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1 1 (July 11, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govehns0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ____ ~ Research Service Rail Labor Dispute May Involve President and Congress July 11, 2022 President Biden has until July 18 to create an Emergency Board to resolve a labor dispute affecting six major railroads and many smaller ones. Depending on what actions the President or Congress take, and the bargaining between railroads and 12 unions, the dispute could lead to a work stoppage later this summer. Negotiations have occurred against a backdrop of declining railroad employment, a trend that began well in advance of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Since November 2018, railroad employment has shrunk by some 40,000 jobs, or by over 20%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some of these job losses can be attributed to the decline in the transportation of coal, while others may have been due to new approaches to staffing and asset use within the rail industry. After more than two years of bargaining, the unions requested the assistance of the National Mediation Board (NMB)-a federal agency responsible for facilitating labor negotiations in the railroad and airline industries-in January 2022. On June 17, the NMB announced that both sides would exit mediation without a new contract in place. Since then, the parties have been in a federally mandated cooling-off' period during which no action may be taken that would result in a work stoppage. This cooling-off period expires after 30 days, after which the railroad companies could begin a lockout or unions could go on strike if no other action is taken. Overview of Rail Labor Law Labor disputes in the railway and airline industries are governed by the Railway Labor Act (RLA). If a dispute is not settled through RLA-prescribed negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and if the NMB determines that the dispute threatens substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive any section of the country of essential transportation service, the law authorizes the President to establish an Emergency Board to investigate and issue a report. The Presidential Emergency Board's recommendations are not binding on the parties, and either party may reject them. The RLA is silent as to how the NMB determines what constitutes a substantial threat to interstate commerce, though in the past the NMB has considered the effect of a strike or shutdown on the state of the economy as a whole and the immediate economic impact on carriers, shippers, and travelers. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11966 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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