PARTIES TO DISPUTE:



          CSX Transportation, Inc. (former Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company)


STATEMENT OF CLAIM:

 Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that:

          1. The Agreement was violated when the

          Carrier improperly recalled the fifteen (15)

          claimants listed below* in April, 1997 and

          then terminated their seniority when they

          failed to respond [System File

          5(30)(97)/12(972051) LNR].


          2. As a consequence of the violations

          referred to in above, the fifteen (15)

          claimants-listed below* shall "...continue to

          hold their current seniority on the Nashville

          Division Track Subdepartment Seniority Roster

          and that the recall letters to each claimant

          dated April 1, 1997 or April 3, 1997 be

          removed from their personal files. ***"


        *M. C. Holbert R. R. Cauthen

        T. G. Parker T. A. Reed

        L. D. Ashley T. L. Kingma

        R. W. Strange J. W. Clements

        J. W. Reed, Jr. L. J. Flake

        G. W. McDaniel E. H. Page, III

        T. W. Long W. H. Harris

        W. E. King


FINDINGS:

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

 1. That the Carrier and the Employee involved in this dispute are, respectively, Carrier and Employee within the

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meaning of the Railway Labor Act, as amended,; and

      2. That the Board has jurisdiction over this dispute.


OPINION OF THE BOARD:

 Rule 22 (Return After Force Reduction) provides, in pertinent part, that:

      (b) Cut-off employes will be required to return to the

      service in their seniority order to fill bulletined

      positions in the rank in which they were last in

      permanent service, on which no employe senior to them

      bids. Senior employes of the rank bulletined but

      serving in a lower rank and who bid on bulletined

      positions will be assigned in accordance with Rule

      16(d).


          (1) So as to require paint foremen or

          painters to take positions as bridge or

          carpenter foremen or carpenters, or vice

          versa.


          (2) In calling men back who have not .

          qualified as pile drivers, crane, or

          compressor operators, drawbridge tenders,

          pumpers, etc.


      The foregoing is not intended in any way to interfere with the displacement or bidding rights of men of the classes mentioned, but applies only in requiring them to return to the service.


      (f) Employes will forfeit all seniority rights if they

      fail to return to work, or give satisfactory reason for

      not returning, within to calendar days from date of

      notification by mail or telegraph sent to the address

      last given.


A careful review of the record indicates that the Carrier sent the appropriate recall notices to the Claimants. As a result, the Carrier provided the proper and required notification to the Claimants.

 The record omits any credible evidence that the Claimants responded to the recall notices. The record also omits any credible evidence that the Claimants provided any valid or satisfactory reason for not returning to the Carrier for their failure to respond to the recall notices. Under these specific circumstances, the evidence fails to substantiate that a

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violation occurred.

 AWARD:
The Claim is denied in accordance with the opinion of the Board.

obert L. Do ;las

Chairman and Neutral Member


                                                  s-

nald . Bartholoma Mark D. Selbert
 Employee mber Carrier Member
 Dated: eJ Q

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