9-139.000
MISCELLANEOUS
LABOR
STATUTES
9-139.020 Investigatory and
Supervisory Jurisdiction for Miscellaneous Labor Statutes
9-139.100 The Railway Labor Act
(RLA) -- 45 U.S.C. § 151, et seq.
9-139.103 Railway Labor Act --
Authorization for Criminal Prosecution
For information on investigative jurisdiction, see the
Criminal Resource Manual at 2455. The
Labor-Management Unit of the Organized Crime and Racketeering
Section
has supervisory jurisdiction concerning criminal enforcement of the
following statutes in all cases:
The Labor-Management Unit of the Organized Crime and
Racketeering
Section has supervisory jurisdiction concerning criminal
enforcement of the
following statutes in labor disputes. Violations of these statutes
not involving
labor disputes are supervised by the Terrorism and Violent Crimes
Section.
- 49 U.S.C. § 80501 Damage to Property Being Transported
In Interstate
Commerce [formerly 15 Sec. 1281 and Sec. 1282 transferred effective
July 5,
1994]. See the Criminal Resource
Manual at
2459.
The Railway Labor Act (RLA) provides for criminal
prosecution with
respect to the willful failure or refusal of a railway or airline
carrier, or its
officers or agents, to comply with the terms of the third, fourth,
fifth,
seventh, and eighth paragraphs of 45 U.S.C. § 152, Tenth, which
deal with
labor-management relations in the railway and airline industries.
See the
Criminal Resource Manual at 2454.
Consultation with the Labor-Management Unit of the
Organized Crime and
Racketeering Section is required prior to initiating criminal
prosecution under
the Railway Labor Act. As a matter of policy, prosecutions as well
as requests
for investigation concerning violations of 45 U.S.C. § 152,
Tenth, should be
declined unless they contain allegations of egregious carrier
interference with
employee rights tantamount to actual or threatened violence, or
involve
prohibited payments to employee representatives. This policy is
instituted
primarily as a result of United States v. Winston, 558 F.2d
105 (2d Cir.
1977), wherein the Second Circuit reversed a conviction under 45
U.S.C. §
152, Tenth.
In Winston, defendants, owners and operators of a
small airline
charter service, were charged with conspiracy to violate the
Railway Labor Act
by conduct which would have been at most an unfair labor practice
in an industry
other than the railway or airline industries under Federal law.
Accordingly,
under this prosecution policy, the mere commission of an unfair
labor practice
is insufficient to justify criminal prosecution under the Railway
Labor Act,
absent the presence of one or more of the aggravating factors
described above.
This policy change has the effect of treating the parties
to airline
and railway labor disputes for purposes of criminal prosecution in
the same
manner as parties in labor disputes in other federally regulated
industries.
In declining prosecution with respect to complaints
alleging violations
of 45 U.S.C. § 152, Tenth, it may be appropriate to advise the
complainant
that redress may be available to him through private civil
litigation.
This policy does not apply to civil litigation under 45
U.S.C. §
152, Tenth as supervised by the Civil Division. If it is
determined that a
particular matter merits civil enforcement under 45 U.S.C. §
152, Tenth, the
Civil Division should be contacted before any action is taken.
See the
Criminal Resource Manual at 2454.
| October 1997
| USAM Chapter 9-139
|