January 2011 - National Labor Relations Board

11711 NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD JURISDICTION11711 National Mediation Board JurisdictionAt times, questions may arise as to whether a particular employer involved in anNLRB proceeding is under the jurisdiction of the Railway Labor Act (RLA),administered by the National Mediation Board (NMB). See 45 U.S.C. §§ 151 (railroads)and 181 (air carriers). Section 2(2) of the National Labor Relations Act excludes fromthe definition of employer “any person subject to the Railway Labor Act.”11711.1 Jurisdiction ClearIf it is clear that the NLRB has jurisdiction over the employer, the RegionalOffice should proceed with the processing of the case. See United Parcel Service, 318NLRB 778 (1995), for circumstances in which referral to NMB is not appropriate.Conversely, if it is clear that the employer falls under the jurisdiction of the RLA,the parties should be referred to the NMB and the charge or petition should be dismissed,absent withdrawal.11711.2 Arguable RLA JurisdictionThe Board’s practice is to refer cases of arguable or doubtful RLA jurisdiction tothe NMB for an advisory opinion on the jurisdictional issue. Federal Express Corp., 317NLRB 1155 (1995). Thus, in such circumstances, the Regional Office should submit thecase for referral either to the Executive Secretary or the Division of Operations-Management as specified below. In such cases, the written submission should containthe relevant facts as outlined in OM 90-83, concerning referrals to the NMB and shouldinclude the names, addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses of allparties to the proceedings and their representatives.(a) C Case: In a C case, the Regional Office should initially contact the Divisionof Operations-Management to informally discuss the matter. If a formal submission isrequired, the Regional Office should draft a letter to the Chief of Staff of the NMB for thesignature of the Associate General Counsel, Division of Operations-Management. Theletter should be entitled “Request for Opinion on National Mediation Board Jurisdictionunder the Railway Labor Act” and should be structured as follows:BackgroundFactsIssuesContentions of the PartiesThe letter should conclude with a statement that the question of jurisdiction isbeing submitted for NMB consideration. The Regional Office should also submit its casefile.(b) R Case: Generally, in an R case, the Regional Office should conduct ahearing to develop a record on the jurisdictional issue. If, after review of the record, theRevised 01/11