-Assures the Nation the continued availability of railroad transport.

-Gives full effect to the record of collective bargaining in this case and builds on the negotiations which have taken place.

-Looks toward the ultimate resolution of this dispute by agreement.

-Provides only the means to bridge the remaining gap between the parties.

This solution is supplied by the recommendations of the Special Mediation Panel and the advice I have received from leaders of the Congress and my top advisers in the Executive Branch.

THE PROPOSAL

I propose a Joint Resolution authorizing the establishment, for a 90-day no-strike, no-lockout period, of a 5-member Special Board to be appointed by the President. All will be "public members." But I intend to appoint one member with a management background and one member with a labor background.

The functions of the Board will be these:

-For the first 30 days after enactment of the Joint Resolution, the Board would engage in intensive mediation with the parties to encourage and stimulate a final resolution of the issues in dispute. -Beginning on the 31st day, if no agreement has been reached, the Board would be authorized to hold hearings to determine whether the Special Mediation Panel proposals of April 21, designed to implement the collective bargaining contemplated by the Emergency Board recommendations meet the following criteria:

-are in the public interest,

—are a fair and equitable extension of the collective bargaining in this case,

-protect the collective bargaining process, and

-fulfill the purposes of the Railway Labor Act.

-By the 60th day, if there is still no agreement, the Board would file, with the Congress and the President, its determination concerning the Special Mediation Panel proposals, and whether any modification of these proposals is necessary to insure that they meet these criteria.

-If by the 91st day there is still no agreement, the Special Mediation Panel proposals, with any modifications which the Board finds necessary to insure conformity with these criteria, would take effect. They would continue in effect until the parties reach agreement or until such time, not to exceed two years from January 1, 1967, as the Board determines to be proper.

For the period after that, and until final agreement is reached or the time specified by the Board expires, the Board's determination would have the same effect-including the preclusion of resort to strike or lockout-as though it was arrived at by agreement of the parties under the Railway Labor Act.

A final agreement reached by the parties at any time would supersede the Board's determinations and would apply retroactively, if the parties so agree.

I urge the Congress to act on this proposal.

At the same time, I urge these railroads and unions to finish this job themselves. The only completely successful conclusion of this case will come not from an act of necessity by the Congress but from an act of responsibility by the parties.

It is within their power to close the gap in this case by heeding the call of their country to reason together. Their taking the last few steps to settlement will show the world the industrial statesmanship, which is the pride of America.

All Americans believe in the right of management to healthy profits. All Americans believe in the right of workers to a just and bountiful

wage.

All of us realize our progress in labor relations in this country. We recognize and take pride in-the significant strides we have made in improving the condition of the working man, while at the same time improving the profits of the employer.

We have met many of the problems of poverty, of substandard working conditions, of depression and business failure. But each step forward has brought us new problems-problems of prosperity, of technological progress, of sharing the affluence that is our blessing. All Americans recognize that there is a management interest and a labor interest. But there comes a time when the interest of management and the interest of labor must be the public interest-a time when people must be fed, when soldiers must be supplied, when water must be kept potable, and when factories must not be allowed to close down for lack of materials.

I believe the action I propose to be in the public interest and in the interest of management and labor. It represents the slightest possible intrusion upon the process of collective bargaining. Indeed, in the long run I believe it will preserve the collective bargaining process in the railroad industry.

This proposed Joint Resolution will not solve all the difficulties prosperity brings to labor relations. But we must take this action now, as we continue and renew our search for a just and general solution to emergency strike or lockout problems in our country. I urge the Congress to act promptly on this Joint Resolution." LYNDON B. JOHNSON.

THE WHITE HOUSE, May 4, 1967.

JOINT RESOLUTION To provide for the settlement of the labor dispute between certain carriers by railroad and certain of their employees.

