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Briefing Room

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 10, 2014

Executive Order -- Establishing an Emergency Board to Investigate a Dispute Between the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and its Locomotive Engineers Represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen

EXECUTIVE ORDER

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ESTABLISHING AN EMERGENCY BOARD TO INVESTIGATE A DISPUTE BETWEEN THE SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY AND ITS LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS REPRESENTED BY THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS AND TRAINMEN

A dispute exists between the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and its Locomotive Engineers represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET).

The dispute has not heretofore been adjusted under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, 45 U.S.C. 151-188 (RLA).

A first emergency board to investigate and report on this dispute and disputes involving other SEPTA employees represented by other labor organizations was established on June 15, 2014, by Executive Order 13670 of June 14, 2014. The emergency board terminated upon issuance of its report. Subsequently, its recommendations were not accepted by the parties to this dispute.

A party empowered by the RLA has requested that the President establish a second emergency board pursuant to section 9A of the RLA (45 U.S.C. 159a).

Section 9A(e) of the RLA provides that the President, upon such request, shall appoint an emergency board to investigate and report on the dispute.

NOW, THEREFORE, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 9A of the RLA, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Establishment of Emergency Board (Board). There is established, effective 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on October 13, 2014, a Board of three members to be appointed by the President to investigate and report on this dispute. No member shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of railroad employees or any carrier. The Board shall perform its functions subject to the availability of funds.

Sec. 2. Report. Within 30 days after the creation of the Board, the parties to the dispute shall submit to the Board final offers for settlement of the dispute. Within 30 days after the submission of final offers for settlement of the dispute, the Board shall submit a report to the President setting forth its selection of the most reasonable offer.

 

Sec. 3. Maintaining Conditions. As provided by section 9A(h) of the RLA, from the time a request to establish a second emergency board is made until 60 days after the Board submits its report to the President, no change in the conditions out of which the dispute arose shall be made by the parties to the controversy, except by agreement of the parties.

Sec. 4. Records Maintenance. The records and files of the Board are records of the Office of the President and upon the Board's termination shall be maintained in the physical custody of the National Mediation Board.

Sec. 5. Expiration. The Board shall terminate upon the submission of the report provided for in section 2 of this order.

BARACK OBAMA