The National Mediation Board (NMB) promotes the flow of interstate commerce in the U.S. Airline and Railroad industries through mediation, representation, and arbitration of labor-management disputes. The incumbent will be responsible for mediation of collective bargaining disputes and, if required, determination of employee representation for collective bargaining processes.

Duties

Performs any research necessary to understand the basic context of the dispute situation, the industry or field involved, the labor relations history of the parties, and all other pertinent facts or background information. Works with the individual parties in order to secure information necessary to understand the basic nature of the dispute, the issues involved, and the positions of the various parties. Mediates labor-management disputes involving situations which range from a moderate degree of difficulty to those which are highly complex, nationwide in scope and involve large carriers and their respective labor organizations. Mediates disputes between carriers and labor organizations over rates of pay, work rules or working conditions, or over interpretations of applicable collective bargaining agreements. Designs special projects including selected research activities, performing mediator support activities, participating in exchange programs, or conducting training for labor and management participants.

Requirements

Qualifications

Only experience obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered. Basic Specialized Experience Requirement: Experience in negotiating or interpreting labor agreements covering a large number of employees or a number of different crafts or classes, on such matters as wages, hours of work, and working conditions; or in mediating between, or negotiating with, management and employee representatives in the application of labor agreements. Such experience must have demonstrated all of the following: Knowledge of the background history of industrialization and the labor movement. Knowledge of economic, industrial, and labor trends, of current developments and problems in the field of labor-management relations, and of changes and trends in union agreements. Knowledge of collective-bargaining principles, practices, and procedures. Knowledge of the general structure, functions, policies, and practices of management and labor organizations. Knowledge of applicable laws governing collective bargaining, wages, hours, etc. Ability to deal effectively with people in tense situations. Ability to preside at meetings or conferences with dignity, poise, and impartiality. Ability to confer effectively with representatives of labor and management in order to obtain a clear understanding of their views on varied and difficult problems. Ability to analyze the issues in a dispute and evaluate their relative importance and susceptibility to compromise. Ability to formulate concrete and practical suggestions for alternative solution, compromise, and settlement. Ability to write clearly and concisely. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Work as a representative of a national labor organization or of management. Federal or State government or other work that involved dealing with labor relations problems and collective-bargaining agreements or that involved interpretation or application of labor laws, regulations, etc. In addition to meeting the requirements described above, applicants for positions at GS-12 and above must have: Knowledge of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, and the history of railroad and airline legislation and the background of working agreements in these industries. Knowledge of current railroad and airline operations and practices, and of current railroad and airline occupations and crafts or classes, and understanding of the problems arising in the interpretation and application of railroad and airline agreements. Applicants for positions at grades GS-12 and above must have had experience that included such activities as: (1) investigating representation disputes and conducting elections to choose collective-bargaining representatives, or (2) the mediation of increases in pay rates, or (3) the mediation of changes in rules or labor agreements. To be creditable as specialized experience, the work must have demonstrated active involvement in labor-management negotiations. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: At the GS-12 level, you must meet the following qualifications: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes: experience in (1) the mediation of increases in pay rates, or (2) the mediation of changes in rules or labor agreements. To be creditable as specialized experience, the work must have demonstrated active involvement in airline or railroad labor-management negotiations. At the GS-13 level, you must meet the following qualifications: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes: experience in (1) mediating disputes with another mediator between airlines or railroads and labor organizations, or (2) conducting research on the industry and labor history of parties involved in a dispute under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). At the GS-14 level, you must meet the following qualifications: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-13) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes: experience in (1) mediating disputes which are moderate to difficult, highly complex, nationwide in scope and involve large carriers airlines or railroads and their unions, (2) conducting research on the industry and labor history of parties involved in a dispute under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), (3) working with parties to understand nature of disputes, issues, and positions of various parties involved and determine appropriate actions to be taken. Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered. Applicants must carefully review the information in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section for important information and instructions pertaining to the multi-hurdle assessment process for this position. TIME-IN-GRADE: Current career or career-conditional employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

Contacts

• Address The National Mediation Board 1301 K Street NW, Suite 250E Washington, DC 20005 US
• Name: Tyler Olson
• Phone: (303) 969-7087
• Email: [email protected]