Whereas the labor dispute between the carriers represented by the National Railway Labor Conference and certain of their employees represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Shipbuilders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers; Sheet Metal Workers International Association; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America; International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers functioning through the Railway Employees' Department, AFL-CIO, labor organizations, threatens essential transportation services of the Nation; and

Whereas Emergency Board No. 169 (created by Executive Order 11324, January 28, 1967, 32 F.R. 1075) has made its report; and Whereas under procedures for resolving such dispute provided for in the Railway Labor Act as extended and implemented by Public Law 90-10 of April 12, 1967, as amended, the parties have not succeeded completely in resolving all of their differences through the processes of free collective bargaining; and

Whereas related disputes have been settled by private collective bargaining between the carriers and other organizations representing approximately three-quarters of their employees, so that the present dispute represents a barrier to the completion of this round of bargaining in this industry; and

Whereas a Special Mediation Panel appointed by the President upon enactment of Public Law 90-10 proposed settlement terms to assist the parties in implementation of the collective bargaining envisaged in the recommendations of Emergency Board No. 169; and Whereas it is desirable to provide procedures for the orderly culmination of this collective bargaining process; and

Whereas the national interest, including the national health and defense, requires that transportation services essential to interstate commerce be maintained; and

Whereas the Congress finds that an emergency measure is essential to security and continuity of transportation services by such carriers: Therefore be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there is hereby established a Special Board for the purpose of assisting the parties in the completion of their collective bargaining and the resolution of the remaining issues in dispute. The Special Board shall consist of five members to be named by the President. The National Mediation Board is authorized and directed: (1) to compensate the members of the Board at a rate not in excess of $100 for each day together with necessary travel and subsistence expenses, and (2) to provide such services and facilities as may be necessary and appropriate in carrying out the purposes of this Resolution. For the purpose of any hearing conducted by the Special Board, it shall have the authority conferred by the provisions of sections 9 and 10 (relating to the attendance and examination of witnesses and the production of books, papers, and documents) of the Federal Trade Commission Act of September 26, 1914, as amended (15 U.S.C. 49, 50).

SEC. 2. The Special Board shall attempt by mediation to bring about a resolution of this dispute and thereby to complete the collective bargaining process.

SEC. 3. If agreement has not been reached within thirty days after the enactment of this Resolution, the Special Board shall hold hearings on the proposal made by the Special Mediation Panel, in its report to the President of April 22, 1967, in implementation of the collective bargaining contemplated in the recommendation of Emergency Board No. 169, to determine whether the proposal (1) is in the public. interest, (2) is a fair and equitable extension of the collective bargaining in this case, (3) protects the collective bargaining process, and (4) fulfills the purposes of the Railway Labor Act. At such hearings the parties shall be accorded a full opportunity to present their positions concerning the proposal of the Special Mediation Panel.

SEC. 4. The Special Board shall make its determination by vote of the majority of the members on or before the sixtieth day after the enactment of this Resolution, and shall incorporate the proposal of the Special Mediation Panel with such modifications, if any, as the Board finds to be necessary to (1) be in the public interest, (2) achieve a fair and equitable extension of the collective bargaining in this case, (3) protect the collective bargaining process and (4) fulfill the purposes of the Railway Labor Act. The determination shall be promptly transmitted by the Board to the President and to the Congress.

SEC. 5. If agreement has not been reached by the parties upon the expiration of the period specified in section 6, the determination of the Special Board shall take effect and shall continue in effect until the parties reach agreement or, if agreement is not reached, until such time, not to exceed two years from January 1, 1967, as the Board shall determine to be appropriate. The Board's determination shall have the same effect (including the preclusion of resort to either strike or lockout) as though arrived at by agreement of the parties under the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.)

SEC. 6. The provisions of the final paragraph of Sec. 10 of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 160), as heretofore extended by law, shall be hereby extended until 12:01 AM of the ninety-first day after enactment of this Resolution with respect to the dispute referred to in Executive Order 11324, January 28, 1967.

