Opinion ID: 2806256
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: overview of railway labor act

Text: Congress passed the RLA to expediently help railroads and their employees resolve conflicts, before disagreements turned into strikes that would paralyze interstate commerce. See Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters v. N. Am. Airlines, 518 F.3d 1052, 1055–56 (9th Cir. 2008). In 1936, Congress amended the RLA to include coverage of air carriers, 45 U.S.C. § 181, but otherwise, the same structure of the Act remained. Under the Act, employees may designate a representative to negotiate agreements concerning rates of pay, rules, and working conditions. When a conflict arises “among a carrier’s employees as to who are the representatives of such employees,” the Board has the sole power to determine when a group or person is a valid representative. Id. § 152, Ninth. The Board is authorized “to take a secret ballot of the employees,” and may take steps to “insure the choice of representatives by the employees without interference, influence, or coercion exercised by the carrier.” Id. After the Board determines the employees’ preferred representative, the Board certifies the representative, and “the carrier shall treat with the representative so certified.” Id. Judicial review of representation disputes is extremely circumscribed. Federal courts may not review the Board’s certification decision or independently determine whether a group represents employees. Switchmen’s Union of N. Am. v. Nat’l Mediation Bd., 320 U.S. 297, 300 (1943). Furthermore, the Board’s “decisions regarding its methods of investigation, balloting procedures, and findings regarding employer INT’L BHD. OF TEAMSTERS V. ALLEGIANT AIR 9 interference, influence, or coercion, have been largely unreviewable.” Horizon Air Indus. Inc. v. Nat’l Mediation Bd., 232 F.3d 1126, 1132 (9th Cir. 2000). Courts have limited jurisdiction to ensure the Board acts constitutionally and within the scope of its statutory authority. Id. Board factual findings have preclusive effect under traditional principles of estoppel. Astoria Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n v. Solimino, 501 U.S. 104, 107 (1991). Once a representative and a carrier have reached an agreement concerning rates of pay, rules, and working conditions, the Act prescribes specific steps parties must take to change the agreement. A party that wants to change an agreement must give advance written notice. 45 U.S.C. § 156. Parties are required to meet in a good faith attempt to voluntarily settle any disagreement. Id. § 152, Second. If conferring fails, either party may request the services of the Board to mediate a dispute. Id. § 155, First. And, if the mediation fails, the parties may consent to binding arbitration. Id. § 157. Finally, if mediation fails and the parties reject arbitration, the RLA imposes a thirty-day cooling off period. Id. § 155, First. Only then can a carrier change an agreement and a labor organization lead its employees out on strike. During the period of negotiation, neither party may unilaterally change employee working conditions. Id. § 156; see generally Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters, 518 F.3d at 1056 (citing Detroit & Toledo Shore Line R.R. Co. v. United Transp. Union, 396 U.S. 142, 149 n.14 (1969)). A different process exists when parties contest the meaning or proper application of a particular provision of an agreement. In that case, the RLA requires employees and carriers first to exhaust the grievance procedure specified in a collective bargaining agreement. 45 U.S.C. § 184. Next, a 10 INT’L BHD. OF TEAMSTERS V. ALLEGIANT AIR representative for an employee and a carrier must meet in conference to try to settle the dispute. Id. § 152, Second. If parties are unable to resolve a disagreement, the dispute is subject to binding arbitration before a board of adjustment established by the involved airline and labor representative. Id. § 184; see Consol. Rail Corp. v. Ry. Labor Exec. Ass’n, 491 U.S. 299, 304 n.4 (1989).