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.

FMI: www.comair.com, www.northwest.com, www.nmb.gov