The Railway Labor Act of 1926 (RLA) was passed to govern the relationships between labor and management in the railroad industry. Ten years later, the airline industry was added to the jurisdiction of the RLA. An early amendment to the RLA created the National Mediation Board (NMB) to enforce the RLA. Under the RLA, the NMB is central to the successful resolution of labor disputes within the air and rail transportation industries.

Selection of Bargaining Representatives

The RLA guarantees employees the right to bargain collectively through a representative of their own choosing. Under the RLA, representatives are selected by a "craft" or "class" of employees. Crafts or classes of employees are found by the NMB to share a community of interest for the purpose of collective bargaining with respect to hours, wages, working conditions, and benefits. Crafts or classes are carrier-wide, not location-based, under the RLA. Thus, unlike in other industries, a labor organization may represent pilots, for example, from around the country.

Once employees determine that they wish to have a collective bargaining representative, the carrier may voluntarily choose to recognize that representative. If there is any dispute, however, with respect to the identity of the representative, the NMB will intervene, and an investigation will ensue. The NMB is authorized by the RLA to conduct a secret ballot election of employees. A majority of employees must vote for a representative before that representative will be certified by the NMB. Once a representative is certified by the NMB, the carrier must bargain collectively with that representative.

Bargaining Process

The bargaining process is initiated through the exchange of notices, often referred to as "Section 6 notices." Management and the employees' certified bargaining representative may engage in direct negotiations to create a collective bargaining agreement or to amend an existing collective bargaining agreement. If the direct negotiations are terminated, and neither the NMB nor the parties initiate mediation within 10 days, either party may result to self-help.

If they so choose, however, one or both parties may at any time in the direct negotiations proceed to ask the NMB to mediate. The NMB is also authorized by the RLA to intervene on its own initiative.

If no agreement is reached through the mediation process, the NMB will suggest that the parties submit to binding arbitration. Either party is free to refuse, but if the parties agree to arbitration, the resulting decision of the Board of Arbitration is final.

If the parties refuse to submit to arbitration, but no agreement has been reached, the NMB initiates a 30-day cooling off period. If no national emergency is threatened, the parties may, at the end of the 30-day period, invoke self-help, such as striking or lockouts.

If on the other hand, the impasse substantially threatens the transportation industry, the NMB will inform the President, and the President may convene a Presidential Emergency Board. If such a board is initiated, the findings are usually due within 30 days. From the time the board is convened, until 30 days after the recommendations are issued, the status quo must be maintained. After that time, the parties may exercise self-help.

In certain extreme situations, a second emergency board may later be convened.

Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.