The National Mediation Board provides the railroad and airline industries with specific mechanisms for the adjustment of labor-management disputes; that is, the facilitation of agreements through collective bargaining, investigation of questions of representation, and the arbitration and establishment of procedures for emergency disputes. The Board is assisted in its activities by the National Railroad Adjustment Board and other special boards of adjustment, which handle individual and group grievances arising under labor-management agreements. The National Mediation Board was created on June 21, 1934, by an act of Congress amending the Railway Labor Act (48 Stat. 1185, 45 U.S.C. 151-58, 160-62). The act was further amended in April 1936 (49 Stat. 1189-91, 45 U.S.C. 1181-88); January 1951 (64 Stat. 1238; 45 U.S.Č. 152); June 1966 (80 Stat 208-9, 45 U.S.C. 153); and in April 1970 (84 Stat. 199–200, 45 U.S.Č. 153). The Board's major responsibilities are: (1) the mediation of disputes over wages, hours, and working conditions which arise between rail and air carriers and organizations representing 229-024 O-77-38 their employees, and (2) the investigation of representation disputes and certification of employee organizations as representatives of crafts or classes of carrier employees. Disputes growing out of grievances or out of interpretation or application of agreements concerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions in the railroad industry are referable to the National Railroad Adjustment Board. This Board is divided into four divisions and consists of an equal number of representatives of the carriers and of national organizations of employees. In deadlocked cases the National Mediation Board is authorized to appoint a referee to sit with the members of the division for the purpose of making an award. In the airline industry no national airline adjustment board has been established for settlement of grievances. Over the years the employee organizations and air carriers with established bargaining relationships have agreed to grievance procedures with final jurisdiction resting with a system board of adjustment. The National Mediation Board is frequently called upon to name a neutral referee to serve on a system board when the parties are deadlocked and cannot agree on such an appointment themselves. MEDIATION DISPUTES The Board is charged with mediating disputes between carriers and labor organizations relating to initial contract negotiations or subsequent changes in rates of pay, rules, and working conditions. When the parties fail to reach accord in direct bargaining either party may request the Board's services or the Board may on its own motion invoke its services. Thereafter, negotiations continue until the Board determines that its efforts to mediate have been unsuccessful, at which time it seeks to induce the parties to submit the dispute to arbitration. If either party refuses to arbitrate, the Board issues a notice stating that the parties have failed to resolve their dispute through mediation. This notice commences a 30-day cooling off period after which resort to self-help is normally available to either or both parties. EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION If a dispute arises among a carrier's employees as to who is to be the representative of such employees, it is the Board's duty to investigate such dispute and to determine by secret ballot election or other appropriate means whether or not and to whom a representation certification should be issued. In the course of making this determination, the Board must determine the craft or class in which the employees seeking representation properly belong. ADDITIONAL DUTIES Additional duties of the Board are the interpretation of agreements made under its mediatory auspices; the appointment of neutral referees when requested by the National Railroad Adjustment Board; the appointment of neutrals to sit on System Boards and Special Boards of Adjustments; and finally, the duty of notifying the President when the parties have failed to reach agreement through the Board's mediation efforts and the labor dispute, in the judgment of the Board threatens substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive any section of the country of essential transportation service. In these cases, the President may, at his discretion, appoint an Emergency Board to investigate and report to him on the dispute. During the pendency of the Emergency Board investigation, resort to self-help is barred. Sources of Information A booklet outlining the history and operations of the Board and the act (Administration of the Railway Labor Act by the National Mediation Board 1934-70) is available on request. Also available for public distribution are the following documents: Determination Deputy Assistant Director for Biological, Behavioral and Division Director, Physiology, Cellular, and Molecular Division Director, Environmental Biology-- Division Director, Behavioral and Neural Sciences. Assistant Director for Science Education____ Director, Office of Program Integration___ Division Director, Science Education Development and Division Director, Science Education Resources Im- Division Director, Science Manpower Improvement_‒‒ Deputy Assistant Director for Research Applications_‒‒‒ Division Director, Advanced Environmental Research Division Director, Advanced Productivity Research and Division Director, Advanced Energy and Resources Re- Division Director, Exploratory Research and Systems Division Director, Intergovernmental Science and Pub- Assistant Director for Scientific, Technological, and International Affairs_. EDWARD P. TODD, Acting. EDWARD P. TODD. ELOISE E. CLARK. ROBERT Rabin. HENRY C. REEVES. RICHARD T. LOUTTIT. JEROME S. Daen. WALTER L. GILLESPIE. CHARLES C. THIEL. L. VAUGHN BLANKENSHIP. DONALD SENICH. JOSHUA MENKES. WALTER WETMORE. JOHN V. GRANGER, Acting. The National Science Foundation (NSF) promotes the progress of science through the support of research and education in the sciences. Its major emphasis is on basic research, the search for improved understanding of the fundamental laws of nature, upon which our future well-being as a nation is dependent. The National Science Foundation is also involved in applied research directed toward the solution of more immediate problems of our society. Its educational programs are aimed at ensuring increasing understanding of science at all educational levels and an adequate supply of scientists and engineers to meet our country's needs. The purposes of the National Science Foundation are to: increase the Nation's base of scientific knowledge and strengthen its ability to conduct scientific research; encourage research in areas that can lead to improvements in economic growth, energy supply and use, productivity, and environmental quality; promote international cooperation through science; and develop and help implement science education programs that can better prepare the Nation for meeting the challenges of the decades ahead. In its role as a leading Federal supporter of science, NSF also has an important role in national science policy planning. tion Plan No. 1 of 1973, effective July 1, 1973, transferred to the Director of NSF the functions of the Office of Science and Technology which was abolished by the reorganization plan. The Foundation consists of the National Science Board of 24 members, and a Director, each appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate for terms of 6 years. The National Science Foundation Act also provides for a Deputy Director and four Assistant Directors, appointed by the President and subject to Senate confirmation. The Director is the chief executive officer of the Foundation and serves ex officio as a member of the Board and as chairman of its Executive Committee. ACTIVITIES The National Science Foundation initiates and supports fundamental and applied research in all the scientific disciplines. This support is made through grants, contracts, and other |