Airline Seeks Restraining Order Against Union

In a federal courtroom in Chicago on Wednesday, United Airlines and its pilots' union squared off in a legal fight over an alleged sick-out that forced United to cancel hundreds of flights in July.

The Chicago Tribune reports United blames the Air Line Pilots Association, saying the union encouraged pilots facing layoffs in capacity cuts scheduled for September to protest by calling in sick, in violation of both the Railway Labor Act, and the pilots' contract with the airline.

"I have been with United for nearly 40 years, and I am proud of this company and what all of our people working together have accomplished," said United's Chief Administrative Officer Pete McDonald, who was the first witness called for the airline. "By seeking this preliminary injunction to stop unlawful work slowdowns, we are standing up and refusing to let our customers and employees be used as bargaining chips by ALPA in their campaign to exert financial pressure on this company to open their contract early."

The union responds that United and its CEO, Glenn Tilton, are trumping up the charge without proof... and says it did what it could to convince the pilots not to stage a sick-out.

Indeed, it may be hard for United to prove its charge. If there was union involvement, it appears to have been confined to an unofficial phone-tree system designed to leave nothing behind in written or e-mail form.

The most-junior of United's 6,500-or-so pilots -- who refer to themselves as "The 2,172" -- have their own password-protected website, where they can swap anecdotes and strategy suggestions, independent of the union.

These low-seniority pilots were furloughed for as long as five years following 9/11, and have been furious that after making concessions to be rehired, 950 of them will again be out of work when capacity cuts announced in early summer take effect next month.

If United is able to get the restraining order it seeks against the union, it will bring on increased court scrutiny of everything the union does going into contract negotiations next year. If the union later violates the restraining order in any way, big fines could result. A similar case in 1999 involving American Airlines resulted in fines of $45 million against its pilots.

Joshua Javits, former chairman of the National Mediation Board, says the brinkmanship playing out between United and its pilots may be skirting the line.

"There's certainly a lot of strategy and tactics in this legal and collective-bargaining game they're playing," said Joshua Javits, former chairman of the National Mediation Board. "It's very risky for both sides."

FMI: www.united.com, www.alpa.org, www.glenntilton.com