[United States Government Manual]
[June 15, 2003]
[Pages 467-471]
[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, www.nmb.gov.
Chairman                                          Francis J. Duggan
Members                                           Edward J. Fitzmaurice, 
                                                          Jr., Harry R. 
                                                          Hoglander
Chief of Staff                                    Benetta Mansfield
    Deputy Chief of Staff--Mediation              Lawrence E. Gibbons
        Senior Mediators                          Patricia Sims, Les 
                                                          Parmelee, 
                                                          Linda Puchala
    Deputy Chief of Staff--Development            Daniel Rainey
            and Technology
    General Counsel, Office of Legal              Mary L. Johnson
            Affairs
        Senior Counsel                            Sean J. Rogers
        Counsels                                  Eileen M. Hennessey, 
                                                          Susanna 
                                                          Pequignot
    Director, Finance and Administration          June D.W. King
    Director, Arbitration Services                Roland Watkins

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The National Mediation Board assists in maintaining a free flow of 
commerce in the railroad and airline industries by resolving labor-
management 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 
grievances in the railroad industry.
The National Mediation Board (NMB), established by the 1934 amendments 
to the Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926 (45 U.S.C. 151-158, 160-162, 
1181-1188), is an independent agency preforming a central role in 
facilitating harmonious labor management relations within two of the 
Nation's key transportation sectors--the railroads and airlines. 
Pursuant to the RLA, NMB programs provide an integrated dispute 
resolution process that effectively meets the NMB's statutory mandate to 
minimize work stoppages by securing voluntary agreements.
    The RLA has five general purposes:
    --avoid interruptions to interstate commerce in the airline and 
railroad industries;
    --ensure the right of employees to freely determine whether they 
wish to be represented for collective bargaining purposes;
    --ensure the independence of labor and management for self-
organization to carry out the purposes of the act;
    --provide for the prompt and orderly settlement of collective 
bargaining disputes; and
    --provide for the prompt and orderly settlement of disputes over the 
interpretation of existing collective bargaining agreements.
    The Railway Labor Act of 1926 provided for mandatory mediation and 
interest arbitration in contract negotiations, as well as for section 10 
Presidential Emergency Boardsto enhance dispute resolution. Key 
amendments to the act in 1934 established a three-member National 
Mediation Board and authorized it to resolve employee representation 
disputes. In 1936, jurisdiction was expanded to include the airline 
industry. The act's most recent substantive amendment, in 1981, 
permitted the creation of specialized section 9a Presidential Emergency 
Board for disputes at certain commuter railroads.

Activities

Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution  The RLA requires labor and 
management to make every reasonable effort to make and maintain 
collective bargaining agreements. Initially, the parties negotiate 
directly in an effort to reach an agreement. Should the parties fail to 
do so, either party or both may apply to the Board for mediation.
    The Board is obligated under the act to use its ``best efforts'' to 
bring about a peaceful resolution of the dispute. NMB mediators apply a 
variety of dispute resolution techniques, including traditional 
mediation, interest-based problem solving, and facilitation, to resolve 
the dispute. If after such efforts the Board determines that mediation 
will not settle the dispute, the NMB offers voluntary arbitration 
(interest arbitration) as an alternative approach to resolve the 
remaining issues. This option is rarely exercised by the parties. In 
situations where the parties agree to use interest arbitration, an 
arbitrator's decision is final and binding with very narrow ground for 
judicial review. If either party rejects this offer of arbitration, the 
Board promptly releases the parties from formal mediation. This release 
triggers a 30-day cooling off period. During this 30-day period, the 
Board will continue to work with the parties to achieve a mutually 
agreeable settlement. However, if an agreement has not been reached by 
the end of the 30-day period, the parties are free to exercise lawful 
self-help, unless a Presidential Emergency Board is established. 
Examples of lawful self-help include carrier-imposed working conditions 
or lock-outs, or union-initiated strikes and job actions.
Presidential Emergency Board  The RLA authorizes the NMB to recommend 
the

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establishment of a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) to investigate and 
report on a collective bargaining dispute which threatens 
``substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to 
deprive any section of the country of essential transportation 
service.'' A PEB also may be requested by any party involved in a 
dispute affecting a publicly funded and operated commuter railroad. 
While either section 10 or section 9a emergency board processes are 
underway, the parties are required to maintain the status quo and 
neither party to the dispute may exercise self-help which could involve 
a disruption of service.
Representation  Under the RLA, employees in the airline and railroad 
industries have the right to select or decline a labor organization, or 
individual, to represent them for collective bargaining without 
``interference, influence or coercion'' by the carrier. The RLA's 
representation unit is a ``craft or class,'' which consists of the 
overall grouping of employees performing the particular type of related 
duties and functions. The selection of employee representatives for 
collective bargaining is accomplished on a system-wide basis, which 
includes all employees in the craft or class anywhere the carrier 
operates in the United States.
    Should the applicant meet the showing of interest requirements, the 
NMB will continue the investigation, usually with a secret ballot 
election. Only employees found eligible to vote by the NMB are permitted 
to participate in the elections. In order for a representative to be 
certified, a majority of the eligible voters must cast valid ballots in 
support of representation. The Board is responsible for ensuring that 
the requirements for a fair election process have been maintained. If 
the employees vote to be represented, the Board issues a certification 
of that result, which commences the carrier's statutory duty to bargain 
with the certified representative.
    The NMB planned for and tested a new method of conducting 
representation elections, using a process known as Telephone Election 
Voting (TEV). In the TEV process, voters in the craft or class use two 
secret passwords to cast ballots by telephone instead of using mail-in 
paper ballots. The system, inaugurated by the NMB in October, 2002, is 
very secure and accurate, and its use is expected to save the agency a 
substantial amount of staff time and expense.
Arbitration  In addition to interest arbitration the NMB offers to 
parties in contract negotiations, the RLA provides for the use of 
grievance arbitration to resolve issues arising under existing 
contracts. Grievance arbitration, involving the interpretation or 
application of an existing collective bargaining agreement, is mandatory 
under the RLA.
    In the railroad industry, the NMB has significant administrative 
responsibilities for the three grievance-arbitration forums contemplated 
under the RLA: the National Railroad Adjustment Board(NRAB), Special 
Boards of Adjustment(SBAs) and Public Law Boards(PLBs). The NRAB and its 
four divisions have statutory jurisdiction over all rail carrier and all 
crafts and classes of railroad employees. SABs are created by mutual 
agreement of the parties, and PLBs are established on individual 
railroads upon the written request of either party to a dispute.
    Grievance arbitration in the airline industry is accomplished at the 
various system boards of adjustment created jointly by labor and 
management. The NMB furnishes panels of prospective arbitrators for the 
parties' selection on both the airline and railroad industries. The NMB 
also has substantial financial management responsibilities for railroad 
arbitration proceedings. Arbitration decisions under the RLA are final 
and binding with very limited grounds for judicial review.

Sources of Information

Electronic Access  Information pertaining to Board operations including 
weekly case activity reports, representation determinations, press 
releases, and a range of documents and an agency directory are available 
on the Internet, at www.nmb.gov.

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Publications  The following documents are available for public 
distribution: Determinations of the National Mediation Board and annual 
reports of the National Mediation Board.
Reading Room  Copies of collective-bargaining agreements between labor 
and management of various rail and air carriers are available for public 
inspection at the Board's headquarters in Washington, DC, by 
appointment.

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, www.nmb.gov.

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