RAILROAD WORK RULES DISPUTE Trainmen and The Switchmen's Union of North America, the Committees representing the carriers will be prepared to meet the representatives of the other party for the purpose of executing an arbitration agreement at the earliest date convenient to the parties. Western Railways Am 474 Union Station Building The National Mediation Board has been advised by the Chairmen of the Eastern, Western and Southeastern Carriers' Conference Committees that the carriers represented by those Comittees are agreeable to subsitting the dispute, in its present posture, to arbitration provided the parties are able to agree on the provisions of an arbitration agreement, which, among other things, shall state specifically the issues to be arbitrated. We have been advised by Messrs. Davidson, Gilbert, Wagner, RAILROAD WORK RULES DISPUTE Hennedy and Speirs, on July 6, 1962, that the organizations have declined, in vriting, to arbitrate the issues in B Case No. A-6700 as set forth in our arbitration offer dazed June 26, 1962. Your attention is, therefore, directed to the last clause in Section 5, First (b) of the Railway Labor Act, amended, reading as follows: "If arbitration at the request of the Board shell be refused by one or both parties, the Board shall at once notify both parties in virting that its mediatory efforts have failed and for thirty days thereafter, unless in the intervening period the parties agree to arbitration, or an emergency board shall be created under Section 10 of this Act, no change shall be made in the rates of pay, rules, or working conditions or established practices in effect prior to the time the dispute arose." It is the judgment of our Board that all practical methods provided in the Railway Labor Act for our adjusting the dispute have been exhausted, without effecting a settlement. In these circumstances, notice is hereby served in behalf of the Board that its services (except as provided in Section 5, Third, and in Section 10 of the law) have this day been terminated under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act. We are sending to Messrs. Knight, Wolfe and Bryant copy of the organizations' jointly signed letter of July 6, 1962, and to Mesars. Davidson, Gilbert, Wagner, Kennedy and Speirs copy of letter dated June 28, 1962 and telegrams dated July 10 and 12, 1962 from the Chairmen of the Eastern, Western and Southeastern Carriers' Conference Committees. By direction of the NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD. cta E. C. Thompson July 17, 1962 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Mr. R. E. Davidson, Grand Chief Engineer Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen Mr. L. J. Wagner, President Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Mr. W. P. Kennedy, President Switchmen's Union of North America Mr. Neil P. Speirs, President Dear Sirs: The carriers herewith serve upon you, the representatives of their operating employees, the attached promulgation of certain revisions in the work rules of operating employees to become effective at 12:01 A.M. August 16, 1962. The revisions in the work rules embraced in this promulgation are to make effective the rules proposed in the carriers' Section 6 Notices of November 2, 1959, and the rules proposed by the organizations with which you are associated, as our respective Notices were modified by the recommendations of the Presidential Railroad Commission set forth in its report to the President of the United States on February 28, 1962. While the carriers propose to make these revised work rules effective on — August 16, 1962, _47_ days later than the effective date contemplated by the recommendations of the Presidential Railroad Commission, if any representative or representatives of any railway labor organization or organizations parties to the agreement of October 17, 1960 shall call, authorize or direct any strike against, or withdrawal from the service of any one or more of the carriers named in Exhibits A, B and C attached to said revised work rules, to become effective prior to August 16, 1962, for the purpose of preventing any carrier or carriers from placing the revised work rules in effect, then said revised work rules will be made effective by all of the carriers named in Exhibits A, B and C as of the effective date of such strike or withdrawal from service. In case of any slow down or other interference with the operations of any such carrier or carriers, prior to August 16, 1962, the Chairmen of the Regional Carriers' Conference Committees will advise you of the date on which the revised work rules vill become effective. |