Airline and Railroad Labor and Employment Law
Free PodCast
Listen to "Introduction to Labor Relations in the Airline and Railroad Industries" from the program Airline and Railroad Labor and Employment Law: A Comprehensive Analysis originally presented October 11-13, 2007
What You Will Learn
The Destination of Choice for Those Wanting to Stay Current with the Unique Labor Laws Governing These Industries
This annual course of study, comprising more than 18 hours of instruction, examines labor relations in the airline and railroad industries, where the governing law is the Railway Labor Act (RLA) rather than the National Labor Relations Act, and the responsible government agency is the National Mediation Board (NMB or Board) rather than the National Labor Relations Board. In addition to looking at labor-management relations, the course looks at the three-cornered relationship among individual employees, their unions, and their employers.
Is the RLA new to you? Attend the optional session on Thursday morning, a whirlwind tour of the law and policy of labor relations in the airline and railroad industries.
The course is designed for lawyers of all experience levels representing labor organizations, carriers, and individuals involved in the air and rail industries.
This course examines labor relations under the RLA, discussing:
• the function and workings of the Board,
• organizational issues,
• election campaigns,
• representation proceedings before the Board,
• collective bargaining,
• mediation,
• status quo rules,
• strikes and other work stoppages
• emergency boards
• dispute resolution
• international labor and employment law developments, and
• bankruptcy developments
The course also considers the rights of individual employees with respect to both carriers and unions - the roles of employment, civil rights, disability, whistleblowing, drug and alcohol testing, safety, and environmental laws in the airline and railroad industries.
Throughout, the course looks at emerging issues affecting employment in the air and rail industries. The two biggest issues are, of course, how security concerns in the post-9/11 world affect these workplaces, and the process and outcomes of reorganizations under Bankruptcy Court supervision. There are, in addition, such concerns as the extraterritorial application of U.S. employment and safety laws, foreign ownership of interests in U.S. carriers, and the issues of deregulation.
The faculty is drawn from all the legal communities involved in air and rail employment issues: the National Mediation Board; mediators and arbitrators; and representatives of carriers, labor organizations, and individual employees.
Time is reserved throughout the program to address registrants' questions.
Planning Chair
(also on faculty)
Joseph Z. Fleming, Greenberg Traurig, P.A., Miami
Faculty
Carol Sue Barnett, Deputy General Counsel, Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, New York
Roger H. Briton, Jackson Lewis LLP, Woodbury, New York
John O'B. Clarke, Jr., Highsaw, Mahoney & Clarke, P.C., Washington, D.C.
George H. Cohen, Office of George H. Cohen, Mediator, Washington, D.C.
Jonathan A. Cohen, Director, Legal Department, Air Line Pilots Association, Washington, D.C.
David P. Dean, James & Hoffman, P.C., Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth Dougherty, Member, National Mediation Board, Washington, D.C.
Jeffrey R. Freund, Bredhoff & Kaiser, P.L.L.C., Washington, D.C.
John J. Gallagher, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, Washington, D.C.
Lawrence Gibbons, Director, Office of Mediation Services, National Mediation Board, Washington, D.C.
Eileen Hennessey, Counsel, National Mediation Board, Washington, D.C.
Harry R. Hoglander, Chairman, National Mediation Board, Washington, D.C.
Chris Hollinger, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, San Francisco
Edgar N. James, James & Hoffman, P.C., Washington, D.C.
Joshua M. Javits, Dispute Resolution Services, Washington, D.C.; former National Mediation Board Member and Chairman
Tom A. Jerman, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Washington, D.C.
Mary L. Johnson, General Counsel, National Mediation Board, Washington, D.C.
Zachery M. Jones, Senior Mediator, National Mediation Board, Washington, D.C.
Thomas J. Kassin, Ford & Harrison LLP, Atlanta
Daniel M. Katz, Katz & Ranzman, P.C., Washington, D.C.
Sharon L. Levine, Lowenstein Sandler PC, Roseland, New Jersey
Michael L. Lowry, Ford & Harrison LLP, Atlanta
Arthur M. Luby, Assistant Director of Representation, Air Line Pilots Association, Herndon, Virginia
Stephen B. Moldof, Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP, New York
Ralph J. Moore, Jr., Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Washington, D.C.
