[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

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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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