Introduction
Labor Management Relations Acts and Railway Labor Act were enacted by the congress with a sole aim of bringing labor peace. Although there are many similarities between the two enactments, differences can also be pointed out between the two in terms of coverage, scope, time/period of enactment and intention.
One of the similarities between the two enactments is that both aim at protecting the economy from inconveniences and disruptions occasioned by labor disputes in all sectors. (Goldman 2011)The two enactments provide standard procedures and criteria towards resolving labor disputes.
During the late 19th century the railway transport was one of the most established and reliable mode of transport in the United States of America. (Holley 2012). Railway transport acted as the only link between coasts and airports.This implies that the US economy majorly relied on rail transport more than other modes of transport in trade. For this reason, it was necessary to enact laws and regulations which ensured good labor relation between the railway transport sector and its employees. The enactment of the Railway Labor Act was basically intended to curb stoppages or inconveniences caused by employee dissatisfaction. This was compulsory since the railway transport played a significant role in the US economy.
On the other hand the Labor Management Relations Act was introduced in the late 1960s.Its basic intention was to extend bargaining rights to the public employees. Earlier on, bargaining rights were only guaranteed to employees within the private practice .However, as time went by, public employees felt more insecure in their jobs and thus necessitating the enactment of a law that protects them by the congress.Moreover; it was felt that the government was inconsistent to extend bargaining rights to private employees whereas its own employees do not enjoy such a privilege.
In terms of coverage, the two legislations significantly vary from each other. The Railway Labor Act covers the carriers within the railway transport industry and their respective employees. (Goldman 2011). The law defines the carrier as any company that is either directly or indirectly controlled that provides services such as refrigeration, storage, icing, receipt, delivery or transit of property or goods by railroad.( Holley 2012).
An employee is on the other hand defined as any individual who works with any company within the railway transport sector. Contrastingly, the Labor Management Relations Act applies to most federal executive agencies such as the Government Printing Agency, Congress Library and Smithsonian institution. Bodies such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Investigation Bureau (FBI), the Tennessee Valley authority, the National Security Agency and the Federal Labor Relations Authority, are excluded by this legislation. The president has powers to exclude any agency that he or she feels is charged with the roles related to national intelligence and security. (Goldman 2011).
Under the Labor Management Relations Act, an employee is defined as any individual working in any of the agencies covered by this legislation as well as individuals who are no longer working with the agency as a result of unfair labor practices. Individuals such as non citizens, officers in foreign services and employees who participate in strikes or violate the statute are not covered by the legislation.
In terms of union selection the two legislations show a lot of similarity in that the two enactments allow employees to choose representative unions without the coercion or interferences from the agencies that they work in .For instance, the Railway Labor Act allows employees to freely choose their representative unions without the influence of the carriers.
In terms of adjudication and enforcement, two different bodies oversee the enforcement process. Under the Railway Labor Act the National Mediation Board is charged with the role of supervising agreements between two parties. (Holley 2012). The body also offers mediations services to bodies or parties involved in a dispute. Under the Labor Management Relations Act, the Federal Labor Relations Authority is the body charged with the role of overseeing the the labor agreements between different parties and also settling labor disputes through mediation.
References
Holley, Jennings, & Wolters (2012). The Labor Relations Process. (10th ed.). Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.
Goldman, A. L., Corrada, R. L., & Goldman, A. L. (2011). Labour law in the USA. Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International.