Senator RANDOLPH. Mr. Chairman, it is necessary that I return to the hearing on air pollution being held by our subcommittee of the Public Works Committee. I would wish to be here this morning to listen to the statement of Secretary of Labor Wirtz. I shall be unable to do so. But I will follow his testimony carefully by reading it after it has been presented to the members of the subcommittee together with colloquies ensuing between our membership and Secretary Wirtz and others who are associated with him in the presentation of the arguments in support of Senate Joint Resolution 81.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to include at this point certain excerpts from the statement that I gave in the U.S. Senate on May 4 in support of Senate Joint Resolution 81.

Senator YARBOROUGH. Without objection, it is so ordered. (The statement by Senator Randolph follows:)

[Excerpt from Congressional Record, May 4, 1967]

Mr. RANDOLPH. * * * The President's proposal for the resolution of the current railroad labor-management dispute represents a diligent effort to meet the traditions of free collective bargaining, the uninterrupted continuation of essential transportation service, and the fulfillment of the public interest.

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As the President said in his message to Congress, this proposal is designed to bridge the remaining gap that the long history of bargaining on this dispute has not closed. The President emphasized-and I underscore the fact that nothing in this labor-management episode warrants resort to a compulsory arbitration procedure which would disregard all that collective bargaining has accomplished. The dispute, with the threat of a nationwide railroad strike as a factor to be considered, has had widespread attention. It has attracted numerous suggestions on how it should be resolved. The extremes advocated have been either seizure of the railroads or outright compulsory arbitration. The President has chosen to re

ject both. But in doing so, he has not overlooked the true test which any statute of this character is required to meet; namely, that it fully comports with the public interest. I believe that what he has proposed will have perhaps the best opportunity for acceptance and understanding-not only by the parties at issue but also by the American public.

I have pointed out heretofore why a stoppage of railway service cannot be tolerated. In West Virginia, such a breakdown of a vital segment of transportation, under the economic conditions and within the economic framework of commerce and industry in our State, would result in chaos. Both seizure of properties and transportation systems by the Government and compulsory arbitration under law are, in my judgment, offensive methods of very last resort. The plan recommended by the President in his message today seems worthy and supportable under the terms of the history of this dispute and the perseverence and patience which have been manifested in the important and purposeful efforts to keep the parties in negotiations through the always-preferable collective bargaining system. I believe that, under the 90-day plan provided in the newly proposed resolution, collective bargaining can be reinstituted and stimulated in the shop-craft-rail management negotiations, even with the new element in the form of a special board appointed by the President to be induced.

The dispute which continues to persist must not drag on interminably. The new element and the new procedures recommended to Congress by the President are worthy of consideration and, in my judgment, offer appropriate mechanisms as means to bring settlement out of disputation. I do not believe any other suggested solution will be more understood or more acceptable to all parties at interest, including the American public.

Senator JAVITS. Mr. Chairman, I wish to make a brief statement at this time preliminary to the hearing.

Mr. Chairman, I don't think that it takes a great deal of testimony to make very clear the catastrophic results which will follow from a work stoppage on the railroad. That was the basis for earlier congressional action, which has been observed by labor and management.

First, a freeze for 20 days and then a freeze for 47 days to give the President an opportunity to deal with the subject. Now, the President says that his solution is an interim solution for this one case.

Mr. Chairman, while in terms that would be applicable only to this dispute there can hardly be doubt, in my judgment, that whatever action we take now following the 1963 action in the firemen and enginemen case will have a profound effect on any general legislation which may be considered by the Congress in this field in the near future.

Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I cannot, for one Member, accept the President's proposal as a necessary expedient and let it go at that. For one, Mr. Chairman, I think we are singularly remiss in not having general legislation, and with all respect for the President, for reasons which I fully understand but which nonetheless in my judgment do not answer the basic question, the President and the administration have not submitted general legislation. They should have done so. I think it is a grave deficiency that they have not.

So, we are caught in this grave bind right now because we do not have legislation on the books, we have to invent it for every case separately.

I, for one, think it is an extremely dangerous precedent to invent it in a bill which essentially results in compulsory arbitration in the form of a mandate of some panel or some board.

Now, the Secretary of Labor has made and will make-he is an extremely able, astute, fine Cabinet Officer-an argument that this is really ad hoc, this is not compulsory arbitration. I myself have in