Executive Order 12159 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 12159—Emergency Board To Investigate a Railway Labor Dispute

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Thursday, September 20, 1979

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2 min read (306 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Jimmy Carter on 1979-09-20, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Emergency Board To Investigate a Railway Labor Dispute." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ There is established a board of three members to be appointed by the President to investigate these disputes.

▪ No member of the board shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of railroad employees or any carrier.

▪ The board shall report its finding to the President with respect to these disputes within 30 days from the date of this Order.

▪ As provided by Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, from this date and for 30 days after the board has made its report to the President, no change, except by agreement, shall be made by the Chicago, Rock Island, Pacific Railroad & peoria Terminal Company, or by its employees, in the conditions out of which these disputes arose.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Branch Departments 🏛️ General Body of the People

Total Words

306

1,934 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

15.5

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 12159, Jimmy Carter (Sep 20, 1979). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12159-emergency-board-investigate-railway-labor-dispute.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

CREATING AN EMERGENCY BOARD TO INVESTIGATE DISPUTES BETWEEN THE CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND, PACIFIC RAILROAD & PEORIA TERMINAL COMPANY AND BROTHERHOOD OF RAILWAY, AIRLINE & STEAMSHIP CLERKS, FREIGHT HANDLERS, EXPRESS AND STATION EMPLOYEES; AND THE UNITED TRANSPORTATION UNION Disputes exist between the Chicago, Rock Island, Pacific Railroad & Peoria Terminal Company and certain of its employees represented by both the Brotherhood of Railway, Airline & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees; and the United Transportation Union. These disputes have not heretofore been adjusted under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended; and These disputes in the judgment of the National Mediation Board threaten substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive a section of the country of essential transportation service: Now, THEREFORE, by the authority vested in me by Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended (45 U.S.C. 160), it is hereby ordered as follows: 1-101. Establishment of Board. There is established a board of three members to be appointed by the President to investigate these disputes. No member of the board shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of railroad employees or any carrier. 1-102. Report. The board shall report its finding to the President with respect to these disputes within 30 days from the date of this Order. 1-103. Maintaining Conditions. As provided by Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, from this date and for 30 days after the board has made its report to the President, no change, except by agreement, shall be made by the Chicago, Rock Island, Pacific Railroad & peoria Terminal Company, or by its employees, in the conditions out of which these disputes arose. JIMMY CARTER The White House, September 20, 1979. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:52 p.m., September 20, 1979]