To provide coverage under the Railway Labor Act to employees of certain air and surface transportation entities.

May 19, 2005

Mr. HARKIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

To provide coverage under the Railway Labor Act to employees of certain air and surface transportation entities.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Express Carrier Employee Protection Act'.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE RAILWAY LABOR ACT.

Section 201 of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 181) is amended--

(1) by striking `All' and inserting `(a) In General--All';

(2) by inserting `and every express carrier' after `common carrier by air'; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

`(b) Express Carriers- The employees of an express carrier shall be covered by this Act only if they are licensed airmen, licensed aircraft maintenance technicians, or licensed aircraft dispatchers, and only if they perform duties for the express carrier pursuant to the privileges of the appropriate license. All other employees of an express carrier shall be covered by the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act.

`(c) Definition- In this section, the term `express carrier' means any company (or companies affiliated through common control or ownership) that has an integrated network of air and surface transportation for the purpose of the express shipment of packages.'.

END