Legal Definitions - major dispute

A major dispute is a conflict or controversy that has given rise to a particular lawsuit. In labor law, it refers to a disagreement about basic working conditions that often results in a new collective-bargaining agreement or a change in the existing agreement.

Under the Railway Labor Act, two classes of disputes are subject to mandatory arbitration: major and minor disputes. A major dispute is also known as a new-contract dispute.

• A union and a company are unable to agree on wages and benefits for their workers, leading to a strike. This is a major dispute.
• A disagreement between a union and a company over the interpretation of a clause in their collective-bargaining agreement is a minor dispute.

The examples illustrate that a major dispute involves a fundamental disagreement about working conditions, while a minor dispute involves a disagreement over the interpretation or application of an existing agreement.