Originally Posted by
Brickfire
The abstract question of whether a mediation can be continued "indefinitely" is interesting ... but the relevant question is what happens when one party wants a release and the mediator says "not yet"
Do you sue the mediator? How long would that take to get a release if, as you state
1) a mediator doesn't have unlimited discretion to extend mediation, and
2) a mediator is abusing their discretion
You gotta assume that any mediation you're in is indefinite because you don't have any practical control over when it ends.
The mediator does not decide whether or not to release. The NMB does, but that doesn't change the answer to your question too much.
As was referenced in Lew's post earlier, yes, you can sue to get released and there is case law that you can use to support your case. How long would that process take? It would depend on court availability I suppose. If the NMB refuses to respond or disagrees that we are at an impasse, then we continue to request release as long as we feel like we are at an impasse. My guess is that swapa would start to consider a lawsuit once we reach or exceed the average time spent in meditation.
As for your last statement, you can assume that you will be in mediation for an indeterminate amount of time, but not an indefinite amount of time. Assuming you are using the levers of the RLA properly, and assuming you are indeed at an impasse, there is no legal basis for the NMB to "ice" you for an time unreasonably longer than the average time in meditation. How long "unreasonably" means will be up to three arguments of both sides as determined by the courts.