SPECIAL BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT N0. 170
BROTHERLOOD OF RAILWAY AND STEAMSHIP CLERKS,
FREIGHT HANDLERS, EXPRESS AND, STATION EMPLOYES
versus
ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY
STATEMENT 08 CLAIM: Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that - -
(a) Carrier violated Rules of the Clerks' Agreement at Paducah, Kentucky,
when on March 5, 1956, it denied G. Y. Johnston the right to exercise his seniority
and promotional rights to a new Storehouse Laborer position established to work in
Class 26, Diesel Material section. _
(b) G. Y. Johnston be compensated eight'
(8)
hours' pay at $1.73 per
hour on each work day retroactive to March 5, 1956, arid forward to date the rules
violation is corrected.
NOTE: Reparation to be determined by joint check of Carriers payroll and other
records.
OPINION: The Carriers Stores Department maintains store facilities at Paducah,
Kentucky, where several classes of employes are on duty including a
force of approximately 150 laborers with the same hours, days of assignment, and
rate of pay. All of these laborers check in and out at time clocks located about
100 yards apart. The positions are not bulletined, and the employes as "laborers"
are not assigned to a specific kind of manual work. Some phases of manual work
are completed each day or part of a day, and in such cases laborers are shifted
from one location to another. The force of employes who perform this work incidental to the operation of the department come within the Scope Rule of the Clerks
Agreement. Prior to the date of this claim Johnston and Davis were employed as
Storehouse Laborers, with Johnston having the longest seniority period. Claimant
Johnston as well as Davis were assigned to laborer positions in the scrap yard
where they were required to sort and handle steel materials reduced to scrap from
destroyed locomotives.
The handling of Diesel Material increased to the extent that it became
necessary to increase the labor force in that section of the yard. On March 5,
1956, Davis was assigned to this section and was required to report to the Diesel
Material Section for work each day of his work week.
Claimant Johnston objected to the assignment of Davis for the reason
that the position should be assigned to Johnston on the basis of seniority in accordance with Rule 7(b) of the agreement.
It is the position of Employes that the proper application of Rule 7(b)
requires Carriers officers to offer a vacancy or new laborer position to the
employes working at the station or office where the vacancy or new position occurs
- 1 -
Award No.
55
Docket No. CL-9784
in the order of their seniority rank appearing in the respective seniority roster.
It is the position of the Carrier that the fluctuation in the work load
and the kind of work to be performed results in a continual shifting of laborers
from one job to another; that the positions are not bulletined and no one is assigned to a specific kind of works moreover, the rules do not restrict the Carrier
from requiring any laborer to perform any manual work which is recognized as laboreris work.
We note that laborersf positions are not bulletined nor are they guaranteed any number of days of work per week. Seniority rights of laborers entitle them to bid for positions bulletined under the provisions of Rule 23, and
in the event of a decrease in work, the junior employes are first laid off from
work. We find nothing in the agreement creating a position known as Diesel
Material, nor do we find that any laborer has any fixed assignment with regularly
assigned duties. We hold that the Carrier is not restricted in utilizing its
labor force in the manner complained of in this case.
FINDINGS: The Special Board of Adjustment No. 170, after giving to the parties
to this dispute due notice of hearing thereon, and upon the whole
record and all the evidence, finds and holds:
That the Carrier and Employes involved in this dispute are respectively
Carrier and Employes within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act;
That the Special Board of Adjustment No. 170 has jurisdiction over
the dispute involved herein; and
That the agreement was not violated.
AWARD: Claim denied.
SPECIAL BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT N0. 170
/a./Fdward
fit.
Shame
E. M. Sharpe - Cha~rman
/s/ R. H_ He Ilmann
R. W. Copeland - Employe Member E. H. Hallmann - Carrier Member
Chicago, Illinois
June 1 1 8
Date