Case Ruled In Favor Of The Airline

A lawsuit stemming from an accusation in June on the part of US Airways that its pilots were engaged in a work slowdown has been dropped by the airline's pilots' union.

The Charlotte Observer reports that the two sides "have agreed to halt the lawsuit," which was filed in a federal court in Charlotte, NC. Both parties agreed that an injunction put in place by U.S. District Court Judge Bob Conrad requiring the pilots' union to stop its labor action, should be made permanent. The case will go in the books as a ruling in favor of the airline, and each side will pay its own legal fees.

According to Bloomberg News, the pilots had been encouraged by the union to call in "fatigued" and increase the number of maintenance squawks on airplanes as way of showing their displeasure with ongoing contract negotiations. The result was a "significant" reduction in the airline's on-time performance, which US Airways said damaged its reputation, along with the bottom line.

The pilots' union placed a statement on its website dated January 11th explaining its position.

"Judge Conrad signed the joint motion to convert the preliminary injunction, issued September 2011, into a final order of the Court. Converting the preliminary injunction into a final order avoids the need for expensive discovery, legal proceedings and trial, and allows USAPA to concentrate on representing US Airways pilots.

"The injunction remains in effect and prohibits pilots from engaging in any slowdown, strike, work stoppage, sick-out, work-to-rule campaign, or any concerted refusal to perform normal pilot operations in violation of the RLA and prohibits pilots from urging any other pilots to engage in any such activities.

"Each pilot is subject to the jurisdiction of the Court and is individually bound by and must obey the injunction. Any individual pilot who violates the injunction can be prosecuted for contempt of the order, can be held in contempt, and can be individually fined or otherwise punished."

FMI: www.usairways.com, http://usairlinepilots.org