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Activity: Mediation

The amended Railway Labor Act administered by the National Mediation Board is the culmination of more than 60 years of experience in the field of Federal legislation dealing with the relationship of employer and employee in the transportation industry. This history commenced with the passage of the Newlands Act by the Congress in 1898, and through several successive steps of legislative action, has finally resulted in the present Railway Labor Act, passed in 1926 and amended in 1934. The airline industry was placed under this law by the Congress in 1936.

The basic aims of the present act are to promote the settlement of all disputes concerning rates of pay, rules and working conditions by negotiation and agreement between the duly authorized and designated representatives of management and the employees. This is accomplished through the process of collective bargaining between the representatives of the rail and air carriers and their employees. Representatives for this purpose may be chosen by each party without interference, influence or coercion of either party on the other. The primary obligation imposed by the act on both parties is that of making agreements to govern rates of pay, rules and working conditions and to reduce strife in the industry.

The act also imposed the definite obligation on both sides to confer and make every reasonable effort to adjust their differences through negotiation and agreement. When this is not found possible the mediation services of this Board may be invoked by either party and the Board then exerts its best efforts in mediation to bring about an adjustment. Should these efforts be unsuccessful, the law then makes it the duty of the Board to urge the parties to submit their differences to final and binding arbitration. As a last resort the Board may certify to the President emergencies which threaten to interrupt interstate commerce to a substantial portion of the country, and the controversy may then be considered by an emergency board.

The Mediation Board also determines representation disputes arising among various crafts or classes of railroad and airline employees, by conducting secret ballot elections or checking signed authorization cards, and certifies the names of the chosen representatives to the carriers. In addition, the Board appoints referees to sit with the various divisions of the National Railroad Adjustment Board on deadlocked cases, and, when requested to do so appoints neutral arbitrators to sit with arbitration boards set up under the act; an appoints neutrals to work with special boards of adjustment on the rail carriers and with system boards of adjustment on the airlines.

Approximately 1,250,000 rail and airline employees are under the jurisdiction of this Board and the act.

The Mediation Board has three members who are Presidential appointees, and 38 employees, making a total staff of 41. All of the staff, with the exception of the Board members, are under the classified civil service.

STATUS OF WORK OF BOARD

At the start of the fiscal year the Mediation Board had a backlog of 333 mediation disputes awaiting mediator services and at the close of the year the backlog amounted to 372 cases. The caseload of the Board remains relatively stable. There was during the past fiscal year a slight increase in the number of applications received and cases closed. It is anticipated that this trend will continue. Major pending disputes involving rules in the railroad industry and involving pay issues in the airline industry are expected to increase the requests for the Board's services.

The following table shows the actual caseload figures for 1964, and 1965, and estimated figures for 1966 and 1967 based on experience for the past 4 years. This table is divided to show cases pending at start of year, cases docketed, cases closed, and cases on hand at the end of each fiscal year. The estimated workload for 1967 is based on analysis of cases received for the past 3 years.

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Title II of the Railway Labor Act, placing the airlines of the United States thereunder, was approved April 10, 1936. During the first few years thereafter, very few cases arose among airline employees requiring the mediatory services of this Board, or its services in connection with representation disputes. Organizational activity among certain employee groups in the airline industry is still in progress and numerous individual labor organizations are involved.

Recent introduction of heavier and faster planes generally results in approaches by the flight personnel for revised rules and increased compensation. The pilots' organization has continued its efforts to secure larger compensation for its members on the theory that they should participate to a greater extent in the potential earning capacity of the larger and faster planes. These efforts have been stepped up to a marked degree with the introduction of jet planes in transport service.

Other classes of airline employees, including the clerical, communications, and mechanical crafts or classes have also pressed their demands for higher pay scales, the union shop, increased shift differentials, more holidays, and similar benefits.

The establishment of new routes or changes in established routes have resulted in approaches for changes in agreements, which included rules and rates for handling joint routes and interchange service.

Consolidation of established airlines by purchase and merger has resulted in disputes involving the status of the personnel of the affected units including integration of seniority lists, severance pay formulas, etc. The airline industry, although expanding, is still in a “shakedown" period of mergers and consolidations under authority of the Civil Aeronautics Board, and many problems will arise in connection with this phase of airline operations.

Except for the pilots, who are represented by a single labor organization, other groups on the airlines are represented by many different organizations, which has resulted in a divergence in the terms of agreements on rates and rules. Many of the classes of ground service employees are still unrepresented, and with organizing campaigns in progress among them by various organizations, we do not anticipate a decline in the number of representation disputes among airline employees.

REVIEW OF OPERATIONS

During the past fiscal year activities in the railroad industry continue to be dominated by the report and recommendations of the Presidential Commission pertaining to the operating employees as well as the movement among various nonoperating organiaztions to obtain job security benefits for their members. Public Law 88-108 approved on August 28, 1963, referred the fireman and crew consist issue to an arbitration board while the remaining issues were remanded to the parties for further handling. Arbitration Board No. 282 created by Public Law 88-108 issued its award on November 25, 1963. An agreement resolving the remaining issues was reached on June 25, 1964. Problems pertaining to the implementation of this award and agreement on individual carrier continue to perplex the industry.

