Answer: We have noted, in answer to previous questions, the cost-cutting measures we have instituted and those that are currently being considered so that we may continue to process our caseload in the face of diminished resources and budget limitations. With respect to the question of what we can do to directly discourage the filing of additional charges, any person who wishes to file a charge under the Act may do so. Thus, although we may attempt to discourage the filing of a charge where it appears that the Agency would have no jurisdiction over the matter or the complaint is clearly non-meritorious, a person who insists on filing such a charge must be permitted to do so. However, we have recognized that there are a certain number of complaints brought to the NLRB Regional Offices which, upon very little investigation, are clearly without merit or clearly not within the jurisdiction of the NLRB. If we were to receive a formal charge in every such instance, our caseload would be much greater and would require a great deal more money to avoid the build-up of a "backlog". To avoid such a situation developing, we have continued our Information Officer Program as a means of screening out of the investigative process those matters which are clearly without merit or not within the jurisdiction of the NLRB. A member of each of the Regional Office staff is designated, on a daily basis, to serve as Information Officer. That person is charged with the responsibility of receiving all incoming visitors to the office and all information telephone calls. The Information Officer will obtain, in as informal a way as possible, all relevant information pertaining to the nature of the inquiry, and if, in the judgment of the Information Officer and/or his or her supervisor, the matter is clearly without merit or not within the jurisdiction of the NLRB, every effort is made to avoid a formal filing by the inquiring party. Of course, if the inquiring party requests a formal determination, the Information Officer will accept the formal charge, and provide whatever assistance is necessary to prepare charge forms. The Information Officer Program, while in existence for many years, was given program priority in 1979. In FY 1980, we received a total of 177,200 Information Officer inquiries which resulted in 16,033 charges being filed, or 9.2 percent of all IO contacts. In FY 1981, we received 197,421 IO inquiries (an 11.4 percent increase over FY 1980) which resulted in the filing of 14,213 charges or 7.2 percent of all contacts. Thus, although the number of IO inquiries in FY 1981 was substantially greater than the number in FY 1980, the number of charges resulting therefrom was substantially less. In order to assure that the Information Officer Program is properly carried out at the Regional Office level with the necessary emphasis, the Office of the General Counsel has designated it as a priority program. WAYS TO REDUCE VIOLATIONS OF LABOR LAWS Question: Are there no ways, short of statutory amendments, in which the Board can take the "profit" out of violations of the labor laws? Answer: "Profit" in the violation of labor laws is possible if a labor law violator is permitted to escape without having to remedy its violations and/or if time delays in processing cases are such that the remedies provided are ineffective. Where the situation permits, General Counsels have sought, and the Board has granted, expanded remedies against repeat violators. Such remedies include corporate-wide cease and desist orders and reimbursement for litigation expenses. See, for example, J. P. Stevens, Inc., 240 NLRB 33, 247 NLRB 420 and Florida Steel Corporation, 231 NLRB 651. In cases involving a recidivist, the Agency normally will not accept less than a formal settlement which permits the Agency to obtain a Court decree and to treat the settlement as though it were a finding of a violation. The Board's indexing of interest on backpay to the rate established by the IRS, which is currently at 20 percent, should be a substantial deterrent in cases calling for a backpay remedy. The best way to assure that no one "profits" from violations of the labor laws is to take swift, immediate, effective action against those who do. This can be done only if the Agency is given adequate resources to pursue that task. Question: Under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act, the Board may, at its discretion, seek a temporary restraining order halting a possible violation of the Act. Why doesn't the Board more vigorously use Section 10(j) injunctions as a means of stemming the increasing number of violations? Answer: Section 10(j) is an extraordinary remedy to be used only in those cases where there is a compelling need for injunctive relief while the case is being litigated before the ALJ and the Board. There is a need for caution in the use of this provision inasmuch as it operates to compel a respondent to take certain remedial steps before a final determination of whether the respondent committed an unfair labor practice. In order to secure such relief, it must be shown that there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation has occurred, and that injunctive relief is just and proper. Given the foregoing considerations, we do not believe that we have underutilized Section 10(j). Finally, it should be noted that, in recent years, the Agency has made a determined effort to explain its Section 10(j) policies to the public. Since 1975, each General Counsel of the Board, at the end of his tenure, has issued a report describing the cases in which Section 10(j) relief was sought as well as the results obtained. In addition, the General Counsel's Quarterly Report sets forth the number of cases in which the Board has authorized Section 10(j) relief in that quarter, the kinds of cases involved, and the results obtained. 