The Railway Labor Act was passed in 1926 to manage labor relations in the railway sector and was amended in 1936 to include the airline industry. Its goal is to prevent strikes by replacing mediation, bargaining, and arbitration. The act classifies disputes into major and minor, and strikes over minor issues are effectively prohibited. The act established a government-appointed mediation board to assist in resolving labor issues.
The Railway Labor Act is a federal law passed by the United States Congress in 1926 to manage labor relations in the railway sector. In 1936, an amendment to the Railway Labor Act, or RLA, added the airline industry. The main goal of the RLA is to prevent strikes by replacing mediation, bargaining and arbitration in the resolution of labor disputes.
During the railroad strike of 1877, it took the intervention of US federal troops before an agreement could be reached. Congress then passed the Arbitration Act of 1888 to establish arbitration panels to investigate and mediate railroad labor disputes. The act was completely ineffective as only one panel was ever convened after the Pullman strike, and federal troops were still needed to put down the strike before the panel intervened.
Passed in 1898, the Erdman Act attempted to strengthen arbitration panels by making their decisions binding. The Erdman Act also prohibited employee discrimination for union membership and activity. Railroad workers were given more rights with the passage of the Adamson Act in 1916. The Adamson Act reduced the normal work day to eight hours and gave the same pay as was given for ten hours of work. Standardized time-and-a-half pay was another provision of the law.
In 1917, US President Woodrow Wilson took over the railroads to use them to transport troops and military supplies. After World War I, control of the railways was returned to the private sector. Congress then passed the Transportation Act of 1920 which included the creation of the Railway Labor Board to settle the disputes. The Railway Labor Board abused its powers and, in 1922, there was another national railway strike.
The railway companies and the unions negotiated with each other to create the railway labor law. Unlike most bills passed by Congress, the RLA passed with few changes. The Railway Labor Act established a government-appointed mediation board to assist in resolving labor issues. Disputes that cannot be resolved by the Mediation Board go to voluntary arbitration.
The Railway Labor Act classifies disputes into major and minor. Strikes over minor issues are effectively prohibited by the RLA, but strikes over major issues are possible after mediation and negotiation procedures have been followed. The procedures are quite comprehensive and the courts have the right to impose a strike if the process is not complete. Striking workers can be replaced during the strike, but the company cannot fire striking workers simply for participating in the strike.
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