SPECIAL BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT N0.
259
THE ORDER OF RAILROAD TELEGRAPHERS )
vs )
NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD, EASTERN DISTRICT )
(except Boston and Albany Division) and NEW )
YORK DISTRICT )
STATEMENT OF CLAIM
:
Claim of the General Committee of The Order of Railroad Telegraphers on
the New York Central Railroad, Lines East, that:
1. The Carrier violated the provisions of the Telegraphers' Agreement
when on October
20, 1956,
it removed Mr. E. R. Tallchief from his
assignment covering a vacation at
SS-48
and required him to work
second trick at
SS-46.
2.
That G. Gerhardt and S. Harrington, levermen at
SS-46,
be paid four
(4)
hours each at the overtime rate because they were not doubled
over to cover the vacancy.
OPINION OF BOARD
:
As of October
20, 1956
a Telephoner-Leverman was employed on each of the
three tricks at Signal Station
46,
Depew, New York. At 1:00 P.M. on that date
Telephoner-Leverman S. J. Coffed reported that because of personal illness he
would be unable to cover his second trick assignment at
SS-46
commencing at
2:59
P.M. Since there was no extra employe not then working who was qualified to cover
this vacancy, Carrier instructed E. R. Tallchief to work the position. Tallchief
was an extra employe who was covering a second trick Leverman vacancy at
SS-48
(the regular employe being on vacation) but was qualified for service at
SS-46.
Following the assignment of Tallchief to the
SS-46
vacancy, Carrier attempted to
call extra employe G. Toomey to fill the temporary Leverman vacancy at
SS-48
which resulted from the assignment of Tallchief to
SS-46.
When it proved impossible to contact Toomey, Carrier had the vacant second trick position at
SS-48
covered by working the first trick Leverman four hours beyond his assigned tour
of duty and by bringing in the third trick Leverman four hours in advance of his
regular starting time. The Telephoner-Leverman positions at
SS-46
are subject to
the Hours of Service Law, while the Leverman positions at
SS-48
are not.
The gist of the Organization's position is that if it was necessary
to double over a first trick and a third trick employe in order to cover a second
trick vacancy, this should have been done at
SS-46,
where the original vacancy
occurred, rather than at
SS-48.
It must be apparent, however, that the first and
third trick claimant employes at
SS-46
could have been doubled over only by
violating the Hours of Service Law. So far as the record discloses, the Carrier's
action represented the only lawful method of covering the second trick vacancy at
SS-46.
It should be noted, further, that Carrier sought to cover the
SS-48
AWARD N0. 13
Case No. 16
second trick vacancy by calling out an extra employe who was not qualified to
fill the vacancy at SS-46. Only after it proved impossible to contact said
extra employe did Carrier resort to the doubling over procedure at SS-48.
Under the circumstances involved in this case, we are unable to
find that the Carrier violated the Agreement.
AWARD:
Claim denied.
/s/ Lloyd H. Bailer
Lloyd H. Bailer, Chairman
/s/ R. J.
Woodman /s/ -Chas. N. Faris
R.
J· Woodman, Employee Member Chas. N. Faris, Carrier Member
r
New York, New York
January 20, 1959