The National Mediation Board (NMB), established by the 1934 amendments to the Railway Labor Act of 1926, is a federal agency that facilitates labor-MANAGEMENT relations within two of the nation’s transportation modes: railroads and airlines. Pursuant to the Railway Labor Act, NMB programs provide a dispute-resolution process to meet the objective of minimizing work stoppages in the airline and railroad industries. The NMB’s processes are designed to promote three statutory goals:
• prompt and orderly resolution of disputes arising from the negotiation of new or revised COLLECTIVE BARGAINING agreements
• achievement of employee rights to self-organization where a representation dispute exists
• prompt and orderly resolution of disputes over the interpretation or application of existing agreements
The purpose of mediation is to foster the prompt and orderly resolution of collective-bargaining disputes in railroad and airline industries. These disputes, referred to as “major disputes,” involve the establishment or revision of rates of pay, rules, or working conditions. Management and UNIONs should first attempt to resolve collective-bargaining disputes through direct negotiation. Failing that, either party may request the NMB’s services or the board may involve itself on its own initiative. The objective of mediation is to assist the parties in achieving agreement. NMB expertise in mediation and its discretion to determine when mediation has been exhausted ensures that bargaining disputes escalate only rarely into disruptions of passenger service and the transportation of commerce. Historically some 97 percent of all NMB mediation cases have been successfully resolved without interruptions to public service. Since 1980 only slightly more than 1 percent of cases have involved a disruption of service. In rare situations, when a distribution of essential transportation services looms, the NMB may recommend that the U.S. president create a Presidential Emergency Board. This board temporarily prevents a work stoppage or a lockout for up to 60 days and provides recommendations for resolving the dispute. The NMB is responsible for achieving employee rights to self-organization where a representation dispute exists. Its primary representation-dispute responsibilities are to
• conduct initial investigation of representation applications
• determine and certify employees’ collective-bargaining representatives
• ensure that the process occurs without interference, influence, or coercion
The NMB is also involved in alternative dispute-resolution and dispute-prevention activities, such as training and education that includes interest-based bargaining and facilitation, predispute mediation, and grievance mediation, among other services.