
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 45USC152]

 
                           TITLE 45--RAILROADS
 
                        CHAPTER 8--RAILWAY LABOR
 
                    SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
 
Sec. 152. General duties


First. Duty of carriers and employees to settle disputes

    It shall be the duty of all carriers, their officers, agents, and 
employees to exert every reasonable effort to make and maintain 
agreements concerning rates of pay, rules, and working conditions, and 
to settle all disputes, whether arising out of the application of such 
agreements or otherwise, in order to avoid any interruption to commerce 
or to the operation of any carrier growing out of any dispute between 
the carrier and the employees thereof.

Second. Consideration of disputes by representatives

    All disputes between a carrier or carriers and its or their 
employees shall be considered, and, if possible, decided, with all 
expedition, in conference between representatives designated and 
authorized so to confer, respectively, by the carrier or carriers and by 
the employees thereof interested in the dispute.

Third. Designation of representatives

    Representatives, for the purposes of this chapter, shall be 
designated by the respective parties without interference, influence, or 
coercion by either party over the designation of representatives by the 
other; and neither party shall in any way interfere with, influence, or 
coerce the other in its choice of representatives. Representatives of 
employees for the purposes of this chapter need not be persons in the 
employ of the carrier, and no carrier shall, by interference, influence, 
or coercion seek in any manner to prevent the designation by its 
employees as their representatives of those who or which are not 
employees of the carrier.

Fourth. Organization and collective bargaining; freedom from 
        interference by carrier; assistance in organizing or maintaining 
        organization by carrier forbidden; deduction of dues from wages 
        forbidden

    Employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively 
through representatives of their own choosing. The majority of any craft 
or class of employees shall have the right to determine who shall be the 
representative of the craft or class for the purposes of this chapter. 
No carrier, its officers, or agents shall deny or in any way question 
the right of its employees to join, organize, or assist in organizing 
the labor organization of their choice, and it shall be unlawful for any 
carrier to interfere in any way with the organization of its employees, 
or to use the funds of the carrier in maintaining or assisting or 
contributing to any labor organization, labor representative, or other 
agency of collective bargaining, or in performing any work therefor, or 
to influence or coerce employees in an effort to induce them to join or 
remain or not to join or remain members of any labor organization, or to 
deduct from the wages of employees any dues, fees, assessments, or other 
contributions payable to labor organizations, or to collect or to assist 
in the collection of any such dues, fees, assessments, or other 
contributions: Provided, That nothing in this chapter shall be construed 
to prohibit a carrier from permitting an employee, individually, or 
local representatives of employees from conferring with management 
during working hours without loss of time, or to prohibit a carrier from 
furnishing free transportation to its employees while engaged in the 
business of a labor organization.

Fifth. Agreements to join or not to join labor organizations forbidden

    No carrier, its officers, or agents shall require any person seeking 
employment to sign any contract or agreement promising to join or not to 
join a labor organization; and if any such contract has been enforced 
prior to the effective date of this chapter, then such carrier shall 
notify the employees by an appropriate order that such contract has been 
discarded and is no longer binding on them in any way.

Sixth. Conference of representatives; time; place; private agreements

    In case of a dispute between a carrier or carriers and its or their 
employees, arising out of grievances or out of the interpretation or 
application of agreements concerning rates of pay, rules, or working 
conditions, it shall be the duty of the designated representative or 
representatives of such carrier or carriers and of such employees, 
within ten days after the receipt of notice of a desire on the part of 
either party to confer in respect to such dispute, to specify a time and 
place at which such conference shall be held: Provided, (1) That the 
place so specified shall be situated upon the line of the carrier 
involved or as otherwise mutually agreed upon; and (2) that the time so 
specified shall allow the designated conferees reasonable opportunity to 
reach such place of conference, but shall not exceed twenty days from 
the receipt of such notice: And provided further, That nothing in this 
chapter shall be construed to supersede the provisions of any agreement 
(as to conferences) then in effect between the parties.

