    [United States Government Manual]
    [June 01, 2005]
    [Pages 471-475]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD

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

    Phone, 202-692-5000. Internet, www.nmb.gov.
    Chairman                                          Harry R. Hoglander
    Members                                           Edward J. Fitzmaurice,
                                                              Jr., Read Van
                                                              de Water
    Director, Mediation Services                      Larry Gibbons
            Senior Mediators                          Les Parmelee, Patricia
                                                              Sims
        Director, Alternative Dispute                 Daniel Rainey
                Resolution
            Senior Mediator (Alternative              Linda Puchala
                    Dispute Resolution)
            Public Information Officer                Donald West
        General Counsel, Office of Legal              Mary Johnson
                Affairs
            Associate General Counsel                 Kate Dowling
            Senior Counsel                            Benetta Mansfield
            Counsels                                  Cristina Bonaca,
                                                              Susanna
                                                              Fisher, Norman
                                                              Graber, Eileen
                                                              M. Hennessey
        Director, Arbitration Services                Roland Watkins
        Director, Administration                      June King

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    The National Mediation Board assists in maintaining a free flow of
    commerce in therailroadand airlineindustries by resolving labor-
    management disputes that could disrupt travel or imperil the economy.
    The Board also handles railroad and airline

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    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 performing 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, as follows:
        --to avoid interruptions to interstate commerce in the airline and
    railroad industries;
        --to ensure the right of employees to freely determine whether they
    wish to be represented for collective bargaining purposes;
        --to ensure the independence of labor and management for self-
    organization to carry out the purposes of the act;
        --to provide for the settlement of collective bargaining disputes;
    and
        --to provide for the 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 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

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    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T201944.049

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    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. A representation
    unit under the RLA 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 conducts 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 NMB in
    October 2002, is secure and accurate.
    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's and
    all crafts and classes of railroad employees. SBAs 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.
    Publications  The following documents are available for public
    distribution: Determinations of the National Mediation Board and Annual
    Reports of the National Mediation Board. Phone, 202-692-5031
    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

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    Washington, DC, by appointment. Phone, 202-692-5031.

    For further information, visit the National Mediation Board's Web site
    at www.nmb.gov; write the Public Information Officer, National Mediation
    Board, Suite 250 East, 1301 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20572; or call
    the NMB hotline at 202-692-5050.

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