Joanna L. Moorhead, General Counsel, National Railway Labor Conference, Washington, D.C.
Peter M. Panken, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., New York
Carmen R. Parcelli, Guerrieri, Edmond, Clayman & Bartos, P.C., Washington, D.C.
Thomas E. Reinert, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Washington, D.C.
Harry A. Rissetto, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Washington, D.C.
Julissa Rodriguez, Greenberg Traurig, P.A., Miami
Richard Schoolman, Special Counsel, New York City Transit Authority, Brooklyn; former Employee Relations Counsel, Pan American World Airways, Inc.
Carla M. Siegel, Associate General Counsel, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Robert A. Siegel, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Los Angeles
Patricia Sims, Senior Mediator, National Mediation Board, Washington, D.C.
Read Van de Water, Member, National Mediation Board, Washington, D.C.
Roland Watkins, Director, Office of Arbitration Services, National Mediation Board, Washington, D.C.
Roland P. Wilder, Jr., Baptiste & Wilder, P.C., Washington, D.C.
William R. Wilder, Baptiste & Wilder, P.C., Washington, D.C.
Kenneth M. Willner, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, Washington, D.C.
ALI-ABA Staff Attorney: Thomas M. Hennessey, Assistant Director, Office of Courses of Study
Is the RLA new to you? Attend the optional session on Thursday morning, a whirlwind tour of the law and policy of labor relations in the airline and railroad industries.
Program Schedule
Thursday, October 30, 2008
7:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
WEBCAST SEGMENT A: THE RLA, REPRESENTATION, AND ELECTIONS
8:00-8:45 a.m. Introduction to Labor Relations in the Airline and Railroad Industries
An optional session for those not familiar with the RLA
9:00 a.m. The Railway Labor Act and Its Application to the Airline and Railroad Industries
The role of the National Mediation Board, including commentary by members of the Board; Board procedures and regulations and their application to employees, labor organizations, and carriers
10:15 a.m. Networking Break
10:30 a.m. Representation Matters Before the National Mediation Board
Representation functions and hearing procedures before the Board: representation procedures relating to class or craft selection; Board jurisdiction; basic class or craft concepts in the airline and railroad industries; accretion issues; recent case developments before the Board and in the courts; use of the NMB Representation Rules and Representation Manual
11:30 a.m. Election Campaigns
• Rights, practical campaign strategy, and communications; applicable laws; problems that can be anticipated, including allegations of carrier or labor organization interference
• The role of the Board in election proceedings; Board notices, campaign activities, and technological developments
12:30 p.m. Lunch Break
WEBCAST SEGMENT B: BARGAINING, MEDIATION, STATUS QUO, AND WORK STOPPAGES
2:00 p.m. Collective Bargaining under the Railway Labor Act
Basic tactics in negotiating agreements; clauses (including force majeure provisions) and problems often found; practical suggestions on negotiating policies; national or local handling of bargaining issues in the railroad industry; new techniques and processes
3:00 p.m. Networking Break
3:15 p.m. The Mediation Process and Emergency Boards
The role of Section 10 Emergency Boards, their use, recommendations, and implementation processes (including ad hoc legislative approaches); a comparison of railroad and airline processes to determine whether Emergency Boards should be used
4:15 p.m. The Status Quo, Strikes, Intermittent Work Stoppages, Picketing, Unilateral Action, and Impasse Procedures
Status quo requirements (including whether the "status quo" applies prior to an initial agreement); mechanisms for resolving impasses under the RLA; the legal consequences of the status quo, impasse, strikes (including "CHAOS"), and informational picketing
5:15 p.m. Questions and Answers
5:45 p.m. Adjournment for the Day; Networking Reception for Registrants and Faculty
Friday, October 31, 2008
8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
WEBCAST SEGMENT C
9:00 a.m. Grievance and Arbitration Procedures
Establishing system boards of adjustment on airlines; the functioning of the National Railroad Adjustment Board and parallel arbitral tribunals on airlines; tribunal operations; responsibilities of carriers and labor organizations in presenting grievances to arbitrators; arbitration case theories and tactics; analysis of "minor disputes" and "major disputes" or interest arbitration; whether System Boards should or must be used before the first agreement is reached
10:15 a.m. Networking Break
10:30 a.m. Judicial Enforcement of the Railway Labor Act and "Unfair Labor Practices": Is There "Protected Activity" under the RLA?
