on March 21, 1950, Representative Robert Crosser introduced a bill in the House 51 to amend the Railway Labor Act in order to permit the negotiation of the union shop and the checkoff of union dues, initiation fees, and assessments. Congress enacted the proposed amendment, and it was approved by President Truman on January 10, 1951.52 51 H.R. 7789, 81st Cong., 2d Sess. 52 Public Law 914, 81st Cong., 2d Sess., Chap. 1220. CHAPTER 7 Administration of the Railway Labor Act The Railway Labor Act1 is designed to establish and maintain a system for the peaceful and voluntary adjustment of railroad labor disputes. The Act is not intended to establish machinery to settle disputes on a philosophy of legal compulsion. Accordingly governmental regulation of wages, hours, or working conditions is not intended. The Act seeks merely to provide a means by which agreement may be reached on these matters and through negotiations enable the disputing parties to compose differences voluntarily in order to avoid work stoppages interfering with interstate commerce. In keeping with this purpose, agencies have been established by the Act to deal with different kinds of disputes in order to assure to the highest practicable extent mutual agreement or acceptance of peaceful solutions. Among these agencies are the National Mediation Board, arbitration and emergency boards, and the National Railroad Adjustment Board. THE NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD The National Mediation Board is established "as an independent agency in the executive branch of the government" and consists of three members appointed by the President of the United States. The Act prohibits more than two of these members from belonging to the same political party. The term of office is for three years, but the terms are so spaced that only one term expires each year. Two members constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The salary of each member is $15,000, which is paid by the government. So that strict impartiality may be encouraged, the Act provides that no member may have pecuniary or other interests in any organization of employees or carrier. The President may not remove a member except for "neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, or ineligibility." The Board annually designates one of its members 1 44 Stat. 577 (1926); 48 Stat. 1185 (1934). 2 Moore v. Illinois Central Ry., 312 U.S. 630 (1941). to serve as chairman. Its principal office is maintained in Washington, D.C., but it may meet at any other place. The Board "may designate one or more of its members to exercise the functions of the Board in mediation proceedings," and each member has the power "to administer oaths and affirmations." To assist the Board in the discharge of its duties, it has some twentyfive mediators "who spend practically their entire time in field duty.” 3 The Act expressly provides that the Board is authorized to assign any portion of its work to any one of its individual members or employees. This authorized delegation of authority permits ready flexibility to meet novel situations and may partially account for the Board's effectiveness in action. Duties of the National Mediation Board. The work of the National Mediation Board falls into two general categories: (1) "The mediation of disputes between labor and management involving changes proposed by either or both in rates of pay and rules, or working conditions governing employment"; and (2) the "designation of collective bargaining agents for the employees when disputes arise among them as to the proper representative of the various crafts or classes for the purposes of the Railway Labor Act." In addition the Board interprets agreements made during mediation, appoints referees to the National Railroad Adjustment Board, appoints neutral arbitrators, and reports situations to the President of the United States when in its judgment a dispute "threatens to substantially interrupt interstate commerce to such a degree as to deprive any section of the country of essential transportation service." + Mediation Cases. The most important task of the National Mediation Board is "the mediation of differences between carriers and their employees which arise out of the making or revising of agreements respecting rates of pay, rules, or working conditions." The mediatory services of the Board are in order only when direct negotiations between the parties “have exhausted all possibility of reaching agreement.” Mediation by the Board continues the negotiations previously begun by the parties themselves. When the Board takes jurisdiction, it attempts "to promote and extend the voluntary and democratic process" of adjusting differences by conference with the parties directly concerned.5 Application for the mediation services of the Board may be made by either or both parties to a dispute; it is made on Form N.M.B. 2, available from the secretary of the Board (see Fig. 1). As a general rule, technical procedural problems are avoided by management and labor in mediation cases. Every effort is made to deal with the disputes themselves. When 3 National Mediation Board, Seventeenth Annual Report, 1952, p. 76. 4 Ibid., p. 1. Ibid., p. 10. the Board's services are sought, the disputes are generally "centralized and handled through national standard labor organizations, and not through local units thereof." The National Mediation Board states that it "has found in many instances that the representatives designated by the parties have not possessed sufficient authority to really bargain, but Form NMB 2 (Revised 7-1-41) NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD APPLICATION FOR MEDIATION SERVICES (File this Application in Duplicate) TO THE NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD, Washington, D. C. A dispute has arisen between the parties shown below which has not been adjusted between them, and the services of the National Mediation Board under section 5, First, of the Railway Labor Act, are hereby invoked on the specific question set forth below. The approximate number of employees involved are THE SPECIFIC QUESTION IN DISPUTE (See item 1 on reverse side) (If necessary extend question on additional sheet or attach exhibit) PARTIES TO DISPUTE WORKING AGREEMENT If an agreement governing rates of pay, rules, or working conditions is in effect, give name of parties thereto and date thereof. If there is no such agreement, so state COMPLIANCE WITH RAILWAY LABOR ACT (See item 2 on reverse side) 1. If this dispute involves change in the above-mentioned agreement, attach copy of the 30-day notice served by party desiring change and insert date of notice here 2. If this dispute involves the negotiation of a new or supplemental agreement, attach copy of re quest made by party desiring same and insert date of request here 3. If there has been a refusal to confer, so state and give reason; otherwise, give date of last conference here that approval has to be sought from some other source, making it necessary for the mediator in some instances to conduct his efforts by 'remote control." Consequently the Board has urged parties to disputes to designate representatives who are invested "with sufficient authority to complete agreements." " As shown in Table 4, 3,637 mediation cases have been docketed with the National Mediation Board in the seventeen-year period ending June 30, 1951. This table shows that the Board has achieved a record of considerable success in bringing the parties to amicable and voluntary agreement in accordance with the spirit of the Railway Labor Act. Representation Cases. The Railway Labor Act forbids "any limitation upon freedom of association among employees, or any denial, as a condition of employment or otherwise, of the right of employees to join a labor organization." The Act also provides that "the majority of any craft or class of employees shall have the right to determine who shall be the representative of the class or craft." Occasionally there is controversy over which labor organization shall represent the group of employees, and it is the responsibility of the National Mediation Board, "upon request of either party to the dispute, to investigate such dispute and to certify to both parties, in writing, within thirty days after the receipt of the invocation of its services, the name or names of the individuals or organizations that have been designated and authorized to represent the employees involved in the dispute." The Mediation Board also certifies the designated representative to the carrier, and upon receipt of such certification, the carrier has the duty to "treat with the representative so certified." When a craft or class has designated its representative under the Act, the representative acts for all members within the craft or classthose who are not members of the represented organization as well as those who are-and must "represent nonunion or minority union members of the craft without hostile discrimination, fairly, impartially, and in good faith."7 While investigating a representation dispute, the Mediation Board is authorized "to take a secret ballot of the employees involved, or to utilize any other appropriate method of ascertaining the names of their duly designated and authorized representatives in such manner as shall insure the choice of such representatives by the employees without interference, influence, or coercion by the carrier." The Mediation Board is also given authority to "establish the rules to govern the election" or may "appoint National Mediation Board, Fifteen Years under the Railway Labor Act, 1950, pp. 10-12. 7 Steele v. Louisville & Nashville Ry., 323 U.S. 192 (1944); and Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Howard, 343 U.S. 768 (1952). |