' SPECIAL BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT N0. 956
 PARTIES Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
 TO
 DISPUTE: and
 New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, Inc.
 STATEMENT The Carrier has violated the current Scheduled
 OF
 CLAIM: Agreement, particularly Rules 3, 4, 17, and other
 pertaining rules, when it failed to award the position of
 bridge operator to Claimant N. Santamaria and refused to
 grant the Claimant seniority and used the junior employee
 for overtime on the bridge operator position for 88 hours
 during October and November 1985.
 FINDINGS: The Claimant was a trackman with a seniority date of
 November 1, 1978, In May of 1985, the Claimant placed
 bids on the position of bridge operator at Newark Draw
 Bridge as an operator. On May 28, 1985, the Carrier awarded the position of
 drawbridge operator to Trackman A. Buie, who had a seniority date of April 16,
 1979, and 1985 the Carrier awarded the position as bridge operator to Trackman
 J. Burroughs, who had a seniority date of 1983.
 As a result of being awarded the position of bridge operator at Newark
 Drawbridge on June 17, 1985, and after numerous complaints, the Carrier
 granted a seniority date for Claimant Santamaria senior to that of Trackman
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 Burroughs. However, the Carrier refused to grant a seniority date senior to Trackman Buie.
 The Claimant was the senior employee as a trackman and was in a lower class as set forth in the trackman group in accordance with Rule 1 of the Agreement.
 The Organization argued that the Claimant, being the senior qualified applicant, should have been granted the position based on the rules of agreement, and likewise, should be entitled to a seniority date senior to Trackman A. Buie, which would have granted Claimant the overtime.
 The Carrier, in rebuttal to the position of the Organization, maintains it has a managerial right to ascertain when the Claimant would be considered qualified and alleges that if in fact the Claimant was granted the seniority date, the Claimant would not have been entitled to the overtime but was promptly compensated.
 The record establishes that neither of the arguments presented by the parties is controlling in deciding the issue in this matter.
 Upon review, the record indicates tht Claimant Santamaria properly made application for every available position concerning Bridge Operator for the Raritan River to the Hoboken and Newark areas. While he was, in fact, outbid the Raritan River by an older employee, his second preference for Newark Drawbridge should have been honored. Thus, Claimant Santamaria is entitled to a seniority date senior to A. Buie on the same date ahead of A. Buie. However, the Organization was unable to bear the burden of proof'the Claimant was entitled to the hours claimed.
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 AWARD: Claimant shall be granted a senior date the same as A.
 Buie and placed on the Bridge Operator's Roster ahead and
 senior to A. Buie and shall be granted 25 hours' pay at
 the applicable bridge operator's rate of pay.
 Adoot d at New k, 0 r 30, 2987.
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    Carrier Member Employee Member