MAJOR MINOR DISPUTES UNDER THE RLA

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MAJOR / MINOR DISPUTES UNDER THE RLA
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• RLA makes no mention of these classifications.
• In Elgin, Joliet Eastern Railway v. Burley
  (1945), the Supreme Court to recognize two
  separate dispute resolution procedures

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MAJOR DISPUTE

• RLAs status quo provision prohibits either side
  from altering pay rates, rules or objective
  working conditions unless it has exhausted the
  collective bargaining process.

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MAJOR DISPUTES

• Look to the acquisition of rights for the future,
  not to assertion of rights claimed to have vested
  in the past.
• Involve a party whos conduct is not covered by
  the CBA, or a party who is is trying to change
  the CBA without negotiating.
• Example Instituting a new pay schedule without
  negotiating with the union.

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MINOR DISPUTE

• Submitted exclusively to binding arbitration
• Courts cannot enjoin either party from altering
  the status quo.

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MINOR DISPUTES

• Contemplates the existence of a collective
  bargaining agreement already concluded, or a
  situation in which no effort is made to bring
  about a formal change in terms or to create a new
  one.
• Relate either to the meaning or proper
  application of a particular provision of the
  collective bargaining agreement with reference to
  a specific situation or to an omitted case.

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MINOR DISPUTES

• The dispute must be resolved by interpreting the
  CBA.
• Example Did the employer violate the discipline
  provisions of the CBA by discharging an employee?