WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1981. NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD WITNESSES ROBERT O. HARRIS, MEMBER ROBERT J. BROWN, MEMBER ROWLAND K. QUINN, JR., EXECUTIVE SECRETARY Mr. NATCHER. We take up next the National Mediation Board. We have before the committee Mr. Robert O. Harris, member of the National Mediation Board. Mr. Harris, who do you have with you today? Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Robert Brown, Member of the National Mediation Board; to his right Mr. Quinn, Executive Secretary; Mr. Carvatta, the Administrative Officer in Chicago for the NRAB and the Public Law Boards; to my left, Miss Pricci, our Administrative Officer here in Washington, and Mr. Kline, our Research Director. Mr. NATCHER. We are delighted to have all of you ladies and gentlemen appear at this time. Mr. Harris, we have had an opportunity to examine your statement. You have a good statement. With your permission, we will insert the statement in the record in its entirety and we will just go to questions. Mr. HARRIS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. [Statement of Mr. Harris follows:] this opportunity to appear before your Subcommittee today regarding the National Mediation Board's budget for fiscal year 1982. The total amount requested for fiscal year 1982 to administer the Railway Labor Act is for a personnel complement of 63 positions and $5,044,000, an increase of $161,000 over the fiscal year 1981 level of $4,883,000. The appropriation for the National Mediation Board is requested for expenses necessary to carry out the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended. The Act is administered by the National Mediation Board. This statute was designed to provide orderly procedures for the settlement of labor disputes in the railroad and airline industries. Additionally, the Mediation Board handles questions of representation as they arise in these industries and interprets agreements made in mediation. When the Railway Labor Act was amended in 1934 it established the National Railroad Adjustment Board for the purpose of disposing of grievances arising under the terms of collective bargaining agreements in the railroad industry. On June 20, 1966, the President signed Public Law 89-456, which further amended certain provisions of section 3 of the Act. Under the public law, new grievances and those which have been on docket before the National Railroad Adjustment Board for a period of at page 2 least one year may be referred to a local board of adjustment. The purpose of this amendment was to reduce an overwhelming caseload of unresolved disputes pending before the National Railroad Adjustment Board. The budget justification, as submitted, identifies the functions just discussed and the amounts requested for each. I would like to go over each one briefly. Mediatory Services For mediatory services for fiscal year 1982 we are requesting $2,776,000, an increase of $99,000 over last year due to mandatory changes. These services which are the responsibilities of the National Mediation Board, involve the making and amending of collective bargaining agreements, the selection by employees of their bargaining representatives, as well as a number of administrative duties consistent with statutory authority under the Act, and related statutes governing railroad and airline labor disputes procedures. Voluntary Arbitration and Emergency Disputes The second activity of the Mediation Board relates to voluntary arbitration and the investigation of critical disputes through the emergency board procedure. In arbitration proceedings, disputes are voluntarily submitted by labor and management to a neutral party for final and binding decision. Emergency boards are created by the President pursuant to section 10 of the Act. When the Mediation Board finds that a dispute threatens substantially to interrupt interstate commerce and deprive any section of the country of essential transportation, it notifies the President page 3 who may create an emergency board to investigate and make recommendations as to the settlement of the dispute. The Mediation Board is requesting $184,000 for these activities, the same amount as allocated last year. Boards of Adjustment Another activity of the Mediation Board is the administration of the adjustment of grievances as authorized by Public Law 89-456, which amended certain provisions of section 3 of the Railway Labor Act. In general, the amendment authorized the establishment of special boards of adjustment, known as public law boards, on individual railroads upon written request of either the representatives of employees or of the railroads to resolve disputes otherwise referable to the National Railroad Adjustment Board, and those disputes pending before the Board for one year. The amount requested for boards of adjustment is $1,056,000, an increase of $15,000 over fiscal year 1981. The increase is to cover cost of travel. Adjustment of Railroad Grievances (NRAB) When the Railway Labor Act was amended in 1934, the National Railroad Adjustment Board was created to hear and decide disputes involving railroad employee grievances and questions concerning the application and interpretation of agreement rules. Administrative responsibility and fiscal expenditures by the Adjustment Board were |