IN THE MATTER OF ‘THE ARBITRATION GRIEVANT: Class Action BETWEEN ATE OF HEARING: CITY OF PITTSBURGH D. August 26,2016 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Di ATE RECORD CLOSED: AND September 19, 2016 ‘TEAMSTERS LOCAL 249 DATE OF AWARD: October 18, 2016 BEFORE: CHRISTOPHER E. MILES, ESQUIRE LABOR ARBITRATOR APPEARANCES: For the Company: Esquire Assistant City Solicitor For the Union: Robert A. Eberle, Esquire Eberle & Bundick, LLC1. BACKGROUND ‘The grievance considered herein was filed by the Teamsters Local 249 (a member of the Pittsburgh Joint Collective Bargaining Committee) (hereinafter referred to as the "Union") on behalf of Eric Pawlos, Mike Bucher, Ray Brooks and all affected Truck Drivers employed in the Public Works Department by the City of Pittsburgh (hereinafter referred to as the "City"). The Grievance Form, dated March 9, 2016, alleges that the Grievants "received improper pay" for the Presidents Day holiday. Specifically, the Truck Drivers were called out to work from 10:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m., they were sent home at 10:00 a.m. and they were called back out to work from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The Union asserts that an employee called aut to work on a holiday is guaranteed at least eight hours of pay at the overtime rate of three times the regular rate of pay. In response to the grievance, the City maintained that employees are guaranteed eight hours “once per holiday, not however many times they are called out." The grievance was thereafter processed in accordance with the procedure set forth in the parties’ collective bargaining agreement." Having been unable to resolve the case, it was appealed to arbitration and the undersigned was selected to hear and decide the issue. A hearing was conducted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on August 26, 2016, at which fime the parties presented evidence and ‘oral arguments in support of their respective positions. Upon receipt and exchange of the parties’ post-hearing briefs on September 19, 2016, the record in this case was closed. a LEV, OVISIOF EAC ENT SECTION 11 HOLIDAYS: B. All work performed on the day on which a holiday is legally observed shall be paid for at the overtime rate of three (3) times the regular rate of pay. An employee called out to work on a holiday shall be guaranteed at least eight (8) hours pay at the overtime rate of three (3) times the regular rate of pay. SECTION 13 OVERTIME D, Payment of overtime rates shall not be duplicated for the same hours worked. Hours compensated for at overtime rates shall not be counted further for any purpose in determining overtime fiability under the same or any other provisions of this Agreement. ¥ Agreement between The Pittsburgh Joint Collective Bargaining Committee and The City of Pittsburgh, effective from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2016 (hereinafter referred to asthe “Agreement").Il, CONTENTIONS OF THE PARTIES. A. Union The Union contends that the City violated the provisions of Section 11.8. of the ‘Agreement by failing or refusing to properly compensate the Grievants for the full amount of ‘overtime premium for their second holiday callout on February 15, 2016, the Presidents Day holiday. The Union points out that Presidents Day is an officially recognized holiday and the Public Works Department Drivers were each called out on two separate occasions on the holiday. They were initially called out at 10:00 p.m. on February 14 and worked for a total of 12 hours (10 of which were during the holiday) before being sent home at 10:00 a.m. on the moming of February 15. These same Drivers were called back out at 6:00 p.m. on the 15th and worked for an additional four hours until 10:00 p.m. The Union notes that the Grievants were appropriately paid for the initial 12 hours at triple their regular rate of compensation; however, they were only paid at triple their regular rate of ‘compensation for the four hours worked on the second callout. ‘According to the Union, the holiday callout creates a separate obligation and a separate guarantee with respect to each holiday callout and there is no dispute that the Grievants were each called out on two seperate occasions on the same holiday. Although it acknowledges that there are no known occasions when this issue arose in the past, the Union submits that the language in Section 11.8. places the emphasis on the callout when referring to the guarantee and not on the holiday. In this regard, the Union argues that the guarantee in Section 17.B. recognizes the effort required of the Drivers to report and work the shift and the guarantee is intended to compensate these Drivers for the disruption of being called out on the holiday when they were scheduled off and once the Grievants retumied home after the first callout, they were called again to report eight hours later for a second disruption of the same holiday and they had ‘to once again gear up and report for another shift. The Union maintains that the tremendous inconvenience involved in this sequence is exactly why the minimum guarantee and triple-time rate of pay was included in Section 11.B. and it would make no sense to restrict the guarantee to the first callout on the holiday. Based upon the foregoing, the Union requests that the grievance be sustained and the City be directed to make the Grievants whole for the appropriate overtime premium for their hours worked on the second callout on February 18, 2016; i.e., to compensate each Driver for four additional hours at the triple time rate for the second callout.B. Gity ‘The City contends that there was no violation of the Agreement. It asserts that Section 11.8. does not make callouts themselves individual and isolated guarantees for eight hours of overtime pay on a holiday. According to the City, the plain language of Section 11.8. provides called out