S. 1934

SPONSORED BY SENATOR BROCK, INTRODUCED MAY 24, 1971

Coverage: Labor disputes which imperil the national health and safety, in any industry affecting commerce.

Provisions: Repeals the emergency disputes provisions of the Labor-Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act, and the Railway Labor Act.

Establishes a Management-Labor Commission of seven members appointed by the President for staggered terms of 14 years, with advice and consent of the Senate. In making appointments, the President would insure that the interests of management, labor, and the general public are adequately represented.

Directs the Commission to make conciliation, mediation, and arbitration services available to the parties in a dispute, if all such parties agree, when there is a likelihood that a national emergency strike or lockout will occur.

Requires the President, if he believes a national emergency strike or lockout is threatened or is in effect, to direct the Attorney General to petition the Management-Labor Commission to assume jurisdiction of the dispute. Authorizes the Commission to prohibit the strike or lockout for 110 days, absent prior agreement. Directs the Chairman of the Commission to designate two or more members of the Commission as a board of inquiry. Requires the board to report within 80 days, with recommendations for settlement. Disputant parties are given 30 days after the board report to come to agreement. Failing such settlement, the Management-Labor Commission is authorized to issue an order prescribing what the terms and conditions of employment will be.

Parties to disputes which do not meet the bill's national emergency criteria for jurisdiction may voluntarily seek the Commission's services. The bill anticipates, according to its Sec. 2(b), "that many intrastate activities which affect the public interest to a substantial degree will voluntarily partake of this facility. In addition to manufacturing and other businesses, such activities include the public service oriented professions of education, transportation, trash removal, and police and fire protection."

Establishes a Management-Labor Court composed of a chief judge and four assistant judges appointed by the President for staggered terms of 10 years, with advice and consent of the Senate. In making appointments, the President would insure that the interests of management, labor, and the general public are adequately represented.

Authorizes the Management-Labor Court to hear, determine, and render judgment with respect to all questions of law or fact arising under any order of the Management-Labor Commission. Decisions of the Court shall be final unless they are arbitrary or capricious or are violative of a right conferred by the Constitution, in which case the Supreme Court is given exclusive appellate jurisdiction.

Suspends the proceedings of the National Labor Relations Board in disputes over which the Commission is vested with jurisdiction.

(7)

S. 2060

SPONSORED BY SENATOR DOMINICK, INTRODUCED JUNE 14, 1971

Coverage: Labor disputes causing any work stoppage in the railroad and airline industries.

Provisions: Revises not only the dispute-settlement procedures but also other provisions of the Railway Labor Act.

The bill's dispute-settlement provisions specify that upon the failure of the National Mediation Board to successfully resolve any dispute by mediation, it must notify the Secretaries of Labor, Commerce, and Transportation, who are directed to appoint an ad hoc Transportation Labor Panel which shall recommend one of the following procedures. The Secretaries may either accept or reject the recommendation, but if they reject, they must adopt one of the other procedures:

(a) take no further action;

(b) appoint a neutral board of three members to make nonbinding settlement recommendations within 30 days;

(c) refer the dispute to final and binding arbitration; or (d) submit the dispute to a "final offer selection" procedure. Under the binding arbitration procedure, the parties would be given ten days to agree upon the terms of an arbitration procedure; if unable to agree, the Transportation Labor Panel would have an additional ten days to determine the terms under which the arbitration would be conducted. The arbitration board would consist of not less than five members, a majority of whom would be public members appointed by the Secretaries of Labor, Commerce and Transportation, with the remaining members being equally divided between carrier and union appointees. Alternatively, the parties could agree upon a board composed of a representative of each party, with a third member appointed by the three Secretaries. Any arbitration award would continue in effect for the period prescribed by the arbitration board, but not to exceed two years.

The final offer selection option is a modified version of the final offer procedure found in the Administration's bill, S. 560. After an initial final offer is submitted and exchanged by each party, a second final offer may be submitted and exchanged within three days. In addition, the final offers may be subsequently revised by eliminating those matters on which the parties have reached unconditional agreement, to encourage continuing efforts on the part of the parties to negotiate an agreement themselves. Strikes or lockouts are prohibited throughout the handling of the dispute and for 30 days after the exhaustion of the last procedure possible under the bill.

The bill also amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to eliminate the payment of unemployment benefits to striking employees as well as those employees who refuse to cross picket lines.

(9)

Other revisions of the Railway Labor Act proposed in the bill include the following:

(1) Amend Section 1 Fifth to eliminate supervisors from coverage of the Act. A new section, Section 1 Seventh, is added defining the term "supervisor."

(2) The definition of "representative" in Section 1 Sixth and Section 2 Second, are amended to vest representatives with full authority to enter into agreements without membership ratification.

(3) Amend Section 2 Third to permit an involved carrier to be a party to any representation proceeding.

(4) Amend Section 2 Fourth to permit employees in a representation proceeding to elect not to be represented.

(5) Amend Section 2 Ninth to provide that (a) an involved carrier may raise the question of representation of its employees and (b) the National Mediation Board must resolve jurisdictional representation disputes even where an election is not required. (6) Amend Section 3 to abolish the National Railroad Adjustment Board, while retaining the Public Boards and special boards of adjustment. Existing criteria for judicial review of board awards are retained, as well as the prohibition against strikes over minor disputes. Compensation for neutrals is shifted from the government to the parties.

(7) Amend Section 5 First (b) to eliminate the explicit requirement that the NMB proffer arbitration as a last resort in major disputes.

(8) Amend Section 7 Third (e) to provide that all expenses of arbitration boards involving compensation of neutral arbitrators shall be borne by the parties.

(9) Add a new section, Section 15, to prohibit secondary boycotts.

(10) Change the term of office for members of the NMB from three to five years.