US Airways Airbus A319-112 N745VJ (msn 1289) (Allegheny Airlines colors) CLT (Bruce Drum), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.
US Airways’ (Phoenix) pilots, represented by the US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA), have filed a complaint against defendant US Airways in the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York alleging that US Airways has violated its duty to maintain the status quo during contract negotiations as required by the Railway Labor Act (RLA).
In its complaint, USAPA alleges:
US Airways has unilaterally altered the parties’ collective bargaining agreements by intentionally frustrating and abrogating the contractual grievance and arbitration procedures outlined in the collective bargaining agreements.
US Airways has deliberately delayed the scheduling of disputes as required under the Railway Labor Act. It has failed to prosecute disciplinary and contractual grievances in a timely fashion and refused to complete arbitration hearings within the allotted, agreed upon time. Its actions have created a backlog of more than 500 unresolved grievances.
Lastly, US Airways has refused to follow well-established and agreed upon procedures and practices regarding the settlement of disciplinary and contractual disputes.
According to the union, US Airways has violated its obligations under the RLA to maintain the status quo with respect to terms and conditions of employment for those US Airways employees represented by USAPA.
Again, according to the USAPA, US Airways has also violated the RLA by intentionally failing to “exert every reasonable effort” to reach a settlement with USAPA regarding an integrated collective bargaining agreement. USAPA believes the defendant has bargained in bad faith in violation of the RLA by engaging in surface bargaining and employing evasive and dilatory tactics with respect to the ongoing major dispute.
US Airways has demonstrated a clear intention not to reach an agreement with USAPA regarding an integrated collective bargaining agreement, and therefore has violated the Railway Labor Act.
US Airways has committed an additional violation of the Railway Labor Act by failing to “exert every reasonable effort … to settle all disputes … arising out of the application of” the current collective bargaining agreements.
US Airways has failed to make “every reasonable effort” to settle or otherwise resolve contractual interpretation disputes in violation of the Railway Labor Act.
USAPA feels that the egregious nature of these illegal acts has been compounded by important safety grievances that remain unresolved as a result of US Airways’ actions.
In its complaint, USAPA seeks to enjoin US Airways from unilaterally abrogating and altering the relevant collective bargaining agreements pending completion of the RLA’s major dispute resolution procedure. USAPA requested that the District Court issue a preliminary injunction prohibiting US Airways from engaging in this misconduct.
Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum.
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