11:45 a.m. International Labor and Employment Issues: International Conflicts
Extraterritorial application of the RLA and other U.S. civil rights and employment laws; application of U.S. law to foreign carriers; the Act of State Doctrine; foreign ownership and outsourcing
12:30 p.m. Lunch Break
WEBCAST SEGMENT D: SPECIAL ISSUES
2:00 p.m. Affiliations, Mergers, and Consolidations
Affiliated airlines and the single carrier issue; merged seniority lists; conflicts of interest
3:15 p.m. Networking Break
3:30 p.m. Recent Trends in Litigation of Employee Rights
Preemption and domestic conflicts; workplace environmental and safety laws; federal and state issues
4:15 p.m. Labor Relations under the Bankruptcy Code
The role of Bankruptcy Courts in modifying or terminating collective bargaining agreements, retiree health plans, and pension plans; the interface of the RLA, the Bankruptcy Code, and ERISA
5:45 p.m. Questions and Answers
6:00 p.m. Adjournment for the Day
Saturday, November 1, 2008
8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
WEBCAST SEGMENT E: RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS
9:00 a.m. Drug Testing Issues
Emerging policies and proposals; regulatory policies and cases; employee assistance and rehabilitation programs
9:25 a.m. Immigration Laws
Homeland Security requirements; legislative developments; immigration issues for the air and rail industries
9:50 a.m. Access and Disability Issues
10:15 a.m. Individual Rights Claims Against the Employer-Carrier and the Labor Organization
Laws prohibiting employment discrimination; the effect of federal, state, and local civil rights laws on carriers and labor organizations; the relationship between employment discrimination laws and RLA proceedings; developments specific to the airline and railroad industries, including pregnancy rules, weight standards for flight attendants, and mandatory retirement for pilots; the Pilot Records Improvement Act; laws relating to sex, race, national origin, and disability
11:05 a.m. Networking Break
11:20 a.m. Laws Affecting Hours, Wages, and Working Conditions in the Airline and Railroad Industries
Humanitarian rights laws; laws affecting safety requirements; whistleblowing laws, especially Sarbanes-Oxley; federal environmental laws relating to noise, air and other source pollution; the Fair Labor Standards Act and its relation to wage rates and equal pay and working conditions
11:40 a.m. Recent Developments in the Railroad and Airline Industries
Post-9/11 developments, concentrating on statutory and regulatory developments and related issues (including the federal regulatory role); alliances and code sharing issues; First Amendment and other constitutional issues; the status of "deregulation"
12:00 noon Ethics Overview
1:00 p.m. Adjournment
Total 60-minute hours of instruction: (including optional introductory session): 18.25, including one hour on ethics and professional responsibility
Suggested Prerequisite: Limited experience in legal practice in subject matter or completion of Basic CLE Course in subject matter
Educational Objective: Acquisition of knowledge and skills to develop proficiency as a practitioner
Here's what registrants have said about this course:
"The program itself was fantastic."
"Excellent course and presentation. Fascinating subjects, extremely relevant to my work environment. What a wealth of talent on the panels!"
"Excellent course. Very good mix of speakers from both sides of the arena. I appreciated the beginning session introducing us to the RLA. It was a perfect way to get us ready for the rest of the course."
"Thanks for an overall great job. The conference was enjoyable."
"Very well done! Great variety of topics, excellent speakers, and a balanced perspective. Nice job by Mr. Fleming in keeping everything on time."
"I really enjoyed the balance of labor and management representatives on the faculty panel."
"I am new in practicing under the RLA. The introductory section was extremely helpful and should be expanded to give new practitioners more background."
"The faculty was excellent. I found those topics not directly impacting on my practice to be interesting and informative."
