The Office of Mediation Services manages mediation of collective bargaining disputes pursuant to statutory authority under “Section 6” of the Railway Labor Act (RLA), applicable to both the airline and railroad industries.

Functions
The RLA requires labor and management to exert every reasonable effort to make and maintain collective bargaining agreements. Initially, the parties must give notice to each other of their proposals for new or revised agreements. Direct Negotiation between the parties must commence promptly and continue in an effort to conclude a new collective bargaining agreement or to narrow their differences. Should parties fail to reach agreement during Direct Negotiations, either party or the parties jointly, may apply to the NMB for Mediation. Following receipt of an application, the NMB promptly assigns a mediator to assist the parties in reaching an agreement. (An application for NMB mediation services may be obtained from the Agency’s web site at www.nmb.gov/mediation/mmenu.html.)

The NMB is obligated under the Act to use its “best efforts” to bring about a peaceful resolution of the dispute. If such efforts do not settle the dispute, the NMB advises the parties and offers Interest Arbitration (proffers arbitration) as an alternative approach to resolving the remaining issues. If either party rejects this offer of binding arbitration, the NMB releases the parties from formal Mediation. This release triggers a thirty-day Cooling Off period, during which the Agency continues to work with the parties to achieve a consensual solution to the dispute. However, if an agreement is not reached by the end of the thirty-day period and the U.S. President does not establish an Emergency Board, the parties are free to exercise lawful self-help, which includes carrier-imposed working conditions and/or a strike by the union/organization.

Overview of Fiscal Year 2010
FY 2010 was a year, once again, marked by significant changes in the airline industry with the announcement of the merger between legacy carriers, United and Continental, following the Delta/Northwest merger. In addition, two low-cost carriers, Southwest and Air Tran, announced their merger. Finally, multiple consolidations were seen in the Regional Airline segment. As the economy continued its sluggish recovery, the airlines struggled towards profitability as well. Consequently, NMB mediators continued to face the challenges of high labor expectations and low carrier profits in their efforts to assist the parties in reaching settlements. This reality makes the mediator’s role both increasingly difficult and important.

In fiscal year 2010, docketed mediation cases fell below the number docketed in fiscal year 2009 and the projected number for fiscal year 2010. Pending mergers, and the fact that no cases from AMTRAK were docketed, impacted the decline. Still, cases-docketed exceeded the prior five-year average and more cases were docketed than closed. This trend is largely due to the complex cases docketed after airlines emerged from bankruptcy in prior years.

Mediation Cases
The following chart reflects actual case numbers for FY 2010 and FY 2009 and a five-year Average.
    Cases Pending Start
  • FY 10 Actual: 74
  • FY 09 Actual: 44
  • FY 05-09 Average: 62.00
    Cases Pending Start
  • FY 10 Actual: 43
  • FY 09 Actual: 58
  • FY 05-09 Average: 41.40
    Cases Pending Start
  • FY 10 Actual: 33
  • FY 09 Actual: 28
  • FY 05-09 Average: 37.80
    Cases Pending Start
  • FY 10 Actual: 84
  • FY 09 Actual: 74
  • FY 05-09 Average: 65.6
Highlights During Fiscal Year 2010

Legacy Carriers
During fiscal year 2010 the Board’s mediation function was heavily taxed by complex cases involving the legacy carriers. Actual or near bankruptcies at American Airlines and United Airlines resulted in common amendable dates for their respective collective bargaining agreements. Currently there are 17 open mediation cases involving these two carriers. In addition, there are 4 open cases involving Continental and USAirways in mediation.

Cooling-off Periods
During FY 2010, the only parties to enter a cooling-off period were Spirit Airlines and its pilots, who are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The cooling-off period ended at 12:01 a.m. on June 12, 2010 without a settlement.

Self-help Activity
The only self-help activity during this fiscal year involved Spirit and ALPA. When they failed to reach agreement, ALPA initiated self-help on June 12, 2010. The Board requested that the parties meet on June 15-16, and the parties reached a tentative agreement on June 16.

Settlements
Some of the airline carriers and organizations that reached agreements with NMB assistance in FY2010 included: Hawaiian Airlines and ALPA; British Airways and IAM; Continental Airlines and the TWU; and Mesa Airlines and AFA.

In the railroad industry some of the railroads and organizations that reached agreements with NMB assistance in FY2010 included: Union Railroad Company and BLET; Pan Am Railways and IBEW and UTU; Iowa Interstate Railroad and BMWED; and PATH and the RITU coalition.

Pending Cases
At the end of the fiscal year, several significant airline cases not noted above remained in mediation: Air Tran/ALPA, Evergreen International/ALPA, TransStatesAirline/ALPA, UPS/IBT, Spirit/AFA, Pinnacle/ALPA, Alaska/IAM and Horizon/IBT. All these cases are proving to be extremely difficult given the economic and collective bargaining environment.

In the railroad industry, several Short Line and Commuter Railroads are also in mediation including: SEPTA/BLET and IBEW, SCFE/IAM, and Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad and eleven unions (IAM, UTU, ATDA, BMWE, IBB, BRS, IBEW, SMWIA, NCFO, JCC and TCU). In addition, there are six national-handling cases involving the NCCC and five unions (TCU, ATDA, TWU, IBEW and IAM).