employees with one eight hour pay guarantee for the entire holiday, regardless of the number of times that employee is called out. It argues that the provision does not contemplate additional eight hour guarantees for individual, additional callouts. It submits that the choice to ‘quarantee specifically eight hours shows the parties’ intention to constitute a full day's work, ie, ‘a normal workday. In this regard, the City further notes that an employee who takes @ holiday ‘as a paid day off only gets eight hours of pay for the entire day. ‘The City recognizes that the purpose of Section 11.8. promising a full day's work of pay at triple the regular rate for the callout is to compensate the employees for the inconvenience of being called out on a holiday, however, it maintains that when an employee works beyond what comprises a full day of work, the employee is entitled to be paid for the actual hours worked, at the triple time rate of pay. In this regard, the City contends that the Grievants worked a total of 46 hours on the holiday in question and they were paid at the triple time rate of pay for all 16 hours worked. It contends that Section 11.B. only gives employees one ‘eight hour guarantee at the triple time rate for the entire holiday if they work it and eight hours of pay at the regular straight time rate if they take the holiday off. In addition, the City argues that Section 13.D, expressly prohibits the duplication of ‘overtime payment rates. It submits that the Grievants were compensated at the holiday overtime rate for the four hours worked on the second callout and that is all the City is required to pay them once the holiday overtime hours were worked. For all the above reasons, the City requests that the Union's grievance be denied. v. Ol 1ON, 100 ‘The issue to be resolved in this case is whether the City violated Section 11.B. of the ‘Agreement by failing or refusing to pay the Grievants the holiday callout guarantee for the second call out on the February 15, 2016 Presidents Day holiday. The relevant contract language provides that "All work performed on the day on which a holiday is legally observed shall be paid for at the overtime rate of three (3) times the regular rate of pay" and further that "An employee called out to work on a holiday shall be guaranteed at least eight (8) hours pay at the overtime rate of three (3) times the regular rate of pay.” 3+The record developed in this case reveals that Presidents Day is an officially recognized holiday and the Grievants were each called out on two separate occasions on that holiday. Initially, they were called out at 10:00 p.m. on February 14 and they worked for a total of 12 hours (10 of which were during the holiday) before being sent home at 10:00 am. on the morning of February 15. These same Drivers were subsequently called back out at 6:00 p.m. ‘on the 15th and worked for an additional four hours until 10:00 p.m. The Grievants were appropriately paid for the initial 12 hours at triple their regular rate of compensation and they ‘were paid at triple their regular rate of compensation for the four hours worked on the second callout. The grievance alleges that the Grievants should have been paid “at least eight (8) hours pay at the overtime rate of three (3) times the regular rate of pay" for the second callout ‘on the same holiday. {tie undisputed that there was no record of a prior occasion when this situation occurred. However, the City maintains that the Grievants are entitled only to the triple time rate of pay for the hours worked on the holiday and employees are entitled to one eight hour pay guarantee for the entire holiday, regardless of the number of callouts. On the other hand, the Union asserts that the purpose of the minimum guarantee is to compensate the employees for the disruption ‘of being called out on the holiday when they were scheduled off. In this particular instance, once the Grievants returned home after the first callout, they were called again to report eight hours later for a second disruption of the same holiday for which they had the tremendous inconvenience of once again gearing up and reporting for another shift. After considerable review of the parties’ arguments, it is my opinion that the language of Section 11.8, applies when an employee is “called out to work on a holiday." There is nothing in the provision to specify that the minimum guarantee is limited to payment for one call-out on ‘the holiday. Rather, Section 11.8. specifically applies to a call-out on a holiday. The Grievants were intially called out and worked over eight hours for which they were paid the proper ‘overtime rate of triple time their regular rate of pay. At that point, their work duties associated with that first call-out ended. Subsequently, the Grievants were called back out to work an ‘additional four hours on the same holiday. In my view, the provision in question applies per call- ‘out and these Grievants were called out twice. Consequently, the grievance is sustained and the City is directed to compensate the Grievants with an additional four hours of pay at the triple. time holiday rate of pay for the second call-out on the Presidents Day holiday, February 15, 2016.AWARD ‘The grievance filed in this case on behaif of Eric Pawios, Mike Bucher, Ray Brooks and all affected Truck Drivers is sustained. Based upon the arguments and evidence presented, itis found that the City violated the provisions of Section 11.8. of the Agreement by not compensating the Grievants the minimum eight hour guarantee at the holiday overtime rate of triple their regular rate of pay when they were called out for the second time on the Presidents Day holiday on February 15, 2016. The City Is directed to compensate the Grievants with an additional four hours of pay at the triple time holiday rate of pay for the second call-out. afles Miles, Esquire Labor Arbitrator October 18, 2016