United pilots contract, Section 18 — System Board of Adjustment

18-B-1 The Board shall consist of five (5) members, two (2) selected by the Association, two (2) selected by the Company, and one (1) neutral arbitrator appointed pursuant to Section 18-E. By mutual agreement, the Board may consist of three (3) members; one (1) selected by the Association, one (1) selected by the Company, and one (1) neutral arbitrator appointed pursuant to Section 18-E.

18-B-2 Each party shall designate its Board Members for a particular case no less than ten (10) days prior to the start of the hearing. If either party replaces a designated Board Member less than ten (10) days prior to the hearing, the other party may also replace one (1) of its Board Members.

18-B-3 Hearings shall be opened alternately by Board Members appointed by the Association and the Company.

18-B-4 Unless agreed otherwise, the Board shall meet each month for three (3) consecutive days in the city where the general offices of the Company are maintained, provided that there are cases that either party has properly submitted to the Board for consideration at that session. Hearing dates shall be scheduled by agreement of the parties.

18-B-5 The Board shall appoint a Secretary, who shall docket cases; issue Notices of Hearing, Decisions and Awards; make or coordinate logistical arrangements relating to non-confidential activities of the Board; and coordinate activities of the Board. Additionally, the Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining all records as required pursuant to Section 18-F-4.

18-B-6 The parties may also mutually agree to refer cases previously submitted to the Board to be heard by a One Member Board consisting of a neutral arbitrator appointed pursuant to Section 18-E. One Member Board hearings shall be scheduled by mutual agreement and may hear multiple cases. Unless mutually agreed otherwise, One Member Boards shall not take the place of regularly scheduled hearings of the full Board. One Member Boards may not hear discipline cases involving a sanction of more than a three (3) day suspension.

18-B-6-a One Member Board hearings shall have time limits established by mutual agreement, and shall be conducted as follows:

18-B-6-a-(1) Each party shall be afforded approximately one (1) hour for presenting its case in-chief, including the opening statement.

18-B-6-a-(2) The parties may present both direct and rebuttal evidence orally and in writing. Cross-examination shall be limited to the length of the direct examination.

18-B-6-a-(3) At the conclusion of the evidentiary portion of the hearing, each party shall present a brief oral closing argument.

18-B-6-a-(4) At the conclusion of closing arguments and a short recess, the Arbitrator shall issue a bench decision, briefly announcing the reasons for the decision, and render a one- page signed Award limited to indicating whether the grievance has been denied or sustained, in whole or in part and setting out the appropriate remedy, if any. Unless the parties agree otherwise prior to the submission of the grievance to the Arbitrator, such Award shall be non-precedential, but final and binding as between the parties.

18-B-6-b No transcript shall be made of the One Member Board proceeding.

18-C-1 The Board shall have jurisdiction over disputes between any employee covered by this Agreement and the Company growing out of grievances or out of interpretation or application of any of the terms of this Agreement. The jurisdiction of the Board shall not extend to proposed changes in hours of employment, rates of compensation or working conditions covered by agreements between the parties.

18-C-2 The Board shall consider any dispute properly submitted to it by the President of the Association or by the senior-most flight-qualified Vice-President in charge of Flight Operations.

18-D-1 All disputes properly submitted to the Board for consideration shall be addressed to the Board Members, and shall include the formal submission, copies of all lower level decisions, and the original grievance, including all papers and exhibits in connection therewith. Each case submitted shall contain:

18-D-1-a Question or questions at issue.

18-D-1-b Statement of facts.

18-D-1-c Position of the grievant(s).

18-D-1-d Remedy sought.

When desired, joint submissions may be made, but either party may submit the dispute and its position to the Board. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, no dispute shall be considered by the Board which has not first been handled in accordance with the provisions of Section 17.

18-D-2 Selection of Hearing Dates and Cases

Not less than thirty (30) days prior to the desired hearing date, the Association shall notify the Company of the grievance to be heard. Designation of the case to be heard shall be subject to Company concurrence, which shall not be unreasonably withheld. If the parties are unable to agree upon the hearing date and/or the case to be heard, and if at least two Board Members consider a case to be of sufficient urgency and importance, it shall be heard not less than sixty

(60) days from the date of the request at the next scheduled session of the Board. If there are no scheduled sessions of the Board, the hearing shall take place at the next available date an arbitrator from the panel is available following sixty (60) days from the request. In this event the Board Secretary shall give the necessary notices in writing of such meeting to the Board Members and to the parties to the dispute.

18-D-3 Employees covered by this Agreement may be represented at Board hearings by such person or persons as they may designate, and the Company may be represented by such person or persons as it may designate. Evidence may be presented either orally, or in writing, or both.

18-D-4 On request of any Board Member, the Board may, by majority vote, or shall, at the request of two (2) Board Members, summon any witnesses who are employed by the Company, and who are deemed necessary to resolution of the dispute, by either party or by the Board itself.

18-D-5 The number of witnesses summoned at any one time shall not be greater than the number which can be spared from the operation without extreme interference with the services of the Company.

