Airline Alleges Union Pilots Are Staging An Illegal Work Action

A federal judge has set a tentative date of August 19th for a hearing on an allegation by US Airways that its union pilots who belong to UASPA are staging an illegal work action the union says is a safety campaign. The airline says the actions are causing flight delays and mishandled bags, which has caused harm to its business.

North Carolina U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad, however, stopped short of issuing a temporary restraining order sought by the airline to immediately stop the "safety campaign." He also did not change the venue of the hearing to New York, as the union had requested, according to The Street.

"I think the airline is entitled to a resolution of this dispute in an efficient manner," he said near the end of a hearing last Friday. "The (union) is entitled to enough time to defend the allegation."

Both sides have been instructed to submit filings in the case. The airline filed the suit July 29th, alleging that late arrivals and mishandled bags climbed substantially on flights between the carriers' Charlotte and Philadelphia hubs, resulting in numerous cancellations between May 1st and the end of July.

The union categorically denies the allegations, and said it has posted a message to its pilots saying it is not union policy to "engage in any sort of illegal job actions."

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