Agrees To Third Last-Minute Truce
Comair and the union representing
its pilots agreed to another last-minute truce late Friday just
before the company was set to impose bankruptcy court-approved pay
cuts.
Despite the judge's ruling last week the union couldn't strike
if the airline imposes cuts -- and the union's vow to appeal -- the
airline restarted negotiations, lending credence to its stated
claim it would rather have an agreement than impose cuts
unilaterally.
Under the court-approved plan, Comair is free to impose on
average a $6,000 per year pay cut for each of its pilots. Should
the union's appeal prove successful, they could strike in protest,
but an appeal could take months or even years to complete, and in
the meantime they'll be paid at the reduced rate.
Comair's pilots find themselves in the same situation as
Northwest Airlines' flight attendants. Last year Northwest's flight
attendants were unable to wrangle a satisfactory (to them) labor
contract with the bankrupt carrier.
The judge approved a plan allowing the airline to nullify the
current labor contract and impose pay cuts on its flight
attendants to serve a bankruptcy emergence plan. Northwest's flight
attendants appealed the ruling and argued their case before a
federal appeals court in New York City last November.
Ordinarily, airline labor disputes are handled under the
auspices of the federal Railway Labor Act. Unions can't strike
until both sides bargain under the supervision of the National
Mediation Board. If the NMB declares the two sides at an impasse,
the union is free to strike.
The question now before the federal appeals court is whether a
bankruptcy court can circumnavigate the Railway Labor Act and scrap
a labor contract.
Experts opine both ways on the case.
On the one hand, bankruptcy lawyer Darryl Laddin tells the
Cincinnati Enquirer the bankruptcy court ruling makes sense because
it doesn't prohibit the union from striking, per se, it just says
the union must go through the mediation process first.
On the other hand, labor lawyer and Washington University
professor Neil Bernstein says the Railway Labor Act doesn't ensure
labor peace "at all costs," it's there to guarantee equal treatment
for both sides.
Bernstein says if management can change working conditions
employees should be allowed to strike.
Rest assured, many more than just the two airlines and two
unions involved are watching these cases.