On January 31, 2019, the three-member National Mediation Board
(NMB), which oversees labor relations for the airline and railroad
industries, published a proposed rule-making to
simplify the process for workers covered by the Railway Labor Act
(RLA) to decertify the unions representing them.
Currently, RLA-represented employees seeking to decertify a
union must identify an individual willing to be personally named
and represent the bargaining unit. After more than 50 percent of
the unit's members sign an authorization card that clearly
states their desire to no longer be represented by the union, the
named person is authorized to apply to the NMB to hold a
representation election. Then, the NMB will hold an election with
options to vote for (1) the current union representation, (2) the
named individual, (3) a write-in candidate, or (4) "no
union." To decertify the incumbent union, the majority vote
must be for either "no union" or the named individual
– who would
