    [United States Government Manual]
    [June 01, 1999]
    [Pages 613-615]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD

    Suite 250 East, 1301 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20572

    Phone, 202-692-5000. Internet, http://www.nmb.gov/.
    Chairwoman                                        Magdalena G. Jacobsen
    Members                                           Ernest W. DuBester,
                                                              (vacancy)
    Chief of Staff                                    Stephen E. Crable
        Assistant Chief of Staff                      Jeff MacDonald
        Senior Mediators                              John Bavis, Larry
                                                              Gibbons
    General Counsel                                   Ronald M. Etters
        Senior Hearing Officers                       Mary L. Johnson,
                                                              Benetta M.
                                                              Mansfield,
                                                              Sean Rogers
    Director of Development and Technical Services    James Armshaw
        Senior Research Analyst                       Donald L. West
        Records Officer                               Reba Streaker
        Collective Bargaining Agreement               Annie Kearney
                Archivist
    Director of Arbitration Services                  Roland Watkins
    Chief Financial Officer                           June King

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    The National Mediation Board, in carrying out the provisions of the
    Railway Labor Act, assists in maintaining a free flow of commerce in the
    railroad and airline industries by resolving disputes that could disrupt
    travel or imperil the economy. The Board also handles railroad and
    airline employee representation disputes, and provides administrative
    and financial support in adjusting minor grievances in the railroad
    industry under section 153 of the Railway Labor Act.

    The National Mediation Board was created on June 21, 1934, by an act
    amending the Railway Labor Act, as amended (45 U.S.C. 151-158, 160-162,
    1181-1188).
        The Board's major responsibilities include the mediation of disputes
    over wages, hours, and working conditions that arise between rail and
    air carriers and organizations representing their employees; and the
    investigation of representation disputes and certification of employee
    organizations as representatives of crafts or classes of carrier
    employees.
        Disputes arising out of grievances or interpretation or application
    of agreements concerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions in
    the railroad industry are referable to the National Railroad Adjustment
    Board. This Board is divided into four divisions and consists of an
    equal number of representatives of the carriers and of national
    organizations of employees. In deadlocked cases the National Mediation
    Board is authorized to appoint a referee to sit with the members of the
    division for the purpose of making an award.
        In the airline industry no national airline adjustment board has
    been established for settlement of grievances. Over the years the
    employee

    [[Page 614]]

    organizations and air carriers with established bargaining relationships
    have agreed to grievance procedures with final jurisdiction resting with
    a system board of adjustment. The Board is frequently called upon to
    name a neutral referee to serve on a system board when the parties are
    deadlocked and cannot agree on such an appointment themselves.

    Activities

    Mediation Disputes  The National Mediation Board is charged with
    mediating disputes between carriers and labor organizations relating to
    initial contract negotiations or subsequent changes in rates of pay,
    rules, and working conditions. When the parties fail to reach accord in
    direct bargaining, either party may request the Board's services or the
    Board may on its own motion invoke its services. Thereafter,
    negotiations continue until the Board determines that its efforts to
    mediate have been unsuccessful, at which time it seeks to induce the
    parties to submit the dispute to arbitration. If either party refuses to
    arbitrate, the Board issues a notice stating that the parties have
    failed to resolve their dispute through mediation. This notice commences
    a 30-day cooling-off period after which self-help is normally available
    to either or both parties.
    Employee Representation  If a dispute arises among a carrier's employees
    as to who is to be the representative of such employees, it is the
    Board's duty to investigate such dispute and to determine by secret-
    ballot election or other appropriate means whether or not and to whom a
    representation certification should be issued. In the course of making
    this determination, the Board must determine the craft or class in which
    the employees seeking representation properly belong.
    Additional Duties  Additional duties of the Board include the
    interpretation of agreements made under its mediatory auspices; the
    appointment of neutral referees when requested by the National Railroad
    Adjustment Board; the appointment of neutrals to sit on system boards
    and special boards of adjustment; and finally, the duty of notifying the
    President when the parties have failed to reach agreement through the
    Board's mediation efforts and that the labor dispute, in the judgment of
    the Board, threatens substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a
    degree such as to deprive any section of the country of essential
    transportation service. In these cases, the President may, at his
    discretion, appoint an Emergency Board to investigate and report to him
    on the dispute. Self-help is barred for 60 days after appointment of the
    Emergency Board.
        Section 9A of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 159a) provides
    emergency dispute procedures covering publicly funded and operated
    commuter railroads and their employees. That section attempts to resolve
    contract disputes between the parties through a series of emergency
    board procedures with a maximum 8-month status quo period. Section 9A is
    invoked only after all other procedures under the act have been
    exhausted.

    Sources of Information

    Publications  Available for public distribution are the following
    documents: Determinations of the National Mediation Board (23 volumes);
    Interpretations Pursuant to Section 5, Second of the Act (2 volumes);
    Annual Reports of the National Mediation Board including the Report of
    the National Railroad Adjustment Board; The Railway Labor Act at Fifty;
    and The National Mediation Board at Fifty--Its Impact on Railroad and
    Airline Labor Disputes.
    Reading Room  At the Board's headquarters in Washington, DC, copies of
    collective-bargaining agreements between labor and management of various
    rail and air carriers are available for public inspection, by
    appointment, during office hours (1 to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday).

    [[Page 615]]

    For further information, contact the Chief of Staff, National Mediation
    Board, Suite 250 East, 1301 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20572. Phone,
    202-523-5920. Fax, 202-523-1494. Internet, http://
    www.nmb.gov/.

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