    [United States Government Manual]
    [June 01, 2007]
    [Pages 469-472]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD

    1301 K Street NW., Suite 250 East, Washington, DC 20005

    Phone, 202-692-5000. Internet, www.nmb.gov.
    Chairman                                          Elizabeth Dougherty
    Members                                           Harry R. Hoglander,
                                                              Read Van de
                                                              Water
    Director, Mediation Services                      Larry Gibbons
        Director, Alternative Dispute                 Daniel Rainey
                Resolution
        General Counsel, Office of Legal              Mary Johnson
                Affairs
        Director, Arbitration Services                Roland Watkins
        Director, Administration                      June King

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    The National Mediation Board maintains a free flow of commerce in the
    railroad and airline industries by resolving labor-management disputes.
    The Board also handles

    [[Page 470]]

    railroad and airline employee representation disputes and provides
    administrative and financial support in adjusting grievances in the
    railroad industry.
    The National Mediation Board (NMB) is an independent agency established
    by the act of June 21, 1934, which amended the Railway Labor Act of 1926
    (45 U.S.C. 151-158, 160-162, 1181-1188). The Board is composed of three
    members, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
        NMB performs a central role in facilitating harmonious labor-
    management relations within the railroads and airlines industries. NMB
    is also authorized to resolve employee representation disputes.

    Activities

    Mediation  NMB ensures that labor and management exert every reasonable
    effort to make and maintain collective bargaining agreements. If these
    parties fail to reach an agreement, however, either or both may apply to
    the Board for mediation. Following receipt of an application, NMB
    promptly assigns a mediator to assist the parties. 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, 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
    interest arbitration is used, an arbitrator's decision is final and
    binding with very narrow ground for judicial review. If this arbitration
    is rejected, the Board promptly releases the parties from formal
    mediation, triggering a 30-day cooling off period. If an agreement has
    not been reached by the end of the 30-day period, the parties are free
    to exercise lawful self-help (such as strikes, lock-outs, etc.), unless
    a Presidential Emergency Board is established.
    Alternative Dispute Resolution  In addition to traditional mediation
    services, NMB also provides Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
    services. ADR services include facilitation, training, and grievance
    mediation. The ADR program assists the parties in learning and applying
    more effective, less confrontational methods for resolving their
    disputes. It also helps the parties resolve more of their own disputes
    without outside intervention. The ADR program includes an online dispute
    resolution component.
    Presidential Emergency Board  NMB makes recommendations for the
    establishment of a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) to investigate and
    report on a collective bargaining dispute which severely threatens
    interstate commerce and transportation. At the President's discretion, a
    PEB is established for 30 days to investigate and report back on the
    situation, during which time neither party may exercise self-help. A PEB
    may also be requested by any party involved in a dispute affecting a
    publicly funded and operated commuter railroad, including the Governor
    of any State where the railroad operates.
    Representation  When a labor organization or individual files an
    application with NMB to represent employees, NMB assigns an investigator
    to conduct a representation investigation. Should the applicant meet
    requirements, NMB will continue the investigation, usually with 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. TEV, inaugurated by
    NMB in October 2002, is secure and accurate. 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.
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T211657.050

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    Arbitration  NMB offers both interest and grievance arbitration.
    Interest arbitration is a process to establish the terms of a new or
    modified collective bargaining agreement through arbitration, rather
    than through negotiations. Although its use is not statutorily required,
    interest arbitration decisions are final and binding with very narrow
    grounds for judicial appeal.
        Grievance arbitration, involving the interpretation or application
    of an existing collective bargaining agreement, is mandatory. In the
    railroad industry, NMB has significant administrative responsibilities
    for the three grievance-arbitration forums: the National Railroad
    Adjustment Board (NRAB), Special Boards of Adjustment (SBAs) and Public
    Law Boards (PLBs). 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 at the parties'
    expense. NMB furnishes panels of prospective arbitrators for the
    parties' selection on both the airline and railroad industries.
    Arbitration decisions 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 an agency directory are available on the Internet at
    www.nmb.gov.
    NMB Knowledge Store  NMB's Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution
    designed, built, and implemented a public archive, available through the
    NMB Web site, containing public documents related to the agency's
    operations back to its inception in 1934. Currently, the Knowledge Store
    contains over 100,000 documents in an easily searchable format,
    including arbitration awards, representation decisions, annual reports,
    PEB reports, industry contracts, and union constitutions and bylaws.
    Publications  The Annual Reports of the National Mediation Board are
    available on the NMB Web site (www.nmb.gov) in the Knowledge Store. A
    limited supply of hard copies, both current and past, are also available
    for public distribution. Phone, 202-692-5031.
    Virtual Reading Room  Copies of collective-bargaining agreements between
    labor and management of various rail and air carriers and NMB
    Determinations (back to at least October 1, 1998) are available on the
    NMB Web site (www.nmb.gov) in the Knowledge Store.

    For further information, contact the Public Information Officer,
    National Mediation Board, Suite 250 East, 1301 K Street NW., Washington,
    DC 20005-7011. Phone, 202-692-5050. Internet, www.nmb.gov.

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