14. 

Q: 

During the mediation process, what is the role of the mediator?

A: 

The role of the mediator is to assist the parties with productive dialog on their issues. The mediator can and will use a variety of techniques to ensure this does occur.

15. 

Q: 

Can the NMB determine where the parties will meet when they are in mediation?

A: 

The courts have held that the NMB has the authority to establish where and when the parties will meet while in mediation. Normally, however, the meeting site and dates are mutually agreed upon among the parties and the mediator.

16. 

Q: 

Can the NMB determine when and/or how often the parties will meet when they are in mediation?

A: 

Again, meetings are normally established by mutual agreement among the parties and the mediator, but during mediation the NMB does have the authority to dictate when the parties will meet, for how long they will meet, and when meetings will be recessed.

17. 

Q: 

How long does mediation last?

A: 

There is no time limit for the mediation process. It can take just a few meetings, or it can take many months, depending upon the complexity of the negotiations and many other factors unique to each contract negotiation. The NMB has the authority to decide when and if to end mediation. Under the RLA, the NMB ceases mediation efforts when it concludes that all reasonable efforts to reach a voluntary agreement through mediation have failed.

18. 

Q: 

What does "status quo" mean?

A: 

"Status quo" is used to describe the terms of the contract in place at the beginning of direct negotiations. During direct negotiations, mediated negotiations, and any cooling off periods after mediated negotiations, neither party may violate the status quo by making unilateral changes in wages, benefits, or working conditions.

19. 

Q: 

Why does the NMB Recess a case during mediation?

A: 

Recess is one of the many tools a mediator uses in managing a Mediation case. If a case is recessed by a mediator, it is for a specific purpose related to the particular facts of the given case.

20. 

Q: 

What is a "proffer of arbitration"?

A: 

When the NMB believes that further mediation efforts will not result in an agreement, it issues a proffer of arbitration, which is an offer to the parties to arbitrate any remaining issues.

21. 

Q: 

Why doesn't the NMB make a proffer of arbitration when one of the parties asks for it?

A: 

Under the RLA, the NMB is responsible for making its best efforts to help the parties reach an agreement without resorting to self-help. While it will listen to requests from the parties for a release, it is the NMB's responsibility to keep parties in mediation until it has expended all reasonable efforts to reach an agreement.

22. 

Q: 

What happens if either party rejects the proffer of arbitration?

A: 

If either party rejects the proffer of arbitration, the NMB releases the parties from mediation and they enter a 30-day count down, or cooling off, period.

23. 

Q: 

What happens during the cooling off period?

A: 

Normally the NMB invites the parties to meet during the cooling off period in order to further mediate an agreement. These meetings are often referred to as "public interest mediation" or "super mediation."

24. 

Q: 

What if no agreement is reached during the 30-day cooling off period?

A: 

If no agreement is reached by the end of the 30-day cooling off period, the parties are free to exercise "self-help." This means that the Union is free to strike or engage in other activity, and the Carrier is free to impose its last best offer or temporarily cease operations or engage in other self-help activity, unless a PEB is created.

25. 

Q: 

What are public interest meetings?

A: 

During the 30 day cooling off period the NMB will call the parties back to the table for further discussions. These meetings are referred to as public interest meetings or super mediation meetings. Generally, these meetings are called at or near the end of the count down period, but they can be called at any time during the 30 day time frame.

26. 

Q: 

What is a "Presidential Emergency Board' (PEB)?

A: 

During the 30-day cooling off period, the NMB makes a determination regarding the impact of a strike. Pursuant to Section 160 of the RLA, the NMB "notifies" the President that in its "judgement" the dispute between a carrier and its employees cannot be adjusted and "threaten[s] substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive any section of the country of essential transportation service." Once the President receives such notification, the President may, "in his discretion, create a board to investigate and report on such dispute. The NMB submits a recommended list of potential neutrals to the President. The PEB usually has 30 days to develop a proposed agreement and present that agreement to the parties for consideration. After the PEB delivers its proposed agreement, there is a further 30-day cooling off period.

27. 

Q: 

What happens if either party rejects the PEB's proposed agreement?

A: 

If either party rejects the PEB's proposal, the parties may, after the 30-day cooling off period, engage in self-help.

28. 

Q: 

Is there any circumstance in which the parties are constrained from engaging in self-help after rejecting a PEB's proposal?

A: 

Yes. It is possible for the Congress to intervene and legislatively mandate a settlement.