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The alleged sick-out in late July that prompted United Airlines to sue its pilots union is long over. Now, a Chicago court must decide whether United’s pilots would disrupt operations in advance of contract talks that begin April 1, 2009, if they are not kept under Judge Joan Lefkow’s supervision.
Lefkow will rule within 30 days on United’s request for a restraining order that would force union leaders to keep a tight rein on members as tensions build over pilot pay that lags most other carriers.
“In the meantime, I trust you’ll all do your best to keep the airplanes on schedule,” Lefkow told attorneys for United and its pilots union on Tuesday after they completed closing arguments.
The litigation is a salvo in the labor battles that are likely to escalate over the next year as the nation’s second-largest airline heads into contract negotiations with its unions. In a lawsuit, filed July 30, United accused the pilots union and four leaders of orchestrating a rash of sick calls forcing it to cancel more than 300 flights at the height of the summer travel season.
Attorneys for the Air Line Pilots Association countered that the sick calls were to be expected among pilots who’d been told they would lose their jobs at summer’s end and fell within the range expected by United’s planners.
If it prevails, United could handcuff the pilots union and its leaders by bringing them under close watch of the court heading into contentious contract talks, analysts said.
United attorney Tom Jerman accused the union of waging a campaign designed to pressure the airline into opening negotiations ahead of schedule.
source : Chicago Tribune
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