How the Railway Labor Act Impacts Rail Workers

September 26, 2024 @ 7:18 am

Whether it’s trains carrying essential freight across state lines or airplanes shuttling passengers and cargo from coast to coast, the smooth, uninterrupted movement of goods and people across the country is the backbone of the U.S. economy. In fact, the railroad and airline industries are so vital to the nation’s economic wellbeing that federal law protects their continuous operations through the Railway Labor Act. 

However, these industries rely on thousands of workers who are also subject to the unique labor laws governing collective bargaining, dispute resolution and the right to unionize that are also found within the Railway Labor Act. Such a multi-faceted law has considerable impact in how it manages disputes to minimize potential disruptions in travel and interstate commerce for both the industries and their workers.

What Is the Railway Labor Act?

The Railway Labor Act (RLA) is a federal law that was enacted in 1926. Originally, it was designed to address labor disputes in the rail industry. Its primary goal was to ensure that rail operations would be uninterrupted by strikes, lockouts or other labor conflicts. While its focus centers on labor relations, the law also has significant implications for rail workers regarding collective bargaining, dispute resolution and the right to unionize. The statute’s purposes are fourfold:

• It prevents any interruption to commerce or to the operation of any carrier.
• It forbids any limitation on the right of employees to join a labor union.
• It provides for the independence of carriers and employees in self-organization.
• It provides prompt settlement of disputes concerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions and disputes growing out of grievances or the interpretation or application of agreements.

Recognizing the importance of air travel and transportation to the national economy, Congress expanded the RLA in 1936 to include the airline industry. Today, the RLA governs labor relations for two key industries—the railroad industry and the airline industry.

• Within the railroad industry, the RLA includes all employees working in rail transportation—from engineers, conductors and track workers to maintenance crew members, signal workers and administrative staff.
• Within the airline industry, the RLA includes employees working for commercial airlines—from pilots and flight attendants to mechanics and ground crew members.

Note that state right-to-work laws do not apply to workers covered under the RLA because the Taft-Hartley Act—federal legislation that allows states to enact right-to-work laws—did not amend the RLA when it amended the National Labor Relations Act. Therefore, the RLA takes precedence over state right-to-work laws.

What the Railway Labor Act Means for Workers

For rail and airline workers, the RLA provides a structured framework for managing labor relations, particularly collective bargaining, dispute resolution and strikes.

Collective Bargaining Rights

Protecting workers’ rights to unionize and engage in collective bargaining is one of the RLA’s cornerstone principles. This right allows workers to negotiate with their employers over the terms and conditions of their employment like wages, hours, working conditions, safety standards and benefits.

Collective bargaining under the RLA is intended to be a collaborative process, with peaceful negotiation being the primary means of resolving conflicts between labor and management. This means that workers—usually represented by unions—have a structured and legally protected platform to advocate for their needs and negotiate improvements in their working conditions. This is significant because it gives workers a more powerful, collective voice in determining how their work is organized and compensated and might even lead to better safety standards, fairer wages and more secure employment terms.

Dispute Resolution Processes

For one of its most critical components—dispute resolution processes—the RLA categorizes disputes into two types—major and minor. When a dispute arises, it is evaluated as either major or minor and handled through the appropriate method of resolution.

• Major disputes involve the formation or modification of collective bargaining agreements. Simply put, creating new agreements or making changes to existing agreements can be a source of “major” conflict. Major disputes typically involve issues like significant changes in employment terms—wage increases, changes in work rules or adjustments in job classifications, for example.
  
  When a major dispute arises, it triggers a detailed negotiation process, which includes the National Mediation Board. If mediation fails, the dispute may proceed to arbitration, but it can also lead to strikes or other collective actions if the parties concerned are unable to reach an agreement.
  
  
• Minor disputes typically involve the interpretation or application of existing collective bargaining agreements. For example, a minor conflict might involve a disagreement over how a specific provision in a contract applies to a particular situation—overtime pay or job assignments, for example. Ideally, minor disputes are resolved through a grievance process and negotiations. However, if those negotiations fail, the dispute becomes subject to binding arbitration, where an impartial arbitrator reviews the case and makes a final decision.

Within the railroad industry, the National Railroad Adjustment Board was established in 1934 to handle disputes. Composed of members of both labor and management, the board is divided into divisions to handle various types of minor disputes. Since then, some rail carriers and unions have established their own adjustment boards to handle minor disputes quickly and efficiently.

