l08
AWARD NO. 57
CASE NO. 57
Robert E. Peterson
Chair & Neutral Member
Stuart A. Hulburt,
J
Organization Member
