Cite as: 512 U. S. 246 (1994)
Opinion of the Court
jurisdiction of this System Board does not extend to interpreting and applying the Civil Rights Act").
Accordingly, we believe that the most natural reading of the term "grievances" in this context is as a synonym for disputes involving the application or interpretation of a CBA. See Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1585 (1986) (the word "or" may be used to indicate "the synonymous, equivalent, or substitutive character of two words or phrases"). Nothing in the legislative history of the RLA 4 or
other sections of the statute 5 undermines this conclusion. But even accepting that § 151a is susceptible of more than one interpretation, no proposed interpretation demonstrates a clear and manifest congressional purpose to create a regime
4 During the debates surrounding the RLA's enactment in 1926, floor statements that, in isolation, could support a broader interpretation of "grievances" were counterbalanced by other statements—some even by the same legislators—that equated grievances with contract interpretation. Compare 67 Cong. Rec. 4517, 8807 (1926), with id., at 4510, 8808. This inconclusive debate hardly calls for fashioning a broad rule of preemption. Moreover, in 1934 when Congress amended the RLA to make arbitration mandatory for minor disputes, the accompanying House Report stated that the bill was intended "to provide sufficient and effective means for the settlement of minor disputes known as 'grievances,' which develop from the interpretation and/or application of the contracts between the labor unions and the carriers, fixing wages and working conditions." H. R. Rep. No. 1944, 73d Cong., 2d Sess., 2-3 (1934).
5 Petitioners cite the statute's reference to the parties' general duties as including "settl[ing] all disputes, whether arising out of the application of [collective bargaining] agreements or otherwise." 45 U. S. C. § 152 First. This provision, which is phrased more broadly than the operative language of § 153 First (i), does not clearly refer only to minor disputes. But even if this provision is read to require parties to try to settle certain issues arising out of the employment relationship but not specifically addressed by the CBA, this does not compel the conclusion that all issues touching on the employment relationship must be resolved through arbitration or that all claims involving rights and duties that exist independent of the CBA are thereby pre-empted. Our precedents squarely reject this pervasive pre-emption.
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