Workers Have Not Been Through A Dispute Resolution Process Required Under Federal Law

Workers who refuel airplanes at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport may not walk off their jobs, a federal judge has ruled, because they have not been through any federally-mandated dispute resolution process.

The fuelers had threatened to strike when one of their ranks, Alex Popescu, was suspended. The workers said it was because the fueler had advocated safety improvements, according to a report appearing in the Seattle Times, but the airport services company ASIG said he was fired for allegedly "screaming obscenities at supervisors," according to court documents.

The fuelers had planned a walkout lasting as long as eight hours, but U.S. District Judge James Robers said in the ruling published last week that the fuelers are covered by dispute-resolution procedures contained in the Railway Labor Act, despite the fact that they do not belong to a union. The judge said that the act was designed to "settle all disputes" while avoiding disruption of interstate commerce. He said if he allowed the workers to strike, even for eight hours, it would open the door to non-union workers being able to "strike at will."

The workers said they would abide by the judges' decision, but would continue to fight for the safety improvements championed by Popescu.

FMI: www.wawd.uscourts.gov/