American Airlines Lands Permanent Injunction Against Mechanics Union
“The only reasonable explanation for the slowdown is concerted action on the part of plaintiff’s mechanics,” wrote U.S. District Judge John McBryde.
August 13, 2019 at 01:20 PM
3 minute read
American Airlines passengers who have sat in airports for hours because of flight delays or seen trips re-routed because of flight cancellations might soon get some relief, according to a labor law expert who has closely followed a dispute between the airline and its mechanics union.
American Airlines Inc. won a permanent injunction against its mechanics union in a lawsuit that claimed the mechanics engaged in a concerted work slowdown, causing flight delays and cancellations, to gain leverage in their contract negotiations.
“There are very few labor airline disputes that get to this level,” said Michael Green, a professor at Texas A&M University School of Law in Fort Worth, and director of its workplace law program. “What the public should see is less of those delays and cancellations and missed flights.”
U.S. District Judge John McBryde of the Northern District of Texas found that the mechanics union—made up of the Transport Workers Union of America AFL-CIO, International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, and Airline Mechanic and Related Employee Association—encouraged the work slowdown, with a letter telling members to “stop all voluntary actions.” The slowdown caused American Airlines to delay or cancel more flights, which disrupted interstate commerce, said the Aug. 12 memorandum opinion in American Airlines v. Transport Workers Union of America.
The airline and union have been negotiating a collective bargaining agreement since 2015, the opinion noted. McBryde found the mechanics acted in concert, as part of a plan to volunteer to take fewer “field trips,” do less overnight maintenance work, defer more maintenance issues that caused aircraft to go out of service, and more.
“Those trends are not the result of coincidence,” said the opinion. “The only reasonable explanation for the slowdown is concerted action on the part of plaintiff’s mechanics.”
The court rejected several arguments by the union that outside factors caused the slowdown. It found the more likely explanation was that the airline and union’s “heated, yearslong contract negotiations” reached a boiling point and caused the slowdown. The union’s actions violated part of the Railway Labor Act, said the opinion, and American Airlines is entitled to a permanent injunction.
The Aug. 12 final judgment and permanent injunction ordered the union and everyone associated with the union to stop encouraging and participating in any type of disruptions in American Airlines’ operations. The union must take action to get members to resume their normal work schedules and practices. Among other things, top union leaders must hold meetings with local leadership and members to urge them to comply with the injunction.
None of the defendants’ lawyers immediately returned a call seeking comment, but union leaders have already been urging members to comply with the court’s previous temporary restraining orders in the case. In one video, Transportation Workers’ Union president John Samueslen said the union would seek victory in the end in its contract negotiations with American Airlines, but there was no way to achieve victory unless members complied with the court’s orders and the Railway Labor Act.
American Airlines spokeswoman Susannah Wesley-Ahlschwede wrote in an email, “We’re letting the ruling speak for itself,” and declined further comment.
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