The Carrier and the Employees involved in this dispute are respectively Carrier and Employees within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act, as amended. This Board has jurisdiction of the dispute here involved. The parties to this dispute were given due notice of hearing thereon.

Claimant was summoned to a formal investigation, held on June 2, 1999, on a charge that he allegedly failed to follow instructions to report to the office of MTO Nettles in Council Bluffs. Iowa, on may 15, 1999, to discuss possible safety problems with a contract van driver. Following the investigation Carrier found claimant guilty of the charge and assessed Level 2 discipline which was then raised to Level 4 under the progressive features of the UPGRADE Discipline Policy.

There is no dispute over the basic facts in this case. Claimant, after having completed a 12 hour tour of duty, reported to Mr. Nettles about the unsafe driving of the contract van which delivered him to the office at Council Bluffs. Claimant clearly stated to Mr. Nettles that the van driver was driving too fast and in an unsafe manner. Mr. Nettles apparently was not satisfied with this report of unsafe conditions and asked claimant to come back into his office. Claimant stated he did not have other information; i.e., he did not know the name of the van driver or the number of the van. When claimant failed to return to Mr. Nettles office, charges were then brought against him and led to the discipline here involved.

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