Seventh. Change in pay, rules, or working conditions contrary to 
        agreement or to section 156 forbidden

    No carrier, its officers, or agents shall change the rates of pay, 
rules, or working conditions of its employees, as a class, as embodied 
in agreements except in the manner prescribed in such agreements or in 
section 156 of this title.

Eighth. Notices of manner of settlement of disputes; posting

    Every carrier shall notify its employees by printed notices in such 
form and posted at such times and places as shall be specified by the 
Mediation Board that all disputes between the carrier and its employees 
will be handled in accordance with the requirements of this chapter, and 
in such notices there shall be printed verbatim, in large type, the 
third, fourth, and fifth paragraphs of this section. The provisions of 
said paragraphs are made a part of the contract of employment between 
the carrier and each employee, and shall be held binding upon the 
parties, regardless of any other express or implied agreements between 
them.

Ninth. Disputes as to identity of representatives; designation by 
        Mediation Board; secret elections

    If any dispute shall arise among a carrier's employees as to who are 
the representatives of such employees designated and authorized in 
accordance with the requirements of this chapter, it shall be the duty 
of the Mediation Board, upon request of either party to the dispute, to 
investigate such dispute and to certify to both parties, in writing, 
within thirty days after the receipt of the invocation of its services, 
the name or names of the individuals or organizations that have been 
designated and authorized to represent the employees involved in the 
dispute, and certify the same to the carrier. Upon receipt of such 
certification the carrier shall treat with the representative so 
certified as the representative of the craft or class for the purposes 
of this chapter. In such an investigation, the Mediation Board shall be 
authorized to take a secret ballot of the employees involved, or to 
utilize any other appropriate method of ascertaining the names of their 
duly designated and authorized representatives in such manner as shall 
insure the choice of representatives by the employees without 
interference, influence, or coercion exercised by the carrier. In the 
conduct of any election for the purposes herein indicated the Board 
shall designate who may participate in the election and establish the 
rules to govern the election, or may appoint a committee of three 
neutral persons who after hearing shall within ten days designate the 
employees who may participate in the election. The Board shall have 
access to and have power to make copies of the books and records of the 
carriers to obtain and utilize such information as may be deemed 
necessary by it to carry out the purposes and provisions of this 
paragraph.

Tenth. Violations; prosecution and penalties

    The willful failure or refusal of any carrier, its officers or 
agents, to comply with the terms of the third, fourth, fifth, seventh, 
or eighth paragraph of this section shall be a misdemeanor, and upon 
conviction thereof the carrier, officer, or agent offending shall be 
subject to a fine of not less than $1,000, nor more than $20,000, or 
imprisonment for not more than six months, or both fine and 
imprisonment, for each offense, and each day during which such carrier, 
officer, or agent shall willfully fail or refuse to comply with the 
terms of the said paragraphs of this section shall constitute a separate 
offense. It shall be the duty of any United States attorney to whom any 
duly designated representative of a carrier's employees may apply to 
institute in the proper court and to prosecute under the direction of 
the Attorney General of the United States, all necessary proceedings for 
the enforcement of the provisions of this section, and for the 
punishment of all violations thereof and the costs and expenses of such 
prosecution shall be paid out of the appropriation for the expenses of 
the courts of the United States: Provided, That nothing in this chapter 
shall be construed to require an individual employee to render labor or 
service without his consent, nor shall anything in this chapter be 
construed to make the quitting of his labor by an individual employee an 
illegal act; nor shall any court issue any process to compel the 
performance by an individual employee of such labor or service, without 
his consent.

