LaborNet
|
 |
Viewpoints
Labor Video
News Archives
Search
Links
Build LaborNet
About Us
Up to the minute labor news from around the United States from LabourStart in the UK
Other
LaborNets
International
Canada
Austria
Germany
Korea
La Red
Obrera
(en español)
UK
Japan
LabourStart
Back Links
|
From: Paul Plaganis Date: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 12:15:50 -0100 Subject: Railway Labor Act: Action to Amend Dear brothers and sisters. On August 2, 2002, Senators Mc Cain, Lott, and Burns introduced S. 1327. Introduced by Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), and Conrad Burns (R-MT), at the urging of several airline CEOs, this bill is an ill-disguised attempt to circumvent the Railway Labor Act and stack the deck in management's favor. The legislation would impose a last offer baseball style binding arbitration on contract negotiations in the airline industry, effectively destroying airline labors ability to negotiate a fair contract. Most important, the proposal takes away airline labors right to vote on our contracts and denies us our most fundamental right - the right to seek self-help and strike! This proposal is the most blatant and outrageous attack on collective bargaining in recent memory and it must be stopped! All Rail Union members are urged to contact their two Senators right away. Tell them to oppose this legislation and any other similar assaults on collective bargaining in the airline industry. REMEMBER, IF THIS LEGISLATION IS PASSED, RAIL LABOR WILL BE NEXT TO THEIR HIT LIST. PAUL Airline Labor Dispute Resolution Act (Introduced in Senate) S 1327 107th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1327 To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide emergency Secretarial authority to resolve airline labor disputes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES August 2, 2001 Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. LOTT, and Mr. BURNS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide emergency Secretarial authority to resolve airline labor disputes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Airline Labor Dispute Resolution Act'. SEC. 2. GRANT OF AUTHORITY. Section 42112 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: `(e) Emergency Authority of the Secretary- `(1) DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY- Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or of section 40109(d) of this title, the Secretary shall declare an air transportation emergency whenever the Secretary finds that a labor dispute between an air carrier that provides service to a hub airport (as defined in section 41731(a)(3)) and an employee organization representing employees of that carrier-- `(A) threatens to interrupt the carriage of passengers or cargo in interstate air transportation by an air carrier in any region of the country in a manner that is likely to curtail operations significantly at any hub airport (as defined in section 41731(a)(3)) and thereby cause injury to the economy of that region; `(B) threatens to interrupt the carriage of passengers or cargo in foreign air transportation in a manner that is likely to cause injury to the foreign commerce of the United States or its balance of payments; or `(C) threatens the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. `(2) ACTION BY SECRETARY- Notwithstanding any other provision of law or procedure established thereby, the Secretary shall issue an order to resolve a labor dispute by arbitration whenever the Secretary declares an air transportation emergency with respect to a labor dispute under paragraph (1). The Secretary shall thereupon appoint a panel of arbitrators, composed of 5 members, 1 designated by each party to the dispute, and 3 neutral arbitrators to be designated by agreement between the 2 other members. If those 2 members are unable to agree on the neutral arbitrators within 5 days after their designation, the Secretary shall ask the American Arbitration Association to submit within 3 days a list of 11 arbitrators who are members of the National Academy of Arbitrators and are qualified and willing to serve. At a special meeting called by the Secretary, each member designated by a party shall alternately strike a name from the list until 3 names remain, who shall be the mutually designated neutral arbitrators. No member shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of employees or any air carrier. The compensation and expenses of the panel members shall be fixed by the Secretary and shall be borne equally by each party to the dispute. A panel shall be created separately for each declared transportation emergency, and it shall investigate promptly the facts as to the dispute. `(3) REQUIRED FILINGS- Within 10 days after the date on which the 3 neutral arbitrators are appointed, each party to the dispute shall file with the panel a document containing the following: `(A) The name, affiliation, and address of the party submitting the filing. `(B) A statement that the employee organization involved is either certified or recognized. `(C) The number of employees in the negotiating unit, together with a list of the job titles represented in that unit. `(D) A statement of the currently applicable rates of pay, rules, and working conditions. `(E) A clear and concise history of negotiations leading to the impasse, including the number and dates of the negotiation sessions. `(F) A list of all issues in dispute concerning changes in rates of pay, rules, and working conditions not adjusted by the parties in conference, and the party's position on those issues. `(G) The complete, written terms of the party's final offer on those issues, including the text of the party's proposed agreement on the changes in rates of pay, rules, and working conditions. `(H) A clear and concise statement of any other relevant facts and any supporting documentation. `(4) OPPORTUNITY FOR PRESENTATIONS- Within 15 days after the date on which the document required by paragraph (3) is filed by both parties, the panel shall afford each party an opportunity to make oral and written presentations on its filing and to respond to questions. `(5) SELECTION BY PANEL; APPLICABLE FACTORS- Within 30 days after date on which the document required by paragraph (3) is filed by both parties, the panel shall, by a majority vote, select either the offer in its entirety concerning rates of pay, rules, and working conditions presented by the carrier or carriers involved or the offer in its entirety concerning