The National Mediation Board has appointed an arbitrator to handle a case involving crew size, which has prompted a railroad labor union to sue the Board.
The SMART Transportation Division and nearly two dozen General Committees filed the suit after the mediation board voted 2 to 1 in favor of appointing an arbitrator.
“The National Mediation Board has unlawfully and without authority initiated an arbitration process involving the SMART-TD and multiple rail carriers, contrary to the provisions of the Railway Labor Act,” the lawsuit states.
The Mediation Board had acted after the National Railway Labor Conference requested the board to forcibly appoint a representative of SMART to negotiate on the union’s behalf over crew sizes during talks for a new contract that are in the process of getting underway.
The NRLC represents a coalition of Class 1 railroads.
SMART had earlier taken the position that crew size should be negotiated at the local level between individual railroads and local committees.
The carriers have also filed a lawsuit against SMART in an effort to force it to negotiate crew size at the national level.
The Class 1 carriers have been open about their desire to operate many trains with one-person crews.
The two Mediation Board members who sided with the carriers, Kyle Fortson and Gerald Fauth, were appointed by President Donald Trump.
The dissenting member was Chairwoman Linda Puchala who said the Board’s action circumvented decades of Railway Labor Act precedent in how these disputes are handled.
A spokesperson for the Labor Conference supported the Board’s decision.
“We support the National Mediation Board’s designation of a SMART-TD representative and agree with the Board’s well-considered decision that such designation is required under the Railway Labor Act,” the spokesperson said.
He added that the carriers believe collective bargaining is the proper forum to discuss train crew staffing and joint arbitration sought by the railroads is the appropriate method for resolving the parties’ dispute over the interpretation of common contract language.
The first round of negotiations will open on Feb. 26 and 27 in Washington.
Tags: class 1 railroads, International Association of Sheet Metal Air Rail and Transportation Workers, labor unions, National Railway Labor Conference, Railroad labor unions, Railway Labor Act, SMART, SMART Transportation Division
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