PARTIES Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes
 _TO
 DISPUTE: and
 New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, Inc.
 STATEMENT The dismissal of Trackman Walter Jenkins was in vio
 OF
 CLAIM: lation of the Agreement, particularly Rules 26 (a)
 and 27(b) and claimant shall be reinstated without
 loss of compensation, including overtime, and without
 loss of seniority and vacation rights and any other
 benefits enjoyed by claimant prior to dismissal.
 FINDINGS: Carrier maintains that claimant forfeited all senior
 ity by violating Rule 27(b). Rule 27(b) reads as
 follows:
 "Except for sickness or disabil4ty,.or
 under circumstances beyond his control,
 an employee who is absent in excess of
 14 consecutive days without'receiving
 permission from his supervisor will
 forfeit all seniority under the agree
 ment. The employee and the General
 Foreman will be furnished a letter
 notifying them of such forfeiture of
 seniority. The employee or his repre
 sentative may appeal such action under
 Rule 26, Section 3."
 The record establishes that claimant was absent in

 excess of 14 days -- October 31 through November 13, 1985, and

 November 14, 1985.


 While Petitioner contends that claimant had been granted a personal day off for his absence of October 31, 1985, in a personal discussion with Supervisor Mike Ferulli,--Ferulli denied that the personal day was granted and Carrier's pay records do not indicate that claimant was paid for that day. We are not in a valid position to rule on this credibility question ksince, as an appeals board, we have no occasion to observe the witnesses' demeanor or to hear them testify.
 A hearing was not required in this case since Rule 27(b), as its terms expressly indicate, is a self-executing provision that calls for forfeiture of all seniority. This Board has no authority to modify the language that both parties have agreed to in this Rule.

 AWARD: Claim denied.

                          30


                Haro d M. Weston, Chairman


lire

Carrier Member "' Employee Member