rates of pay, rules, and working conditions presented by the employee organization involved. The panel shall prepare a written explanation of its selection and the reasons for the selection, and shall furnish a certified copy of its selection to the parties to the dispute and to the Secretary. The panel shall make its selection based on the following factors: `(A) The stipulations of the parties. `(B) The financial condition of the air carrier and its ability to incur changes in labor costs while continuing to maintain its competitive market position, pay its debts, meet its other contractual obligations, provide job security and equivalent treatment for all of its employees, and return a reasonable profit, consistent with historic margins and rates of return, for its shareholders. `(C) A comparison of the rates of pay of the employees involved in the dispute with the rates of pay of other employees performing similar services for comparable air carriers offering similar air transportation services to public. `(D) The rules and working conditions applied by the air carrier and comparable air carriers offering similar air transportation services to the public in light of market conditions for those services. `(E) Such other factors as are normally and traditionally taken into consideration in the determination of rates of pay, rules, and working conditions through collective bargaining, mediation, fact-finding, arbitration or otherwise between the parties. `(F) Changes in the average consumer prices for goods and services, commonly known as the cost of living, including changes in the Consumer Price Index. `(G) The existing collective bargaining agreement between the parties and the history of the collective bargaining agreements between the parties, including the history of negotiations leading to the impasse. `(6) SELECTION BY PANEL- Within 10 days after the panel furnishes its selection to the Secretary, either party may file with the Secretary a petition to set aside the selection on the grounds set forth in paragraph (7). If no petition to set aside the selection has been filed within 10 days after the filing of the selection, the Secretary shall enter an order directing the parties to give effect to the panel's selection, which order shall be final and conclusive on the parties. `(7) Petition to set aside selection- `(A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary may entertain a petition to set aside a selection furnished to the Secretary under paragraph (6) of this subsection only if the Secretary finds that-- `(i) the selection by the panel does not conform, or confine itself, to the requirements of this section; `(ii) the selection by the panel does not conform, or confine itself, to matters concerning rates of pay, rules, and working conditions; `(iii) the selection by the panel does not conform, or confine itself, to matters within the scope of jurisdiction under title II of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); `(iv) the selection by the panel does not conform, or confine itself, to the offer in its entirety concerning rates of pay, rules, and working conditions presented by one of the parties to the dispute; or `(v) a party to the dispute or a member of the panel practiced fraud or corruption which affected the selection. `(B) REMEDY FOR UNCERTAINTY- The Secretary may not entertain any such petition on the ground that the selection is invalid for uncertainty. If either party to the dispute seeks to set aside the selection on that ground, it shall submit the dispute to a board of adjustment as provided in sections 204 and 205 of title II of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 184 and 185). `(C) MINOR ERROR- A selection by the panel under paragraph (6) may not be set aside for trivial irregularity or clerical error affecting only a matter of form and not the substance of the selection. `(8) Action by secretary- `(A) Deadline- The Secretary shall issue a final order either granting or denying the petition to set aside the panel's selection within 10 days after the petition is filed. `(B) WHOLE OR PARTIAL INVALIDITY- Except as provided in subparagraph (C), if the Secretary determines that the selection is invalid in whole or in part under paragraph (7)(A), the Secretary shall set aside the selection and remand it to the panel for further action. `(C) SPLIT DECISION- If the Secretary determines that-- `(i) only a part of the selection is invalid under paragraph (7)(A), `(ii) the valid and invalid parts of the selection are separable, and `(iii) the parties agree to a setting aside only of the part determined to be invalid, then the Secretary shall set aside the invalid part, enter an order requiring the parties to give effect to the valid part, and remand the invalid part for further action by the panel consistent with the Secretary's order. `(9) JUDICIAL REVIEW- At the request of either party to the dispute, a final order of the Secretary under this subsection is subject to review by the court of appeals under section 46110 of this title. For the purpose of applying that section to a petition for review of an order by the Secretary under this section, the terms `10 days' and `10th day' shall be substituted for `60 days' and `60th day' in section 46110(a). Any such petition shall stay the effectiveness of the Secretary's final order, which shall otherwise become effective on the 10th day after the date it is issued. `(10) STATUS QUO REQUIREMENT; INJUNCTIVE RELIEF- Upon the issuance of an order to resolve a labor dispute under this subsection and until the Secretary's final order becomes effective, no change, except by agreement, shall be made by either party to the dispute in the rates of pay, rules, or working conditions out of which the dispute arose. Changes thereafter shall only be made consistent with the terms of the Secretary's final order. A court of competent jurisdiction shall enjoin any effort by a party to make unilateral changes before the Secretary's final order becomes effective at the request of the other party to the dispute. `(11) RATES OF PAY DEFINED- In this subsection, the term `rates of pay' includes wages, vacation, holidays, and excused time, insurance and defined pension or contribution plans, profitsharing plans, medical and hospitalization benefits, the continuity and stability of employment, and all other consideration and benefits of any nature, paid or received.'. |
this website is optimized for version 4+ browsers
contact LaborNet
copyright 2001 © LaborNet