Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. s. 151) (29 CFR s. 301) (29 CFR s. 1201)

• The Railway Labor Act regulates the labor relations of all interstate railroads and airlines.

• General duties:
  
  • It is the duty of all carriers and employees to exert every reasonable effort to make and maintain agreements concerning rates of pay, rules and working conditions and to settle all disputes;
    
  • All disputes between a carrier and its employees must be considered and, if possible, decided with all expedition in conference between designated and authorized representatives;
    
  • Representatives must be designated by the respective parties without interference, influence or coercion by either party;
    
  • Employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. The majority of any class of employees have the right to determine who shall be their representative;
    
  • No carrier can require any person seeking employment to sign any agreement promising to join or not to join a labor organization;
    
  • In case of a dispute between a carrier and its employees, arising out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of agreements, it is the duty of the designated representatives, within ten days after the receipt of notice of a desire on the part of either party to confer in respect to such dispute, to specify a time and place at which such conference shall be held;
    
  • No carrier can change the rates of pay, rules or working conditions of its employees as a class as embodied in agreements except in the manner prescribed in such agreements or in this statute;
    
  • Every carrier shall notify its employees by printed notices in such form that all disputes between the carrier and its employees will be handled in accordance with the requirements of this statute;
    
  • If any dispute arises among a carrier's employees as to who are the representatives of such employees, it is the duty of the National Mediation Board to investigate such dispute and to certify to both parties the names of the individuals or organizations that have been designated and authorized to represent the employees involved in the dispute. The Board is authorized to take a secret ballot of the employees involved or to utilize any other appropriate method of ascertaining the names of their duly designated and authorized representatives;
    
  • The willful failure or refusal of any carrier to comply with the terms of this statute is a misdemeanor, and upon conviction the carrier, officer or agent offending is subject to a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $20,000, or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. This is enforeced by the Attorney General of the United States;
    
  • Any carrier and a labor organization designated and authorized to represent employees are permitted (a) to make agreements requiring that within sixty days all employees shall become members of the labor organization and (b) to make agreements providing for the deduction by the carrier from the wages of its employees of any periodic dues, initiation fees and assessments;
    
  • The National Mediation Board upon receipt of an application requesting that an organization or individual be certified as the representative of any class of employees cannot direct an election to determine who shall be the representative of such class unless the Board determines that the application is supported by not less than 50 percent of the employees in the class. (45 U.S.C. s. 152)
  
  

• National Railroad Adjustment Board:
  
  • The Adjustment Board consists of 34 members, 17 selected by carriers and 17 selected by labor organizations;
    
  • All disputes between a carrier and its employees must be considered and, if possible, decided with all expedition in conference between designated and authorized representatives;
    
  • The Adjustment Board is composed of 4 divisions, each for separate classes of carrier employees;
    
  • Disputes between employees and carriers growing out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of labor agreements may be referred by either party to the appropriate division of the Adjustment Board;
    
  • The Adjustment Board can empower two or more of its members to conduct hearings and make findings. A final award must be made by the entire division;
    
  • Upon failure of any division to agree upon an award, then the division must select a neutral person, known as a "referee", to sit with the division as a member thereof and make an award;
    
  • If a carrier does not comply with an order of a division of the Adjustment Board or if any party is aggrieved by the terms of an award of a division of the Adjustment Board, then they can file a petition in the District Court of the United States for the district in which the petitioner resides or is located. On the trial of such suit the findings and order of the division of the Adjustment Board is conclusive on the parties. (45 U.S.C. s. 153)
  
  

• National Mediation Board:
  
  • A carrier and its employees may invoke the services of the National Mediation Board with regard to disputes concerning changes in rates of pay, rules or working conditions not adjusted by the parties and any other dispute not referable to the National Railroad Adjustment Board and not adjusted in conference between the parties;
    
  • The Mediation Board uses its best efforts by mediation to bring the parties to agreement. If such efforts are unsuccessful, the Mediation Board endeavors to induce the parties to submit their controversy to arbitration. (45 U.S.C. s. 155)
  
  

• The procedure for submitting disputes to arbitration is detailed in 45 U.S.C. s. 157.