Mr. Andrew M. Martin, representing Lake Terminal Railroad Company. Mr. Ralph R. Bradley, representing Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad Co., an (Page 5) Mr. William R. McMunn, representing Merchants Dispatch Transportation Corporation. Mr. William G. Brantley, representing Burlington Refrigerator Express Company, Fr Express Company and Western Fruit Express Company. 5 (Page 6) PROCEEDINGS THE CHAIRMAN: These proceedings are being conducted by an Emergency Board established by The Chairman of the National Railway Labor Panel pursuant to Executive Order 9172 and 9299. It will be helpful, I think, at the very outset of the proceedings to read into the record the text of these Executive Orders and of the Order establishing this Emergency Board. Executive Order 9172 was issued by the President on May 22nd, 1942. It reads as follows: (Reading): Executive Order 9172 ESTABLISHING A PANEL FOR THE CREATION OF EMERGENCY BOARDS FOR THE ADJUSTMENT OF RAILWAY LABOR DISPUTES WHEREAS, Section 5 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended (Ch. 8, title 45, U. S. C.) provides that for a period of thirty days after mediatory efforts of the National Mediation Board have failed to settle a dispute "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"; and WHEREAS, duly designated and authorized representatives of employees may, during this thirty day (Page 7) period, take a strike vote and fix a date for the strike to become effective; and WHEREAS, Section 10 of the said Railway Labor Act requires the National Mediation Board to notify the President if an unadjusted dispute threatens, in its judgment, substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive any section of the country of essential transportation service, and provides that upon receipt of such notification the President may, in his discretion, create a board to investigate and report respecting such dispute; and WHEREAS, the national interest demands that for the effective prosecution of the war there shall be no strike votes taken, or dates fixed for the beginning of strikes, or strikes, lock-outs, embargoes put into effect, which would affect the transportation industry covered by the Railway Labor Act. NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the Statutes of the United States, and in order to adjust the policies and procedures under the said Act to the requirements of the war emergency, it is hereby ordered as follows: (Page 8) 1. There is hereby created, for the duration of the war and six months thereafter, a National Railway Labor Panel of nine members, hereinafter referred to as the Panel, to be appointed by the President, and to be qualified as to membership thereon in the same manner as provided in Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act for membership on emergency boards. The President shall designate a chairman from the members of the Panel and shall fill vacancies thereon as they may occur. The Chairman of the Panel shall receive such compensation, together with necessary travelling expenses, as the President may prescribe. The members of the Panel shall receive necessary travel expenses and subsistance expenses or per diem allowances in lieu thereof on such days as they are actually engaged in performance of duties pursuant to this Order. 2. Whenever a dispute between a carrier or carriers and its or their employees concerning changes in rates of pay, rules, or working conditions, or whenever any other dispute not referable to the National Railroad Adjustment Board, is not adjusted or settled under the provisions of Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the Railway Labor Act, the duly designated and authorized representative of employees involved in such dispute may, prior (Page 9) to notice by the National Mediation Board to the President of a threatened interruption to commerce, notify the Chairman of the Panel of the failure of the parties to adjust the dispute and of their desire to avoid the taking of a strike vote and the setting of a strike date. If, in the judgment of the Chairman of the Panel, the dispute is such that if unadjusted, even in the absence of a strike vote, it may interfere with the prosecution of the war, he may thereupon select three members of the Panel to serve as an emergency board to investigate such dispute and to report thereon to the President. Subject to the provisions of Section 10, such board shall have exclusive and final jurisdiction of the dispute and shall make every reasonable effort to settle such dispute. 3. The National Mediation Board shall furnish the Panel stenographic, investigative, and such other facilities as may be necessary; and within the limits of the funds provided, and upon the certification of the Chairman of the Panel, shall make such other disbursements as are necessary to effectuate this Order." (Page 10) Executive Order No. 9299 was issued by the President on February 4, 1943. It reads as follows: By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, and more particularly by the act of October 2, 1942 (Public Law 729, 77th Congress), it is hereby ordered: 1. No increases in the wage rates or salary of any employee subject to the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, whether granted as a result of voluntary agreement, collective bargaining, conciliation, arbitration, or otherwise, and no decreases in such wage rates or salary, shall be made except in accordance with the provisions of this order; provided, however, that nothing contained in this order or Executive Order No. 9250 shall be construed as affecting the procedure or limiting the jurisdiction of either the National Mediation Board, as defined in the Railway Labor Act, or the National Railway Labor Panel, as defined in Executive Order No. 9172, except as herein specifically set forth. 2. No carrier shall make any change in wage rates, except such changes as by general order of the National War Labor Board, or by regulations of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, are permitted to be made (Page 11) without the specific approval of the Board or the Commissioner, as the case may be, unless notice of such proposed change shall have been filed with the Chairman of the National Railway Labor Panel, created by Executive Order No. 9172, and shall have been permitted to become effective as hereinafter provided. Notwithstanding section 4001.2 of the Regulations of the Economic Stabilization Director, for the purpose of determining what wage and salary adjustments may be made without any specific approval, the general orders of the National War Labor Board shall be applicable to all employees subject to the Railway Labor Act, except those receiving salaries at the rate of $5,000 or more per annum in regard to whom the regulations of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall apply. But any adjustment of salary under $5,000 heretofore approved by the Commissioner shall not be affected by this order. 3. If the chairman of the National Railway Labor Panel has reason to believe that the proposed change, in wage rates or salary, may not conform to the standards prescribed in Executive Order No. 9250, or to the general stabilization program made effective thereunder, or to the directives on policy issued by the Economic (Page 12) Stabilization Director thereunder and the proposed change is not modified to conform to such standards, program, and directives, he shall designate three members of the Panel as an Emergency Board to investigate the proposed change and to report to the President. Otherwise, the Chairman of the Panel may permit the proposed change to become effective. 