Railway Labor Act of 1926
The Railway Labor Act of 1926 was a significant piece of legislation in the United States, marking the country's first federal law aimed at collective bargaining within the railroad industry. Developed in the wake of labor unrest, the Act established a framework for labor relations, granting workers the right to form unions and engage in collective bargaining with their employers. It introduced mechanisms for dispute resolution, including mandatory mediation for unresolved contract disputes and the creation of emergency boards by the president to provide recommendations when mediation failed.
While the Act succeeded in reducing strikes and promoting labor peace during the 1920s, it had limitations, particularly regarding the protection of workers' rights to organize and the effectiveness of its grievance resolution processes. The existence of company-sponsored unions and management interference with organizing efforts undermined the Act's goals. In response to these shortcomings, Congress amended the Act in 1934, prohibiting company-sponsored unions and establishing the National Railroad Adjustment Board for grievance arbitration. Over the years, the Railway Labor Act has been amended multiple times and extended to include the airline industry, continuing to shape labor relations in both transportation sectors today.
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Subject Terms
Railway Labor Act of 1926
The Law: Federal legislation granting railroad workers the right to organize and bargain collectively
Also known as: Federal Railway Labor Act; RLA
Date: Enacted on May 20, 1926
The Railway Labor Act of 1926 was the first federal collective bargaining statute enacted in the United States. Although the law established mechanisms for resolving most labor disputes in the railroad industry during the late 1920s, not all its provisions were effective.
The Transportation Act of 1920 ended the federal government’s World War I operation of the nation’s railroads and returned them to private control. However, a nationwide railway strike in 1922 demonstrated the inadequacy of the act’s provisions for handling labor disputes. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge invited railroad management and labor to recommend legislation that would ensure labor peace. Two years later, railroad executives and union representatives agreed upon and presented a draft bill, which was passed by Congress with no substantive changes and signed by President Coolidge.
The Railway Labor Act of 1926 created three mechanisms to promote healthy labor relations. First, it gave labor the right to freely organize unions and for them to bargain collectively with management. Second, the act mandated that unresolved contract disputes be submitted to a Board of Mediation. If mediation failed and the board was unable to convince labor and management to submit to binding arbitration, the act granted the president of the United States authority to create an emergency board to make nonbinding recommendations to resolve disputed issues. Third, the act permitted railroads and unions to create boards of adjustment to arbitrate grievances involving the interpretation or application of contracts generated through collective bargaining.
Impact
The Railway Labor Act was reasonably successful in promoting labor peace during the 1920s. The Board of Mediation was able to resolve most contract disputes and avert all but a few minor railroad strikes. However, the act failed to provide adequate protection for unions’ organizing rights, and its mechanism for grievance dispute resolution was ineffective. It did not dissolve company-sponsored unions or penalize their continued existence, nor did it deter railroads from actively interfering with labor’s right to organize. Moreover, individual railroads agreed to establish local boards to adjudicate grievances with their company-sponsored unions but frequently opposed the use of a national board, preferred by labor organizations, because it would undermine management’s control of grievance settlement. When Congress amended the Railway Labor Act in 1934, it addressed these failures by barring company-sponsored unions and creating the National Railroad Adjustment Board to resolve grievances submitted by either labor or management.
The Railway Labor Act was subsequently amended multiple times and later extended to include the airline industry. Early in the twenty-first century, it continues to serve as the basis for relations in both transportation industries.
Bibliography
Aaron, Benjamin, et al. The Railway Labor Act at Fifty: Collective Bargaining in the Railroad and Airline Industries. Washington, D.C.: National Mediation Board, 1977.
Wilner, Frank N. ed. Understanding the Railway Labor Act. Omaha, Neb.: Simmons-Boardman Books, 2009.