1983, the President's budget proposes that referee salary and expenses will be paid by the parties. The budget justification, as submitted, identifies the functions just discussed and the amounts requested for each. I would like to go over each one briefly. Mediatory Services For mediatory services for fiscal year 1983 we are requesting $3,034,000, an increase of $310,000 over last year due to mandatory changes. These services which are the responsibilities of the National Mediation Board, involve the making and amending of collective bargaining agreements, the selection by employees of their bargaining representatives, as well as a number of administrative duties consistent with statutory authority under the Act, and related statutes governing railroad and airline labor disputes procedures. Voluntary Arbitration and Emergency Disputes The second activity of the Mediation Board relates to voluntary arbitration and the investigation of critical disputes through the emergency board procedure. In arbitration proceedings, disputes are voluntarily submitted by labor and management to a neutral party for final and binding decision. Emergency boards are created by the President pursuant to section 10 of the Act. When the Mediation Board finds that a dispute threatens substantially to interrupt interstate commerce and deprive any section of the country of essential transportation, it notifies the President who may create an emergency board to investigate and make recommendations as to the settlement of the dispute. STATEMENT OF ROBERT J. BROWN MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE. Thank you for this opportunity to appear before your Subcommittee today regarding the National Mediation Board's budget for fiscal year 1983. The total amount requested for fiscal year 1983 to administer the Railway Labor Act is for a personnel complement of 60 positions and $3,618,000, $1,140,000 less than is available in fiscal year 1982. This budget reduction is due to the removal of the provision for referee compensation and travel expenses under section 3 of the Act. The appropriation for the National Mediation Board is requested for expenses necessary to carry out the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended. The Act is administered by the National Mediation Board. This statute was designed to provide orderly procedures for the settlement of labor disputes in the railroad and airline industries. Additionally, the Mediation Board handles questions of representation as they arise in these industries and interprets agreements made in mediation. When the Railway Labor Act was amended in 1934 it established the National Railroad Adjustment Board for the purpose of disposing of grievances arising under the terms of collective bargaining agreements in the railroad industry. On June 20, 1966, the President signed Public Law 89-456, which further amended certain provisions of section 3 of the Act. Under the Public Law, new grievances and those which have been on docket before the National Railroad Adjustment Board for a period of at least one year may be referred to a local board of adjustment. The purpose of this amendment was to reduce an overwhelming caseload of unresolved disputes pending before the National Railroad Adjustment Board. Beginning in fiscal year 1983, the President's budget proposes that referee salary and expenses will be paid by the parties. The budget justification, as submitted, identifies the functions just discussed and the amounts requested for each. I would like to go over each one briefly. Mediatory Services For mediatory services for fiscal year 1983 we are requesting $3,034,000, an increase of $310,000 over last year due to mandatory changes. These services which are the responsibilities of the National Mediation Board, involve the making and amending of collective bargaining agreements, the selection by employees of their bargaining representatives, as well as a number of administrative duties consistent with statutory authority under the Act, and related statutes governing railroad and airline labor disputes procedures. Voluntary Arbitration and Emergency Disputes The second activity of the Mediation Board relates to voluntary arbitration and the investigation of critical disputes through the emergency board procedure. In arbitration proceedings, disputes are voluntarily submitted by labor and management to a neutral party for final and binding decision. Emergency boards are created by the President pursuant to section 10 of the Act. When the Mediation Board finds that a dispute threatens substantially to interrupt interstate commerce and deprive any section of the country of essential transportation, it notifies the President who may create an emergency board to investigate and make recommendations as to the settlement of the dispute. |