Eleventh. Union security agreements; check-off

    Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, or of any 
other statute or law of the United States, or Territory thereof, or of 
any State, any carrier or carriers as defined in this chapter and a 
labor organization or labor organizations duly designated and authorized 
to represent employees in accordance with the requirements of this 
chapter shall be permitted--
        (a) to make agreements, requiring, as a condition of continued 
    employment, that within sixty days following the beginning of such 
    employment, or the effective date of such agreements, whichever is 
    the later, all employees shall become members of the labor 
    organization representing their craft or class: Provided, That no 
    such agreement shall require such condition of employment with 
    respect to employees to whom membership is not available upon the 
    same terms and conditions as are generally applicable to any other 
    member or with respect to employees to whom membership was denied or 
    terminated for any reason other than the failure of the employee to 
    tender the periodic dues, initiation fees, and assessments (not 
    including fines and penalties) uniformly required as a condition of 
    acquiring or retaining membership.
        (b) to make agreements providing for the deduction by such 
    carrier or carriers from the wages of its or their employees in a 
    craft or class and payment to the labor organization representing 
    the craft or class of such employees, of any periodic dues, 
    initiation fees, and assessments (not including fines and penalties) 
    uniformly required as a condition of acquiring or retaining 
    membership: Provided, That no such agreement shall be effective with 
    respect to any individual employee until he shall have furnished the 
    employer with a written assignment to the labor organization of such 
    membership dues, initiation fees, and assessments, which shall be 
    revocable in writing after the expiration of one year or upon the 
    termination date of the applicable collective agreement, whichever 
    occurs sooner.
        (c) The requirement of membership in a labor organization in an 
    agreement made pursuant to subparagraph (a) of this paragraph shall 
    be satisfied, as to both a present or future employee in engine, 
    train, yard, or hostling service, that is, an employee engaged in 
    any of the services or capacities covered in the First division of 
    paragraph (h) of section 153 of this title defining the 
    jurisdictional scope of the First Division of the National Railroad 
    Adjustment Board, if said employee shall hold or acquire membership 
    in any one of the labor organizations, national in scope, organized 
    in accordance with this chapter and admitting to membership 
    employees of a craft or class in any of said services; and no 
    agreement made pursuant to subparagraph (b) of this paragraph shall 
    provide for deductions from his wages for periodic dues, initiation 
    fees, or assessments payable to any labor organization other than 
    that in which he holds membership: Provided, however, That as to an 
    employee in any of said services on a particular carrier at the 
    effective date of any such agreement on a carrier, who is not a 
    member of any one of the labor organizations, national in scope, 
    organized in accordance with this chapter and admitting to 
    membership employees of a craft or class in any of said services, 
    such employee, as a condition of continuing his employment, may be 
    required to become a member of the organization representing the 
    craft in which he is employed on the effective date of the first 
    agreement applicable to him: Provided, further, That nothing herein 
    or in any such agreement or agreements shall prevent an employee 
    from changing membership from one organization to another 
    organization admitting to membership employees of a craft or class 
    in any of said services.
        (d) Any provisions in paragraphs Fourth and Fifth of this 
    section in conflict herewith are to the extent of such conflict 
    amended.

(May 20, 1926, ch. 347, Sec. 2, 44 Stat. 577; June 21, 1934, ch. 691, 
Sec. 2, 48 Stat. 1186; June 25, 1948, ch. 646, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 909; 
Jan. 10, 1951, ch. 1220, 64 Stat. 1238.)

                       References in Text

    The effective date of this chapter, referred to in par. Fifth, 
probably means May 20, 1926, the date of approval of act May 20, 1926, 
ch. 347, 44 Stat. 577.


                               Amendments

    1951--Act Jan. 10, 1951, added par. Eleventh.
    1934--Act June 21, 1934, substituted ``by the carrier or carriers'' 
for ``by the carriers'' in par. Second, generally amended pars. Third, 
Fourth, and Fifth, and added pars. Sixth to Tenth.

                         Change of Name

    Act June 25, 1948, eff. Sept. 1, 1948, substituted ``United States 
attorney'' for ``district attorney of the United States''. See section 
541 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, and Historical and 
Revision Notes thereunder.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 153, 157 of this title; 
title 29 section 2101.
