A. The Railway Labor Act 1. INTRODUCTORY The Railway Labor Act as it applies to the railroads and air and their employees today is the culmination of 81 years of experi with Federal legislation to govern the labor relations of employers employees engaged in these industries. Its purpose is to promote maintain peace and order in those relations as a means of avo interruptions to interstate commerce. In this 81-year period Con has developed, step by step, a comprehensive policy for dealing transportation labor problems, so that the present law is the mos vanced form of Government labor relations procedure we have in country. The Railway Labor Act imposes positive duties on carriers employees alike, defines rights and makes provision for their protec prescribes methods of settling various types of disputes, and sets agencies for adjusting differences. Whereas labor legislation as orignally applied to the railroads, most of the recent efforts to deal with labor disputes in other indus made no attempt to differentiate between the various types of 1 controversies but treated them as if they were all of a kind, the ame Railway Labor Act clearly distinguishes different kinds of disputes, r nizes the differences in the principles which underlie them, and pro different methods and establishes separate agencies for handling the ous kinds. These principles, methods, and agencies, evolved through of experimentation, provide a model labor-relations policy, based equal rights and mutual responsibilities. A complete text of the Rai Labor Act is given in Appendix A of this report. 2. UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES OF THE ACT Basic principles are laid down in the act as a foundation for sc labor relations on the railroads and airlines: change may be made in agreements, covering rates of pay, rules working conditions except as provided for in the act, which “Carriers and representatives of the employees shall give at lea days' written notice of an intended change in agreements * the time and place for the beginning of conference between the sentatives of the parties shall be agreed upon within 10 •••." In case of a dispute arising out of a grievance or out interpretation or application of agreements duly negotiated, it sha the duty of the designated representatives (carrier and employees confer for the purpose of adjusting the dispute amicably. Conference and mutual adjustment is to be the primary metho arriving at terms and conditons of employment, and both manager and workers are required to negotiate, and by negotiation compose differences. “All disputes (says the act) *** shall be considered, if possible, decided, with all expedition, in conference between re sentatives designated ・・・ so to confer, respectively by the carrie carriers and by the employees thereof interested in the dispute." (b) Collective bargaining.-The agreements referred to above collective-bargaining agreements covering the whole of a craft or of employees. They are made through the instrumentality of a la organization which must have the support of at least a majority of employees covered and become part of the contract of employment tween the carrier and each employee. "Employees shall have the ri to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of th own choosing. The majority of any craft or class of employees shall ha the right to determine who shall be the representative of the craft class for the purposes of this act." The term "representative" is defin to mean a labor union, organization, or corporation as well as a perso The law further provides that "representatives of employees ・・・ ne not be persons in the employ of the carrier * * *." One of the purpo of the act is stated to be "to provide for the complete independence carriers and of employees in the matter of self-organization * * *.” 3. RIGHTS AND PROHIBITIONS *** These principles would be mere verbiage and incapable of effectiv practical operation if the act did not endow the parties with definit i nereiore, to make me right real and to avoid unit niety to enforce it, the act provides that "representatives, for the pur this act, shall be designated by the respective parties without inte influence, or coercion by either party over the designation of tatives by the other; and neither party shall in any way interfe influence or coerce the other in its choice of representatives." and no carrier shall * * * seek in any manner to prevent the des by its employees as their representatives of those who or which employees of the carrier.” Management must necessarily have authority to hire, discha discipline employees, but because this authority had been ab interfering with the rights of employees, Congress enjoins that rier, its officers, or agents shall deny or in any way question t of its employees to join, organize, or assist in organizng a labor zation of their choice, and it shall be unlawful for any carrier fere in any way with the organization of its employees * * *." It took many years of trial and error with various railway lal to learn the lesson, that just as there can be no property rights real sense if people must depend on their own strength to enfor so there can be no effective right to organize if it is to be enfor by economic power. The amended Railway Labor Act makes su tions of the right to organize a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment or both; and interference, influence, or coercion party with the choice of representatives by the other is similarly able. Section 2, tenth, of the act provides: "It shall be the dut district attorney of the United States to whom any duly designate sentative of a carrier's employees may apply to institute in the court and to prosecute under the direction of the Attorney Ge the United States, all necessary proceedings for the enforcemen provisions of this section, and for the punishment of all violatio of and the costs and expenses of such prosecution shall be pai the appropriation for the expenses of the courts of the United St 4. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES In addition to these rights and prohibitions, the act impose duties and responsiblities on the carriers and their employees, fied as the representative of the craft or class for the purposes of this ac Where notice as required by section 6 of the act has been given a while conferences are being held, or while a dispute is in the hands the National Mediation Board, "rates of pay, rules, or working conditio shall not be altered by the carrier until the controversy has been final acted upon" by the Board in accordance with the act. Further respo sibilities and obligations are placed on both parties in connection wit disputes involving grievances and the interpretation or application agreements. On the railroads, all such disputes which cannot be settle by the parties in direct conference are referable either to local or syste adjustment boards set up by agreement, or to the National Railroa Adjustment Board provided by the Railway Labor Act if no local o system boards have been agreed to for this purpose. All such adjustmen boards are, in effect, industrial courts. The decisions of the nationa board are binding by law upon both parties. The act likewise impose duties and responsibilties upon the air lines and their employees to settle by means of adjustment boards disputes growing out of the inter pretation or application of duly negotiated agreements. Similar obliga tions are assumed if arbitration of disputes undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the act is agreed upon by the parties. No penalties are provided in the act for failure to carry out these last-named duties and obligations, but carriers by rail who fail to comply with awards of the National Railroad Adjustment Board or arbitration boards set up in accordance with the act are made subject to civil suits in Federal district courts. Presumably any duties or responsibilities imposed by the act may be enforced by appropriate court writs. The Railway Labor Act of 1926 prohibited interference with the designation of representatives, but failed to provide any penalties. Nevertheless, the United States Supreme Court held that such interference could be enjoined in equity proceedings.1 In 1935, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled in a case under the amended act, that “the right of self-organization and representation in the matter of rates of pay, hours of labor, and working conditions is a property right, the loss of which would result in irreparable damage to complainants."2 1T. & N. O. Ry. v. BRC, 281 U. S. 584. 2 Ry. Emp. Dept. v. Vir. Ry., 300 U. S. 515. |