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This article brings up to date. the experience of the National Railroad Adjustment Board in the performance of its function of arbitrating disputes arising under agreements between the carriers and the operating employees' unions. Since the various studies made about ten years ago (one of which was published in this journal), there have been several significant new developments in NRAB procedures and practices. Although this article reveals a number of procedural aspects that seem to hamper NRAB effectiveness, the author's view is that reforms in the grievance machinery must first occur at the earlier stages through voluntary changes effected by the carriers and the unions. This article is a modification, of a report by the author to the Presidential Railroad Commission during its study of railroad labor problems. Statistical material was obtained for the most part from the First Division of the National Railroad Adjustment Board. The views expressed and the use made of the statistics are the responsibility of the author and do not reflect the views of the Presidential Railroad Commission or the National Railroad Adjustment Board. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Mutualism, Friendly Societies, and The Genesis of Railway Trade Unions' proposes a revised view of the origins of trade unions to account for their friendly society-like inception. Taking as its subject the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS), it demonstrates how railway company friendly societies established a model which the ASRS followed. Based on railway company documents and records of the trade union, the article shows how the institutional structure and mutualist ideology of the friendly societies shaped the union in the 1870s, its first decade. The wider significance of this article is its exposition of the theory of mutualism to explain periods of relative calm in labour relations and its call for further research into the history of friendly societies and labour relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the reconstruction of labor-management relations in Japan National Railways (JNR). Three main labor unions in JNR; Restructuring of the JNR; Kokuro labor union's dispute with the Japan Railways Group; Union rivalries.

Presents news updates on industrial relations in the U.S. as of March 1967. Collective bargaining agreements signed by the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers; Contracts signed by the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks and the Railway Clerks; Settlement between the Electrical Workers Local 301 union and the General Electric Co.

Presents updates relevant to industrial relations as of January 1971. Wage increase recommended for railroad unions; Progress of negotiations between the management and the striking employees at the General Motors Corp.

Updates the status of the collective bargaining dispute between most of the nation's large rail carriers and 10 labor unions. President George Bush's establishment of Emergency Board No. 219 to investigate the conflict; Two key issues at stake: Health and welfare, and wages and work rules; Board's recommendations; Results forecast.

Presents a chronology of events related to labor relations in the United States, in November 1966. United Shoe Workers' collective labor agreement with footwear manufacturers in New York City; Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen's acceptance of a contract offered by railroads; Negro Virginia Teachers Association and Virginia Teachers Association's merger.