. Stems from ihe Railway Labor Act of NMB Established by 1934 Amendments. Independent Federal Agency. Eileen Hennessey, Counsel

Transcription

1 An Overview of The National Mediation Board Presented by: Eileen Hennessey, Counsel Office of Legal Affairs The National Mediation Board. Stems from ihe Railway Labor Act of 1926 and the Board of Mediation. NMB Established by 1934 Amendments. Independent Federal Agency r Harry R. Hoglander Chairman Elizabeth Dougherty Member Read Van de Water Member!

2 NMB Mission: to minimize work stoppages by: r MEDIAnON (L ADR: - Resolving disputes arlsing out of the negotiation of or for collective bargaining agreementr; S REPRESENTATION: - Effectuating employee rights of self-organization where a reprerentatton dlspvte exists: and I ARBITRAnON 8 ADR: - Resolving disputes over the interpretation or application of existing agreements. Jurisdiction of the NMB U.S. Railroads U.S. Aidinas r Subbciba* Railway Labor Act Representation under the Railway Labor Act

3 RAILWAY LABOR ACT OF Jointly crafted by the rail Labor (L Management r Leglslatlon passed without amendment 8 Signed into law on May 20,1926 by President Calvin Coolidge e Oldest continuous Federal Bargaining legislation In the nation Historical Perspective of the RLA -Great Railroad Strike of States and later Fed. Gov't enacted legislation authorizing voluntary arbitration of disputes Federal Control of Railroads Wwwl #CreaUon of U.S. Railroad Adminlatratlon Results of Federal Control of Railroads F General recognition of labor unions r Central handling of grievances r Uniform classification of work throughout the country r Nationwide standardization of wages and hours of work

4 Key NMB / NLRB Differences NMB does not r haw auhwlly m adludlcm w nmdv udalr lrbor praetisa (Slatuloy Righta) I havea~thmfy m -k.ntonsmntol Rep. Dcwons I: have. fml dscsnlncatlon pmudun NLRB does not: r mdlm tcn4aaauon disputes s provia ammuonmr Collective Blrphirn or 0tievrnc.e. A word about ULPs m NMB administers the RLA in part s The NMB does not have authority to adjudicate or mmedy unfair labor practices (Statutory Rights) e Airline and Railroad employees under the RLA cannot file charges with the NMB m Recourse re Statutory Rights is through the parties or the courts A word about "Decertification" r Unlike NLRA, no formal decertification procedure under the RLA r Any organization or individual may file an application supported by a majority showing of interest. r The group becomes unrepresented if -Less than a majority vote for representation or -The certified representative disclaims interest

5 Federal Labor-Relations Agencies - a basic functional perspective Office of Legal Affairs and Representation About the Office of Legal Affairs r Representation s Legal Advice to the Board s Agency Litigation r Compliance: Freedom of Information Act r Compliance: Gov. in the Sunshine Act r Government Ethics r Presidential Emergency Boards

6 Jurisdiction Initial determination of jurisdiction in one of two ways: r After a receipt of Application for Investigation of Rep dispute or B After a referral from the NLRB Scope of Bargaining Unit (i.e., Craft or Class) s r r System-wide Not by location or units Standard crafts or classes How Representation Occurs under the RLA r Voluntaly Recognition r NMB Certification

7 The NMB Representation Program. Conducting Representation Elections lnvestigating Claims of Interference. lnvestigating Representation Applications The Representation Process application dismlst86 I If an election is authorized r Auth Wire will be sent out and request address labels. F Next day "Challenge and Objection letter" will be sent out. Sets dates for samples and instluctions and Tally date. c Investigator rules on any challenges and objections r (Opportunity for appeal to Board prior to tally).

8 Eligibility issues - 6 Section 9 of Rep Manual r All individual working regularly in the craft or class on and after the cut-off date P Management Officials are not eligible; subordinate officials are. Section I51 of RLA. r Furloughees are eligible if they retain and employee/employer relationship with the Carrier r Dismissed employees are eliglble if the have an appeal of their dismissalpendlng Election process - r Telephone Electronic Voting (TEV). r Internet Voting added October 1,2007. r The votes are tallied electronically. The results of the tally are provided to the union@) and the carrier in writing. c All NMB voting is by secret ballot. m Certification or dismissal is usually issued next business day after the tally. r No DecertificaUon Petition s GeR based on majority of eliglble voters, not just who actually voted. Interference c '"totallty of the circumstances" Usually investigate allegations after the ballot count b Employee should report questionable conductto the organization conducting the campaign or to the carrier, as appropriate..

9 Suspect Carrier Conduct questionable surveillance of employees; r interrogates employees; r discharges or disciplines employees; e confers benefits on employees, r solicits or collects ballots; and B misrepresents NMB Procedures Union Interference The NMB has found election interference where the union has: s solicited or collected ballots. r misrepresented NMB Procedures lnterference Remedies r Shorten the Application Bar Period r Re-run election r: Using Lakeror Key ballot r Notice r Certification

10 A Word about Mergers m Carrier Mergers -Manual Sectlon 19 E Union Mergers -transfers of certification -Generally regarded as internal union matter -Board determinations USAir Passenger Service I AFA-CWA 2004 cases. Mediation, ADR & Arbitration Under the Railway Labor Act NMB Mediation. 12 Mediators (cover both industries). Over 670 Mediation Cases since N Only 5 Work Stoppages since N Decades of Successful Negotiations Historically, over 97% Success Rate. 99.5% Success Rate since FY-2000

11 Traditional Mediation Process sen Help The ADR Component Impact of NMB Mediation Mandatory (i.e., no self help wlo NMB mediation) NMB determines when to release the parties from mediation. Public Interest Mediation

12 Traditional Arbitration Process a,---,.,,.,,,, 5 % %, \I I '..., -.., \ ', ' I $ ; The ADR Component. ',: ; %, ', ; '. -. b, Rerdmion NMB Contacts and Resources Eileen Hennmey: , - NMB Websits. NMB Help Desk: hen- NMB Hot Line: Note: NUB website has FAQs in each Pmgram area of Mediation, ADR, Representation and Arbitration.