4. Emergency Boards, whether designated pursuant to the Railway Labor Act, Executive Order No. 9172, or section 3 of this order, in reporting to the President shall certify that their recommendations in regard to any proposed change affecting wage and salary payments conform with the standards prescribed in Executive Order No. 9250, the general stabilization program made effective thereunder, and with the directives on policy issued by the Economic Stabilization Director thereunder. 5. Copies of the report with recommendations made to the President by any Emergency Board under section 4 of this order shall be filed by the Board forthwith with the Economic Stabilization Director, the National War Labor Board and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The Economic Stabilization Director (Page 13) may on behalf of himself or other departments and agencies concerned, report to the President the effect of the recommendations on the general stabilization program. Unless and except to the extent that the Economic Stabilization Director shall otherwise direct, the recommendations of the Emergency Board in regard to proposed changes affecting wages and salary payments shall, upon the expiration of thirty days after the report is filed with the President, become effective. 6. The National War Labor Board and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall either rule on any application for approval of wage and salary adjustments now before the Board and the Commissioner or transfer it to the Chairman of the National Railway Labor Panel. The Board and the Commissioner shall not rule on any application hereafter made. (Page 14) And now, finally, the order of the Chairman of the National Railway Labor Panel establishing this emergency board that was issued on February 20, 1943. It reads as follows: Whereas a dispute between certain carriers represented by Western Carriers' Conference Committee, Eastern Carriers' Conference Committee, Southeastern Carriers' Conference Committee, together with other carriers listed in Exhibit A attached hereto, and certain of their employees represented by the Employees' National Conference Committee of The Fifteen Cooperating Railway Labor Organizations, designated by the National Mediation Board as Case No. A-1350, has not been adjusted under the provisions of Sections 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the Railway Labor Act; and Whereas the duly authorized representatives of the employees involved in the dispute have notified the Chairman of the National Railway Labor Panel of the failure of the parties to adjust the dispute and of their desire to avoid the taking of strike votes and the setting of strike dates; and it is the judgment of the Chairman of the Panel that the dispute is such that if unadjusted, even in the absence of a strike vote, it may interfere with the prosecution of the war; (Page 15) NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Executive Orders 9172 and 9299 I hereby select I. L. Sharfman (Chairman), Walter T. Fisher and John A. Fitch, members of the National Railway Labor Panel, to serve as an emergency board to investigate said dispute and to report thereon to the President, such board to commence its investigation in the City of Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, March 1, 1943. The exhibit referred to in this order establishing the Emergency Board which lists certain carriers other than those embracing in the three conference committees referred to in that order includes the following: Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern Railway Company. Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad Company. Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee R. R. Co. American Refrigerator Transit Co. Woodstock & Blockton Railway. Belt Railway of Chattanooga. Carolina & Tennessee Southern. State University Ry. Savannah & Atlanta Ry. Co. Port Utilities Commission of Charleston. Nashville Terminals, c/o Louisville & Nashville Ry. Macon, Dublin & Savannah RR Co. Fruit Growers Express Company. Western Fruit Express Company. Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast Ry. Co. Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad. Seaboard Terminal and Refrigeration Co. Merchants Despatch Transportation Corporation. Lake Terminal Railroad Company. (Page 17) Greenwich & Johnsonville Railway. Erie Railroad. Detroit and Mackinac Railway Company. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Co. Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway. Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Company. (Page 18) I want to offer this brief word of explanation: This Emergency Board, naturally, takes the jurisdiction of the case as submitted to it by the Chairman of the National Railway Labor Panel. The case has been designated by a single designation as Case No. A-1350 which, of course, went through the processes under the Railway Labor Act of negotiation and mediation through the National Mediation Board, with ultimately an opportunity for arbitration. It is that case which is before us. We have not as yet an official list of the carriers represented by the three conference committees referred to in the Order establishing this Emergency Board. It may well be that some of the carriers listed in Exhibit A are being represented by some of these conference committees. There may be questions as to the precise aggregate list of carriers to which whatever decisions are reached by this Board will be applicable. We intend that the parties in interest shall, as these proceedings progress, prepare such lists more accurately perhaps than we have them as yet. These lists will be submitted to us. There will be ample oppor (Page 19) tunity for checking them, and before these proceedings are closed the Board will have before it such accurate lists. If there is any carrier listed that believes that it ought not to be subject to this proceeding, we will afford an opportunity for such a carrier to state its position in that regard. If there is any one who has not been listed who believes that he is subject to be heard in this proceeding, we will afford such representative of such carrier an opportunity to state his position. If some dispute or controversies remain as to the scope of this proceeding, that is, as to precisely what carriers it includes, those remaining questions will have to be decided by the Board as part of its final decision when it hopes to indicate precisely to whom such determinations as it may make shall be applicable. I make these explanations in order that we may save time and not have a good many arguments on questions of jurisdiction that might delay the opening of the proceedings on the merits, in which we are primarily interested, although it is of the utmost importance, of course, that we know exactly who is involved in this pro ceeding and to whom our findings may apply. (Page 20) It is not the disposition of the Board, however, to try to settle such conflicts as may exist with respect to jurisdiction over particular situations in a preliminary way. It will not settle such questions until the proceedings are all over. It will take into account whatever representations may be made to the Board bearing upon such questions. I think that perhaps this explanation will help to get us started more promptly than we otherwise could be started. Now, having made these preliminary remarks, I think we are ready to ask for the entry of appearances. I think I ought to say in that regard that, of course, it is up to the carriers and the employees who are involved in the disputes and embraced in this proceeding to determine for themselves as to how they will be represented. |