Sun, Jun 06, 2010
U.S. Court Of Appeals Rules In Favor Of US Airways
Pilots’ Union Over Former America West Pilots
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed the
decision of a lower federal court that had found the US Airline
Pilots Association (USAPA) liable in a Duty of Fair Representation
lawsuit. This decision allows USAPA, which represents all US
Airways pilots, to freely bargain for the terms of its seniority
integration.
The U.S. District Court in Arizona had issued an injunction that
required USAPA to bargain for seniority integration terms based on
a previous union’s bargaining proposal. The proposal, known
commonly as the “Nicolau award,” resulted from an
arbitration conducted by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA),
then the US Airways pilots’ bargaining agent.
In September 2008, a group of six former America West pilots
brought suit against USAPA claiming that USAPA’s failure to
implement the Nicolau award violated its duty of fair
representation. The lawsuit, Addington v. US Airline Pilots
Association, was accompanied by another lawsuit brought in state
court that has since been dismissed.
In Friday's ruling, a panel of the Ninth Circuit held by a
majority that the Addington lawsuit was not legally ripe and
therefore that the lower court lacked jurisdiction. The majority
decision stated that, “… the conclusion that
Plaintiffs’ claim is not ripe is consistent with our DFR
decisions, which have found DFR violations based on contract
negotiation only after a contract has been agreed upon.”
USAPA President Mike Cleary said, “We now look forward to
our pilot group coming together to work towards an improved,
industry-standard contract for all US Airways pilots.”
As a result of today’s ruling, U.S. District Judge Neil
Wake is ordered to dismiss the action against USAPA. This also
means that the injunction and remaining damages phase of the case
are now moot and USAPA can begin the collective bargaining process
on behalf of all US Airways pilots.
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