Nearly a century after its passage, the Railway Labor Act (RLA) remains the cornerstone of labor relations in America’s transportation industries. Conceived to keep the nation’s railroads—and later its airlines—running without interruption, it continues to guide how collective bargaining unfolds today. This article supplies the historical and procedural context behind Crew Signal’s Mediation Reports, with particular emphasis on how the RLA governs the current AFA–United Airlines negotiations under federal mediation.
1926 — Original Enactment. The RLA is the first federal statute to mandate peaceful dispute resolution—negotiation, mediation, and voluntary arbitration—before any strike or lockout may lawfully occur in interstate rail service.
1934 — The NMB Era. Congress created the National Mediation Board, formalizing federal mediation, representation elections, and adjustment mechanisms that still anchor today’s framework.
1936 — Coverage Extended. Recognizing aviation’s strategic importance, Congress extended RLA coverage to air carriers and their employees, establishing the modern legal foundation for airline labor relations.
Post-war through the Jet Age. Courts refined the line between major (pay/rules) and minor (interpretation) disputes and confirmed the NMB’s central role in mediation.
Late-20th-century updates. Amendments tailored procedures for publicly owned commuter rail and clarified Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) usage.
Major disputes (new or changed pay, rules, or working conditions) proceed in a defined sequence designed to maintain operations while the parties bargain in good faith:
Minor disputes (contract interpretation or discipline) are channeled to binding arbitration before the NRAB or a system board, not to economic self-help.
PEB 250 and Congressional Action (2022). In national rail bargaining, the White House convened PEB 250; later, Congress enacted H.J.Res. 100 (signed Dec 2, 2022) to impose terms and avert a nationwide rail strike—an illustration of the RLA’s end-game when the public interest is at stake.
American Airlines Pilots' Strike — Presidential Intervention (1997). When the Allied Pilots Association launched a brief strike against American Airlines over scheduling and pay, President Bill Clinton quickly invoked the Railway Labor Act’s emergency provisions, establishing a Presidential Emergency Board and obtaining a federal injunction ordering pilots back to work. The action underscored how the RLA empowers the White House to preserve national air service continuity during major disputes, even within the private sector.
Context. United’s ~28,000 flight attendants (AFA-CWA) are in Section 6 bargaining under NMB mediation. A tentative agreement was reached on May 23, 2025 and rejected July 29, 2025 (71% “no”), returning the parties to mediated talks. Sessions resumed in October 2025 with targeted proposals and have continued into November.
Mediation mechanics. A prior strike authorization signals member resolve but does not permit immediate striking under the RLA; the NMB must first issue a release and then a 30-day cooling-off period must run, subject to possible PEB or Congressional intervention.
Follow official updates: AFA United MEC — Negotiations Status · National Mediation Board — Mediation Overview