If I am not mistaken, Judge Prudence was quoted as saying that she did not believe she would be able to enjoin the pilots from striking. I may be remembering incorrectly.
I think a legal precedent allowing a company to arbitrarily throw out a contract with no repercussion is a dangerous one.
For example, if Delta cannot renegotiate a lease with the lessor, the lessor is allowed to withdraw is assets.
Such a case for the pilots would not necessarily fall under the RLA, so any talk of a PEB could be moot. This is not your ordinary section 6 negotiation process. I don't believe it falls under section 6 at all.
I don't think a court could issue an injunction preventing you from quitting. I think that would called socialism.
Perhaps we have a legal type on here that could offer up some info.
Hence the problem. The company says that a strike is illegal. The union says that a strike is possible. Since both sides are fairly adamant about their position, it sounds like this is something that remains to be litigated.
The way is was explained to me is that bankruptcy is a process to protect a company while it reorganizes. When in bankruptcy, the court automatically stays (prevents) certain actions. For example, if a creditor wants to repossess (take) an engine, it has to go through the bankruptcy court process where a judge has the power to prevent the repossession of the engine. In your example, the lessor must petition the court before it can withdraw its assets.
The "no strike" theory is that a strike is an action to "take" from the company.
In this case, a company and a union fail to come to an agreement, and a contract is rejected. The union, seeking better terms, strikes. This can be interpreted as an attempt to take (better wages, etc.) from the bankrupt company. This could allow a bankruptcy judge the power to prevent a strike
Now, a judge cannot compel an individual to work, but it can compel the union to call off a strike and make efforts to get its members back to work. Remember the Contract 2000 case where DALPA was told to stop the unofficial job action where no one was taking green slips? Remember the APA fine for the sickout at AA? Both were cases where the union was held responsible for policing its members.
The other side is that a rejection is a rejection and there is a right to seek self help.
My point is that there is a question of what could happen. BOB's characteristic simplistic view of the situation does not take into consideration all of the factors.
Getting back to how I feel about a potential strike, I hope that cooler heads can prevail and an agreement can be reached.
If not, I hope that the court does have the power to enjoin the strike. If the future proves that the company took too much, an angry ALPA can get it all back from an out of bankruptcy Delta when it is time to negotiate the next contract.
