PUBUC LAW BOARD NO. 7544
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way )
Employees Dlvfslon - IBT )
Rall Conference )
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and )
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)
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soo Une Rallroad Company {CP) )
Background·
On.July 28, 2016, the Carrler Issued to Claimant R, l<llng a notfce of formal lnvesttptfon and hearfng. The.
noticestated, In part, thafolfowlng:.
"The pu of the Tnvestlgatton andhearingIstodevelop all facts and drcumstances and place responsibility.If any, for alleged Involvement In a derailment In Portage Vard on Juty11•, 2016. This fndlcates a possible violation of, but Is not limited to, the followln1rules:
GCOR1.u•Rtportln1and Complyfn1with tnstructlont
GCOR 1;1,1- Maintaining a Safa course
fRATrack Safety Sttntlards Part:211"'
On August 16, 2016, the rnvestfgatfon and hearing convened wherein Claimant and his representative wereafforded theopportunity to present testimony and other evldenqas welt as examine the carrier's wltl'less and eleven(11) exhibits.
on October 12, 2016# tt. Assistant Chief Track-.St. Paul Issued a decision letter statln1that tM record ofthe proceedlil8 establl$hed Claimant's violation of thecharged rufes. Based on the vtoJatlon, severity of the inclden:t, and Claln1ant's pastdfsclplrnar, record, CP assessed Clalmanta five (5) day record suspension with zero (Otdays to be served.
On December 20, 2016, the Organlzatfon and the Carrier agreed to proaress Claimant's dfsc:lpllne dispute for resolution before this Board usrns the abbreviated procedure provided for In Paragraph (KJ of the PLB Agreement.
FfndJou,
Public Law Board No. 7544, upon the whole record and all the8\/ldence, finds that the parties herein are carrier and Employes within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act., asamended; that the Board has jurisdiction over the dispute herein; and that theparties to thedispute were given due notice of the hearingand did participate therein.
PL8No. 7544
Case No.66
AwardNo.66
Consistent with the PLB Agreement for this Board, the evldentlary record In this proceeding Is comprised of thefollowlng: (A) notlCJ of fnvestlgatfoi,, (B) transcript of investigation and all related exhibits, (C) dfsdpllne assessment letter and (O) on-property correspondence related to progressfon of the clalm.
At the outset of theneadng, the orsanlzatlon obfected to theCarrier's recordation of the proceeding with the tran$Cl'lptfonlst located at anoff- ite, remote location. Experlertce shows; BMWE states, this method of transcription can result In an Inaccurate and Incomplete record. The Organization requested that thetranscrlptionlstbe physltalfy present to record thepraceedJntJ$. CP denied the request, The Boatd flnds thetranscript of the proceeding complete and accurate which Issufficient fot tblUrlbunaf s use In rendertn1 a declslf)n,
Claimant has been an FRAqualified and R d Book quallfled track Inspector at Portage Yardfor approximately one(1) year OnJuly 11, 2016, a derailment occurred at Mud Lake Ci'0$$0'Ver West turnout> theleft.handswitch. The Raadmaster states that the derailment was caused bYawornswltdt point, l.e., 'b!n (10) Inches of the polntWere burned or broken, on the rlaht.-hand rail.at the turnout
Claimant and a foreman Inspected the turnout on June 8, 2016, as partofa safety blitz focusingon
switches IntheSt.Paul Territory. Claimant and foreman conducted a detailed lnspectfon ..• takfn1more measurements: than usual - - and they operated theswltth which means they hand-lined Itta ascertain that the$Witch polnbwereseated in thestock rail·properly. Claimant recorded defects In the Digital
Track Notebook (DTN) asfolfows: "There'sa neptlve rise off rlsht·hand stock rail. Points need upgrade. 131pounds In nowandpoints and stock railsareshot.FrogIs132 pounds." The.negatlve·rlsemeans the right-handswitch point was lower tharythe right-hand rall.on June 8 Claimant did not detect any wom left-handstoclc raft or switch point
Correttton or repairs of thedefect were to be tompleted within thirty (30) calendar daysor no late.r than July 9, 2016. Atthattfme (July 9), theswitch would be re-inspected and reported as repaired and,.If not repaired, either taken out of service or a speed restriction Imposed. Since the posted speed wasten (10J mph, a speed restriction was not an alternative. Thus, the switch wasto b.e repairedor removed from se,,,,lca no later than July 9.
claJmant did notre-Inspect d\e switch at theturnout or have It removed from serviceby J1.1ly 9; Two days later (July11), thederailment occurred. The Roadmaster states the cause of thederailment wasa wornleft-hand·swttch. On July14, 2016,.theswltch was repaired. CP statesthat Oalmant'slnvolvement contrlbutedtothederallmentln violation of GCOR 1.1.1-Malntafntnga Safe Course, GCOR 1.13· Reporting and COmplyfngwlth lnstl"uctlons and FRA rrack safety Standards Part 213.
There Is no dispute that Claimant inspected the switchat the turnout on June 8, 2016 andrecorded defects In the DTN, e.g., points need upgrading asthey were all worn. There Is no dispute that the defetts wereto be remedfed bYJuly 9, 2016. and,If not remedied, the turnout would be removed from servtce None ofthat occurred - • no repairs and noremovalfrom service bYJuly 9,2016,
There was nore-Inspection within the 30-day window for remedying defects In the turnout where the derailment occurred. That Is, therlght-han worn switch remained fn service without repafrs and left· hand raif an<t swl, l'J point remain undeteqed Thislss1,1J>stafltlal evlde11Ce In support of the CiJl'rler's assessmet'lt qf dl$J:IAllne tg '1illf'Mnt f<Jr Jhfl niles VIQl gns. In mpkln1UJ1IJ fi11 n1, trni BQard has
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Pt&No.7544 CaseNo.66 AwardNo.66
considered all arguments and evidence presented by the Organization and Claimant. Since the dlsclpllne Is notarbitrary or an abuse r:>f discretion theclaim will be denied;
Claim denfect
Patrick Halter Neutral Member
·
Cartiet Member
Ryan Hlda1So
Organization Member
Dated onthis st!, day:
of ;la;,.. 20!1
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