18-E-1 The Company and the Association shall, by mutual agreement, establish a panel of twelve (12) neutral arbitrators who shall serve individually as the neutral and presiding Board Member. One such arbitrator shall be designated, either by agreement or by the alternate strike method, as the first arbitrator. The scheduling of these arbitrators shall be by agreement of the parties.

18-E-2 Upon the request of either party, the first named arbitrator shall meet with representatives of the Company and representatives of the Association for the purpose of reviewing and streamlining the Board procedures not contained within this Agreement, but which have been subsequently developed by the Board. The goal for such review shall be simplicity, expedition and fairness. The first named arbitrator shall be empowered to make final decisions in procedural modifications. In addition, arbitrators sitting as Board Members shall have the authority to modify procedures as necessary for the purpose of particular hearings.

18-E-3 Either the Company or the Association with sixty (60) days written notice may, without cause, remove any named arbitrators from the panel. The arbitrator so removed shall complete matters, if any, pending before him. When an arbitrator is removed, the parties shall meet to select, in accordance with Section 18-E-1, a replacement as soon thereafter as practicable.

18-E-4 The Board shall be competent to hear disputes properly submitted to it and to decide such disputes by majority vote. Decisions of the Board shall be final and binding on the parties.

18-E-5 Unless agreed otherwise, the record shall be deemed closed upon receipt by the arbitrator of the evidence and/or transcript of the proceedings. If called, executive sessions of the Board shall take place within forty-five (45) days of the closing of the record. Decisions shall be rendered within sixty (60) days after the record is closed and executive sessions have been concluded.

18-E-6 In the event the Board is unable to comply with the time limits specified in Section 18-E-5, the arbitrator shall notify the parties in writing of the reasons for such non-compliance, and give a date as to when the decision shall be rendered.

18-F-1 The expenses and compensation of arbitrators shall be borne equally by the Company and the Association, except when the Association proposes that a grievance be heard by the Board sixty (60) or more days prior to the desired hearing date, and the Company is either unavailable or the matter is settled (i.e., no hearing is held on the matter) the Company agrees that they will be responsible for all cancellation fees and penalties of the arbitrator.

18-F-2 The time limits specified in this Section 18 may be extended by mutual agreement of the Company and the Association.

18-F-3 Nothing herein shall be construed to limit, restrict or abridge the rights or privileges accorded either to the employees or to the employer, or to their duly accredited representatives, under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended.

18-F-4 The Board Secretary shall maintain a complete record of all matters submitted to it for consideration and of all Board findings, Awards and Decisions for a minimum of five (5) years.

18-F-5 The Company and the Association shall separately assume the compensation, travel expense and other expenses of the Board Members selected by that party.

18-F-6 System Board Witnesses

18-F-6-a Each party shall separately assume the compensation, travel expense and other expenses of the witnesses called or summoned by that party. Grievants, witnesses and representatives who are employees of the Company shall receive On-Line NRPS travel in accordance with corporate pass travel policy, from the point of residence, duty or assignment to the point at which they must appear as witnesses and return.

18-F-6-b When the Association requests the appearance of a Pilot to testify at a scheduled hearing, the Company shall, subject to the needs of the service, agree to cooperate in dropping a scheduled Trip(s) in the Pilot’s Line of Flying necessary for the Pilot to be present. Should the needs of the service not allow the Trip drop(s), the Company shall adjust the scheduled hearing date(s) to allow for the Pilot’s presence. The Company shall not be obligated to pay for the value of the Trips(s) dropped pursuant to this Section 18-F-6-b.

18-F-7 The Board, acting jointly, shall have the authority to incur such expenses as in its judgment may be deemed necessary for the proper conduct of its business. Such expenses shall be borne equally by the Company and the Association. Board Members who are employees of the Company shall be granted necessary leaves of absence for the performance of their duties as Board Members. So far as space is available, Board Members shall be furnished free transportation over the lines of the Company, for purpose of attending meetings of the Board, to the extent permitted by law.

18-F-8 Every Board Member shall be free to discharge his duty in an independent manner, without fear that his individual relation with the Company, the Association or the employees may be affected in any manner by any action he takes in good faith in his capacity as a Board Member. During the Board's proceedings, it is expected that each Board member shall act in a professional manner and during the Board hearing(s) shall not participate in the caucus of the party who appointed him. However, this does not preclude the Board members from conferring with their appointed party after the conclusion of the hearing.

18-F-9 The Board shall have the authority to administer and interpret this Section 18. In the event the Board cannot agree on administration or interpretation of this Section 18, they shall refer the matter to the first arbitrator for resolution.

18-F-10 In the event a member of the panel of arbitrators is more than thirty (30) days overdue in the rendering a decision, he shall not be eligible for assignment of additional cases until such decision is rendered (except by mutual agreement between the Company and the Association).

18-F-11 Unless otherwise agreed, the parties shall be governed by the rules adopted by the United Air Lines Pilots System Board of Adjustment Rules of Procedure which shall be incorporated by reference herein.