In the airline industry all organiaztions continue to press for more favorable contracts covering issues involving job security, union shop, and wage increases. The Board does not anticipate any decline in its workload but rather expects an increase as the organizations' efforts continue to be directed toward more favorable agreements.

Representation disputes in both the airline and railroad industries are increasing due to the abrogation of a no-raid policy among railroad operating employees and a movement among the organized airline employees to obtain representation rights.

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The amount requested for this activity $767,000 is 3,000 more than requested for fiscal 1966 in order to meet within-grade salary advancements.

Promotions and adjustments in GS salary grades are made in accordance with the Board's promotion policy and approved by Civil Service Commission. Activity analysis by object classification

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Activity: Voluntary arbitration and emergency disputes

Despite the labor unrest in the industries subject to the Railway Labor Act the number of legal work stoppages in the airline and railroad industries has been relatively few as compared to other industries. While there have been many incidents which potentially threaten to interrupt rail and air traffic, the Board feels that the whole record of this performance indicates that its efforts have, in the main, succeeded in keeping the wheels of the transportation industry moving. In many instances the efforts of the members and staff of the National Mediation Board are successful in achieving peaceful settlements of labor disputes through the procedures financed under this activity establishing emergency and arbitration boards as well as special boards of adjustment.

A total of $460,000 is requested for this activity to finance operations in the fiscal year 1967. This is the same amount as available for the fiscal year 1966 and for which a total of $361,137 was expended in fiscal 1965.

Emergency Board.-Under the terms of section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, if a dispute between a carrier and its employees is not adjusted through mediation or the other procedures prescribed by the act, and should, in the judgment of the National Mediation Board threaten to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive any section of the country of essential transportation service, the Board shall notify the President, who may thereupon, in his discre tion, create an emergency board to investigate and report to him respecting such dispute. Any emergency board may be composed of such number of persons as the President designates, and persons so designated shall not be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of employees or any carrier. The compensation of emergency board members is fixed by the President. An emergency board is created separately in each instance, and is required to investigate the facts as to the dispute and report thereon to the President within 30 days from the date of its creation.

During the past fiscal year there were four emergency boards appointed by the President. One board created in the previous fiscal year completed its work in fiscal year 1965. A total of $62,953 was obligated for emergency boards in fiscal 1965.

Arbitration Board.-Section 5, 3 (a), of the Railway Labor Act provides in the event mediation of a dispute is unsuccessful, the Board shall endeavor to induce the parties to submit their controversy to arbitration under the provisions of section 7 of the act. Generally, arbitration boards consist of three members, a representative of the carrier and of the organization and a third neutral member. The compensation of the neutral member is fixed by the Mediation Board. During the past fiscal year two arbitration boards were created, two boards created in the prior fiscal year met during the past year; thus four boards were financed during the past fiscal year. For this a total of $11,111 was obligated. Of this amount, $8,550 was obligated for Arbitration Board 282. This Board was created by Public Law 88-108 approved on August 28, 1963, to consider the fireman issue and the crew consist problems arising out of the "national rules" dispute. This Board, which consisted of seven members, three of whom were public members, continued to meet from time to time through fiscal years 1965 and 1966 for the purpose of interpreting the award it rendered on November 25, 1963.

Special boards of adjustment.--Special boards of adjustment, a form of arbitration, may be created during mediation by carriers and organizations as a procedure to dispose of claim and grievance dockets, or in many instances, by voluntary agreement between rail carriers and organizations. The latter procedure has continued to increase during the past year as a result of the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, BRT v. CRI RR Co. (352 U.S. 864) which held in effect that compulsory arbitration applies to grievance matters. Another factor which encourages the parties to resort to this procedure for disposing of grievances is the fact that special boards of adjustment can be set up promptly to dispose of disputes which if sent to the Adjustment Board in Chicago would be held for a considerable period of time before adjudicated. This has a salutary effect on employee morale and permits the carrier to adjust practices which if continued may impose a heavy financial burden.

In the past fiscal year 59 new special boards of adjustment were created and during this period a total of 105 boards convened. This represents an increase from the number, 36, or boards created in fiscal year 1964, and a decrease in the number, 108, of boards which convened in that year. A total of $265,194 was obligated for these boards in fiscal 1965. The level in operations of special boards of adjustment during the past fiscal year is considered temporary and an increase of such operations is anticipated for fiscal 1967

It is not possible to forecast precisely the total expenditures needed for this activity nor to determine exactly the amount needed for the various types of boards established. The estimate is based on past experience, knowledge of the industry problems and a reasonable reserve for contingencies. In summary the expenditures for 1965 were as follows:

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