Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen and Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. National Labor Relations Board

The sole question presented by this appeal is whether the Industrial Commission of Arizona is a state agency established to mediate and conciliate disputes.

If it is such an agency, then the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Engine-men (Firemen) and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (Trainmen) were guilty of an unfair labor practice because of their failure to notify the Arizona Commission of the existence of a dispute as required by § 8(d) (3) of the Labor Management Relations Act.

The pertinent section of the Arizona statute, as it relates to the Arizona Industrial Commission, reads:

The National Labor Relations Board (Board) contends that the language of the Arizona statute shews that the Arizona Industrial Commission has elearcut powers of mediation and conciliation and that the statements in the United States Department of Labor bulletin “A Guide to State Mediation Laws and Agencies” support such construction.

The Brotherhoods on the other hand deny that the Arizona Commission has such powers and they contend that the statute creating the Commission falls far short of informing people subject to its reach that the Commission is an agency of mediation and…