NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD

DIGEST OF ESTIMATE OF APPROPRIATION, 1976

FUNCTION OF THE BOARD

The National Mediation Board administers the Railway Labor Act governing labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The general purposes of the Act are as follows:

1.

2.

3.

To avoid any interruption to commerce or to the
operation of any carrier engaged therein;

To forbid any limitation upon freedom of association among employees or any denial, as a condition of employment or otherwise, of the right of employees to join a labor organization;

To provide for the complete independence of carriers and of employees in the matter of self-organization;

To provide for the prompt and orderly settlement of all disputes concerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions;

5. To provide for the prompt and orderly settlement of
all disputes growing out of grievances or out of
the interpretation or application of agreements
governing rates of pay, rules, or working conditions.

These general purposes are implemented through the activities of the National Mediation Board, Arbitration and Emergency Boards, and the National Railroad Adjustment Board.

PROGRAM AND PERFORMANCE

1. Mediation. The Board mediates labor disputes and determines collective bargaining representatives for 700 carriers and the one million employees in the railroad and airline industries.

1 Includes cases closed pursuant to moratorium provisions contained in national railroad agreements.

When

2. Voluntary arbitration and emergency disputes. mediation fails, the parties are urged to submit their differences to arbitration. I neither mediation nor voluntary arbitration is successful, the President, when notified of disputes which threaten seriously to interrupt service, may appoint an emergency board to investigate and report on the disputes as a basis for agreement.

3. Adjustment of Railroad Grievances. Railroad employee grievances resulting from application of collective bargaining contracts may be brought for settlement to the National Railroad Adjustment Board. The Divisions of the Board are composed of an equal number of carrier and union representatives compensated by the party or parties he represents. Administrative direction and guidance is provided by the Staff Director/Grievances and clerical assistants who are compensated by the National Mediation Board. The appropriation also provides for neutral referees to sit with the Board when they are deadlocked. Boards of Adjustment are also financed under this activity.

1 Includes referee and division awards, and cases withdrawn by parties.

SCHEDULE OF FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR OBLIGATION AND AN ANALYSIS OF OBLIGATIONS BY UNIFORM OBJECT CLASSIFICATION