PARTIES TO DISPUTE:

          Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees


                          and


          The Texas Mexican Railway Company


STATEMENT OF CLAIM:

 Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that:

          (1) The Agreement was violated when the

          carrier assigned outside forces (Trac Work,

          Inc.) to perform Maintenance of Way work

          between Robstown and Alice, Texas on June 3

          through August 1, 1997 and continuing (System

          File MW-97-6-TM).


          (2) As a consequence of the violations

          referred to in Part (1) above, the Claimants*

          shall each be allowed three hundred eighty

          four (384) hours' pay at their respective

          straight time rates, eight (8) hours' holiday

          pay and all overtime worked by the outside

          forces in the performance of the work in

          question.


            *R. Gonzalez J. Gutierrez

            P. Benavides J. Sciaraffa

            P. Vasquez J. Martinez

            J. P. Lopez R. Garza

            T. Vasquez E. Elizalde

            V. Moncivais J. Rodriguez

            G. Vasquez F. Ramirez

            R. Escobedo E. Lara

            D. Snow M. Paz

            L. Adams J. Garcia

            A. Vira C. R. Tijerina

            A. Garza R. Couling

            A. Garcia


                          1

                                              'PLB to 3 3y


                                              A WA 3


FINDINGS:

 This Board, upon the whole record and all of the evidence, finds and holds as follows:

 1. That the Carrier and the Employees involved in this dispute are, respectively, Carrier and Employees within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act, as amended,; and

      2. That the Board has jurisdiction over this dispute.


OPINION OF THE BOARD:

 Rule 18 (a) provides:

          TIME LIMITS FOR PRESENTING AND PROGRESSING

                    CLAIMS OR GRIEVANCES


      (a) All claims or grievances must be presented in

      writing by or on behalf of the employee involved, to

      the Vice President - Operations within sixty (60) days

      from the date of the occurrence on which the claim or

      grievance is based. Should any such claim or grievance

      be disallowed, the Carrier, shall within sixty (60)

      days from the date same is filed, notify whoever filed

      the claim or grievance (the employee or his

      representative) in writing of the reasons for such

      disallowance. If not so notified, the claim or

      grievance shall be allowed as presented, but this shall

      not be considered as a precedent or waiver of the

      contentions of the Carrier as to other similar claims

      or grievances.


Rule 18 (a) prescribes specific requirements to initiate a claim or a grievance. The requirements agreed to by the parties set forth the designated official of the Carrier to whom the Organization must submit a claim or a grievance. The designated official is the Vice President - Operations. Rule 18(a) also contains the time limit of 60 days from the date of the occurrence for the organization to file the claim or the grievance.

 A careful review of the record indicates that in the present dispute the organization failed to follow the proper procedure for filing the referenced claims. In particular, the organization failed to present the claim to the Vice President - Operations within the required sixty days. The Public Law Board lacks the authority to alter, amend, change, modify, or vary the terms of Rule 18 (a) without any evidence that the parties had decided to do so. The record lacks such evidence.

 As a result, the record proves that the Organization did not

                            2

                                                -?La 633y

                                                  i9 wd 3


present the claim in a timely manner. The claim therefore must be denied.

 AWARD:
The Claim is denied.

                RoT Do Do g

                Chairman and Neutral Member

,av Vk I
 D nald Bartholom a ry L, Hicks
 Employe ember Carrier Member

 Dated: r't'-~0~

 3