Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 95.djvu/707

 PUBLIC LAW 97-35—AUG. 13, 1981

95 STAT. 681

AMENDMENT TO THE RAILWAY LABOR ACT

SEC. 1157. The Railway Labor Act is amended by inserting immediately after section 9 the following new section: "SPECIAL PROCEDURE FOR COMMUTER SERVICE

"SEC. 9A. (a) Except as provided in section 510(h) of the Rail 45 USC I59a. Passenger Service Act, the provisions of this section shall apply to any Ante, p. 671. dispute subject to this Act between a publicly funded and publicly operated carrier providing rail commuter service (including the Amtrak Commuter Services Corporation) and its employees. "(b) If a dispute between the parties described in subsection (a) is not adjusted under the foregoing provisions of this Act and the President does not, under section 10 of this Act, create an emergency 45 USC 160. board to investigate and report on such dispute, then any party to the dispute or the Governor of any State through which the service that is the subject of the dispute is operated may request the President to establish such an emergency board. "(c)(1) Upon the request of a party or a Governor under subsection (b), the President shall create an emergency board to investigate and report on the dispute in accordance with section 10 of this Act. For purposes of this subsection, the period during which no change, except by agreement, shall be made by the parties in the conditions out of which the dispute arose shall be 120 days from the date of the creation of such emergency board. "(2) If the President, in his discretion, creates a board to investigate and report on a dispute between the parties described in subsection (A), the provisions of this section shall apply to the same extent as if such board had been created pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection. "(d) Within 60 days after the creation of an emergency board under this section, if there has been no settlement between the parties, the National Mediation Board shall conduct a public hearing on the dispute at which each party shall appear and provide testimony setting forth the reasons it has not accepted the recommendations of the emergency board for settlement of the dispute. "(e) If no settlement in the dispute is reached at the end of the 120day period beginning on the date of the creation of the emergency board, any party to the dispute or the Governor of any State through which the service that is the subject of the dispute is operated may request the President to establish another emergency board, in which case the President shall establish such emergency board. "(f) Within 30 days after creation of a board under subsection (e), the parties to the dispute shall submit to the board final offers for settlement of the dispute. "(g) Within 30 days after the submission of final offers under subsection (f), the emergency board shall submit a report to the President setting forth its selection of the most reasonable offer. "(h) From the time a request to establish a board is made under subsection (e) until 60 days after such board makes its report under subsection (g), no change, except by agreement, shall be made by the parties in the conditions out of which the dispute arose. "(i) If the emergency board selects the final offer submitted by the carrier and, after the expiration of the 60-day period described in subsection (h), the employees of such carrier engage in any work stoppage arising out of the dispute, such employees shall not be

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