NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20572

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH of DAVID H. STOWE

Born in New Canaan, Connecticut, September 10, 1910. Married Mildred Walker, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Children: David H., Jr., and Richard W. Educated at Washington and Lee University, Duke University. A. B. Duke University, 1931; M. Ed. Duke University, 1934.

Professional experience includes: Member, National Mediation Board, confirmed December 2, 1970; full-time labor arbitrator (1953-1970); public member of the President's Missile Sites Labor Commission (1961-1967); member of Atomic Energy Labor-Management Relations Panel (1962-1973); Director, Manpower Utilization-Job Security Study of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Longshore Industry, U. S. Department of Labor (1963-1964); organizational Disputes Arbitrator Industrial Union D epartment, AFL-CIO (1955-1970); member of four Presidential Emergency Boards (various dates).

Prior government experience: Administrative assistant to the President of the United States (1949-1953); deputy to The Assistant to the President of the United States (1947-1949); U. S. Bureau of the Budget (1941-1947); Chief Examiner, U. S. Bureau of the Budget (19431947); Assistant State Director, North Carolina State Employment Service (1937-1941). Other experience: Teacher - history and economics in junior colleges in North Carolina (1931-1937).

Member of National Academy of Arbitrators and American Arbitration Association.

Residence: 7402 Glenbrook Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20014.

MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE.

I appreciate this opportunity to appear before your SubCommittee today concerning the National Mediation Board's budget for fiscal year 1979.

The Railway Labor Act, first established by Congress in 1926, and composed in its present form in 1934, is administered by the National Mediation Board. This statute is designed to provide orderly procedures for the settlement of labor disputes in the railroad and airline industries. Additionally, the National Mediation Board handles questions of representation as they arise in these industries and interprets agreements made in mediation.

The National Railroad Adjustment Board was also established in 1934 under the Railway Labor Act for the purpose of disposing of grievances arising under the terms of collective bargaining agreements in the railroad industry. The section of the Railway Labor Act which deals with the disposition of what are termed "minor disputes" was amended by the 89th Congress in PL 89-456, approved June 20, 1966, to permit the decentralization, in some measure, of grievance disposition machinery. Under Public Law 89-456, new grievances and those which have been on the docket before the National Railroad Adjustment Board for a period of at least twelve months may be referred to a local board of adjustment on each individual railroad for expeditious

disposition.

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Thus, under the Railway Labor Act, Congress has

provided for the railroad and airline industries specific machinery and procedures for the adjustment of labor

management disputes, i.e., for mediation and the investigation of questions of representation; for emergency disputes procedures and arbitration; as well as for boards of adjustment and a National Railroad Adjustment Board to handle individual and group grievances arising under agreements between management and the labor organizations concerned.

The total amount requested to administer the Railway Labor Act is $3,969,000, an increase of $56,000 over the amount available for fiscal year 1978.

The budget justification, as submitted, is designed to identify the functions just discussed and the amounts requested for each.

First, Mediation, which is concerned with the making andamending of agreements, and the representation function. These activities are the responsibilities of the National Mediation Board.

A total of $1,996,000, an increase of $60,000 over the amount available for 1978, is requested to finance the Board's activities in fiscal year 1979. This increase is due to mandatory items.

The second activity of the Board relates to Voluntary Arbitration and the investigation of critical disputes through

the emergency board procedure.

In arbitration proceedings,

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disputes are voluntarily submitted by labor and management

to a neutral party for final and binding decision. The Board hopes it will be able to persuade management and labor to more frequently utilize the arbitration provision of the Act to dispose of contract disputes.

Emergency boards are created pursuant to section 10 of the Act when the Board notifies the President that a dispute threatens substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive any section of the country of essential transportation. The President may

The Board is

create an emergency board to investigate and make recommendations as to the settlement of the dispute involved. not able to anticipate precisely the total expenditures for these arbitration and emergency board activities, and it is therefore, advisable to have a small reserve available for emergency situations.

For fiscal year 1979, the Board is requesting a total of $144,000, the same amount as is available in 1978. The third activity carried under this appropriation is the adjustment of railroad grievances. This activity pertains to the operations of the National Railroad Adjustment Board mentioned earlier, which is concerned with the interpretation and application of wage and rule agreements in the railroad industry as well as boards of adjustment established by individual carriers and organizations for the same purpose. In this submission all expenditures relating to the settlement of grievance disputes, that is special boards of adjustment

and public law boards expenses, have been included in this

activity.

For this activity, the amount of $1,829,000 is requested for fiscal year 1979. This is $4,000 less than the amount available in 1978.

In summary, the National Mediation Board is requesting a total of $3,969,000 to finance activities under the Railway Labor Act for fiscal year 1979. This is an increase of $56,000 over the amount available for fiscal year 1978.

This completes my statement. We are here to answer any

questions you may have.

Mr. NATCHER. However, I believe you have a brief summary of your statement. You may proceed.

OPENING STATEMENT

Mr. STOWE. Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee:

I appreciate this opportunity to appear today. With your permission I will read a brief summary of my prepared statement and request that the latter be included in the record.

In 1926 Congress enacted the Railway Labor Act, and the mission of the National Mediation Board is to administer this Act, which provides specific mechanisms for the adjustment of labormanagement disputes for the railroad and airline industries. These include mediation and the investigation of questions of representation; emergency disputes procedures and arbitration; and boards of adjustment and a Ñational Railroad Adjustment Board to handle individual and group grievances arising under agreements.

In order to continue these activities, the National Mediation Board is requesting $3,969,000 for fiscal year 1979, an increase of $56,000 over fiscal year 1978.

The National Mediation Board does not propose any changes in its programs or activities in administering the Railway Labor Act. That concludes the short statement.

SELECTION OF THE CHAIRMAN

Mr. NATCHER. Now, Mr. Stowe, I believe the board operates under a rotation chairman, which is unique. Explain how that works.

Mr. STOWE. The legislation states the board will select its own chairman annually. At various times the board has had a chairman who has served two or three years in succession, but during the last 10 or 15 years we have gone to a rotation system where each member of the board is elected chairman every third year.