The airline industry is a bit different in that it uses System Boards of Adjustment to resolve minor disputes. These boards are established by collective bargaining agreements between individual airlines and their respective unions. Like the rail industry’s NRAB, the airline boards have representatives from both management and labor. Often, they have equal representation from each side, adding an impartial arbitrator if the board becomes deadlocked.

Whether rail or airline, the decisions that these arbitration boards reach on minor disputes are final and must be honored by all parties without further action on that particular issue.

Under the RLA, the dispute resolution process sets a clear, structured path for addressing grievances both major and minor in the hope that negotiation and mediation can help maintain better working relationships between workers and management and avoid disruptions in work.

Right to Strike

Strikes are a powerful tool that workers can use to press for better conditions. However, while the RLA does protect the right to strike, it also heavily regulates it because disruptions to services in industries as critical as rail and air travel can have far-reaching consequences affecting not only workers and companies but also the national economy. To maintain workers’ right to strike while also protecting essential transportation services, the RLA sets forth certain conditions.

• Mediation can be a lengthy process—sometimes lasting for months—but the intent is to ensure that all avenues of negotiation—and possible solutions—are addressed before the dispute escalates to a strike. In fact, before a strike can occur, the parties must engage in mediation overseen by the National Mediation Board. If it feels that the dispute may “threaten substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive any section of the country of essential transportation service,” the National Mediation Board is to notify the President of the United States.
• Presidential intervention is an option in cases where a strike could significantly disrupt commerce or endanger public health or safety. The President of the United States has the authority to appoint a Presidential Emergency Board to investigate the dispute and recommend a settlement within 30 days. During that time and for the next 30 days, no strikes or lockouts are allowed during the investigation, and while Presidential Emergency Board recommendations are not binding, both parties are encouraged to accept the board’s recommendations.
• Cooling-off periods come into play when mediation fails and parties remain at an impasse. A classic example of a cooling-off period is during an impasse meriting the 30-day period of presidential intervention and investigation. Then, once the Presidential Emergency Board issues its report, the RLA requires a mandatory 30-day cooling-off period. During this 60-day period, no strikes or lockouts are allowed. Instead, the focus is on allowing time for each side to reconsider their positions, attempt further negotiations or prepare for the consequences of a strike.

So, even while the RLA preserves workers’ right to strike, it establishes a regulated framework that prioritizes negotiation while balancing workers’ rights with the need to keep essential industry services operating smoothly.

The Balance Between Workers’ Rights and National Economic Needs

The Railway Labor Act is a powerful law that promotes collective bargaining between workers and their employers. Collective bargaining allows workers to negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment like wages, hours, safety standards and health benefits, but it also plays a significant role when things don’t necessarily work out to plan and disputes arise. So, workers need to understand not only the overriding provisions of the RLA but especially the terms and conditions of the collective bargaining agreements that their organizations have negotiated.

The RLA covers hundreds of thousands of workers in the rail and airline industries. While it is the primary law governing labor relations in these industries, other federal laws like the National Labor Relations Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, Federal Employers’ Liability Act, Civil Rights Act and equal opportunity laws, Americans With Disabilities Act, Norris-LaGuardia Act and Transportation Security Administration regulations also can have impact in various ways, particularly regarding labor rights, safety and collective bargaining.

Know Your Rights as a Transportation Professional

In most cases, if you work in the railroad or airline industry and have a concern, the best place to start is with your union representative. Policies and procedures are typically part of the collective bargaining package. However, even the best systems sometimes fail us. 

When that happens, you may need to speak with an impartial attorney who knows and understands the complexity of the legal landscape. The attorneys at Morrow, Morrow, Ryan, Bassett and Haik have been serving Louisiana communities for more than four decades, and our dedication to our clients never wavers. We will always be here to help you get the compensation you deserve.

Sources

https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/fra_net/1647/Railway%20Labor%20Act%20Overview.pdf
https://nmb.gov/NMB_Application/index.php/overview-faq/
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10861
https://www.bmwe.org/cms/file/10042023_110910_UNDERSTANDINGTHERLA.PDF
https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-2454-railway-labor-act-rla-45-usc-151-et-seq
https://twu514.org/railway-labor-act-and-how-it-relates-to-airlines/
https://www.iamdelta.net/railway-labor-act/
https://www.fordharrison.com/files/34009_Chapter%2026%20-%20The%20Interaction%20Between%20the%20RLA%20and%20Other%20Laws%20-%202016-2017%20SourceBook.pdf