AIRLINE LABOR LAW

BY: MITCHELL A. VASIN, ESQ.

PRESENTATION OVERVIEWI. RAILWAY LABOR ACT• Why does it exist?• What is the purpose?

II. LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA• Purpose and function of a union• Laws affecting union membership

III. AIRLINE MERGERS• Legal issues for organized labor• Seniority integration• Case study: the US Airways / American Airlines merger

ABOUT YOUR PRESENTERAVIATION EXPERIENCE

• Started taking flying lessons in high school (1990)• BS Aeronautical Science 1996 ERAU Prescott• Airline Transport Pilot, type rated in ATR42/72, B737, A320 series• 18 years in the airline industry, 11 years at America West / US Airways / American Airlines• Over 12,000 hours of flight time

LABOR UNION EXPERIENCE• Over 15 years experience• Union officer• Contract enforcement (grievance / arbitration)• Legal campaign organizer & participant

LEGAL EXPERIENCE• Juris Doctor 2013 Arizona Summit Law School• Arizona Supreme Court extern• Fisher & Phillips LLP (national labor and employment law firm)• Vasin Law Office PLLC: family law practice focusing on airline employees

THE RAILWAY LABOR ACT

THE RAILWAY LABOR ACT• A century ago, the railroads were the country’s lifeblood.• The state of employment law at the time resulted in numerous

disruptions to railroad service.• Subject to varying state laws• Carriers regularly interfered with union organizing• Expiring contracts• No streamlined dispute resolution

• Congress, with support of both airline labor and management, responded by passing a comprehensive set of statutes designed to promote labor peace and minimize disruption of rail service.

THE RAILWAY LABOR ACT

www.nmb.gov

THE RAILWAY LABOR ACTGENERAL PURPOSES OF THE R.L.A.(1) Prevent interruptions to carrier service;

• Contracts do not expire• No strikes or lockouts unless NMB authorizes otherwise

(2) Freedom to form and join unions;• Carriers cannot interfere with union affairs• NMB designates the unions

(3) Prompt and orderly settlement of contract negotiations; • NMB - mediation services• Limitations on right to strike

(4) Prompt and orderly settlement of contract disputes.• Federal courts generally do not have jurisdiction over labor disputes

LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA

LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA

PURPOSE AND FUNCTIONS:Exclusive bargaining agent on behalf of the entire work group (craft /

class).The exclusive party to all collective bargaining agreementsSubject to its political structure, and its own internal policies and

procedures.

LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA

A NON-UNION AIRLINE

LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA

A UNIONIZED AIRLINE

LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA

UNION MEMBER RIGHTS Railway Labor Act

Union dues Duty of fair representation

Landrum-Griffin Act: 29 U.S.C. §§ 401-431 (1959) Protects union participation, elections, and financial management

Title VII: 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(c) et seq. (1964) Prevents discrimination based upon race, color, national origin, etc.

Union constitution (common law) Governs the union’s internal workings

LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA

UNION MEMBER RIGHTS: Union Dues• Union constitution & by-laws• Most pilot unions charge a percentage of your gross income• Provisions for additional assessments

• Collective bargaining agreement• Agency shop clauses• “Beck objectors”

• Communication Workers of America (“CWA”) v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735 (1988)

LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA

UNION MEMBER RIGHTS: Duty of Fair Representation (“DFR”)A union has a “duty to exercise fairly the power conferred upon it in behalf of all those for whom it acts, without hostile discrimination against them.” Steele v. Louisville & Nashville R.R., 323 U.S. 192 (1944)A union breaches the duty if its conduct is either arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith. Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171 (1967).“Any substantive examination of a union's performance, therefore, must be highly deferential, recognizing the wide latitude that negotiators need for the effective performance of their bargaining responsibilities.” Air Line Pilots Assoc. v. O’Neill, 499 U.S. 65 (1991).

LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA

LANDRUM-GRIFFIN ACT OF 1959• Also known as the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

or “LMRDA”• Passed in the wake of two high profile union corruption scandals• Main tenets:• Union Member Bill Of Rights (Title I)• Government oversight of union elections and finances

• Department of Labor Office of Labor Management Standards (“DOL-OLMS”)• Enforcement authority of union members by civil lawsuit• Civil and criminal sanctions for union officers who violate the LMRDA

LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA

UNION CONSTITUTION (RLA, LMRDA, common law)• Details political structure and membership rights• Other rights exist under federal law that supersede the constitution

• Serves as a contract between each member and the union• Nonmembers are not subject to the constitution• Union afforded a tremendous amount of latitude in interpreting its

own constitution

LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA

UNION POLITICAL STRUCTURE

LABOR UNIONS UNDER THE RLA

UNION MEMBER NONMEMBER

FINANCIAL OBLIGATION YES(Dues and assessments per union constitution)

YES(Agency fee / germane expenses)

SUBJECT TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT

YES YES

SUBJECT TO UNION CONSTITUTION YES NO

PROTECTED BY DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION

YES YES

RIGHT TO VOTE FOR REPRESENTATIVES & CONTRACT

YES NO

RIGHT TO VOTE FOR A NEW UNION YES YES

AIRLINE MERGERS

AIRLINE MERGERSLAWS AFFECTING LABOR• Railway Labor Act• Collective bargaining: combined collective bargaining agreement• NMB: single carrier / change of bargaining agent

• Seniority Integration• McCaskill-Bond statute: 49 U.S.C. 42112 (2007)

• Bankruptcy Code• Rejection of Collective Bargaining Agreements : 11 U.S.C. 1113 (1984)

AIRLINE MERGERSTHE SENIORITY SYSTEMSeniority is a CBA provision, generally governing:• Advancement / furlough• Monthly schedules• Annual vacation dates• Standby travel priority• Other provisions

AIRLINE MERGERSSENIORITY INTEGRATION

AIRLINE MERGERSHISTORY OF SENIORITY INTEGRATION• Civil Aeronautics Board (1938)• Developed and required a seniority integration process, known as Allegheny-

Mohawk LPPs §§ 3, 13

• Deregulation (1978)• Seniority integration fell back into the collective bargaining process under the

Railway Labor Act – a “free for all”

• McCaskill-Bond statute (2007)• In response to American Airlines’ acquisition of TWA; too many lopsided

integrations

AIRLINE MERGERS2013 AMERICAN AIRLINES / US AIRWAYS MERGER• November 29, 2011

• American Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

• March 2012• American Airlines announces plans to terminate CBAs via 1113(c)

• April 20, 2012• American Airlines unions announce CLA with US Airways management, begins CBA negotiations

• August 8, 2012• AA pilots reject tentative agreement

• August 16, 2012• Bankruptcy court rejects American Airlines’ 1113(c) motion.

• December 7, 2012• AA pilots ratify tentative agreement thereby avoiding 1113(c) motion

• February 8, 2013• US Airways pilots ratify CLA

AIRLINE MERGERS2013 AMERICAN AIRLINES / US AIRWAYS MERGER• February 14, 2013• Merger officially announced

• August 12, 2013• Department of Justice and 5 states sue to block merger (Sherman Act of

1890)

• November 12, 2013• DOJ and AA settle lawsuit, greenlighting the merger

• December 5, 2013• US Airways / American Airlines merger officially consummates

AIRLINE MERGERS2013 AMERICAN AIRLINES / US AIRWAYS MERGER• January 14, 2014

• Allied Pilots Association (“APA”) files single carrier petition with the National Mediation Board (“NMB”)

• March 4, 2014• US Airline Pilots Association (“USAPA”) files lawsuit against APA alleging violation of McCaskill-Bond statute

• September 4, 2014• USAPA and APA reach agreement regarding seniority integration protocol; settle lawsuit

• September 16, 2014• APA certified as the bargaining agent for all American Airlines pilots• Negotiations for a Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (“JCBA”) commence

• January 30, 2015• JCBA ratified

• June – October 2015• Seniority integration arbitration hearings

QUESTIONS????