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From the Railway Labor Act:
i) The disputes between an employee or group of employees and a carrier or carriers growing out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of agreements concerning rates of Day, rules, or working conditions, including -cases pending and unadjusted on June 21, 1934, shall be handled in the usual manner up to and including the chief operating officer of the carrier designated to handle such disputes; but, failing to reach an adjustment in this manner, the disputes may be referred by petition of the parties or by either party to the appropriate division of the Adjustment Board with a full statement of the facts and all supporting data bearing upon the disputes.
(j) Parties may be heard either in person, by counsel, or by other representatives, as they may respectively elect, and the several divisions of the Adjustment Board shall give due notice of all hearings to the employee or employees and the carrier or carriers involved in any disputes submitted to them.
(k) Any division of the Adjustment Board shall have authority to empower two or more of its members to conduct hearings and make findings upon disputes, when properly submitted, at any place designated by the division: Provided, however, That except as provided in paragraph (h) of this section, final awards as to any such dispute must be made by the entire division as hereinafter provided.
Jeff: This means an individual or a group of individuals may progress claims in their own behalf to the First Division of the Railroad Adjustment Board. However, one must follow the procedures established on the property as definded in the collective bargaining agreement. Such as: filing a claim, appealing the claim with the Superintendent, appealing the claim to Labor Relations, conferencing the claim with the proper designated carrier officer, then filing with the First Division. A conference is mandatory before you can go the First Division. | 
