BillLumbergh said:
Hmmm. A federal court was not so sure about that one.
Now, back to lurking...
Bill your information is not correct, the court only ruled on the major vs minor dispute, they did not rule on the contract language, that is why the whole thing is going to arbitration.
Getting your info from a certain Airbus Captain?
From the IAM:
Appeals Court Sends IAM-US Airways Subcontracting Dispute to Arbitration
The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals today denied an International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) request for the full thirteen-member court to rule on whether US Airways' subcontracting of Airbus heavy maintenance constitutes a major dispute under the Railway Labor Act. On February 3, 2004 a three-member panel of the court ruled the dispute to be minor, reversing an October 21, 2003 District Court injunction that prevented US Airways from subcontracting heavy maintenance.
"The appellate court has not ruled that US Airways has the right to subcontract our work," said IAM General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. "They have only ruled that the dispute should be settled through arbitration. Although we disagree, we will expedite the process and we are confident that our members will prevail once an arbitrator reviews the issue and the clear and unambiguous language in our contract."
Under the Railway Labor Act, the law governing labor relations in the airline industry, minor disputes must be resolved through an established arbitration process. The IAM will seek an expedited arbitration decision to include damages for members affected by US Airways' flagrant contract violation.
"US Airways has taken airplanes out of service rather than having their own employees perform their maintenance, " said IAM District 141-M President Scotty Ford. "Such arrogance toward employees and passengers hasn't been seen since Frank Lorenzo was banished from the industry."
Maintenance is currently being performed on US Airways' Airbus aircraft at foreign-owned Singapore Technologies Mobile Aerospace Engineering in Mobile, AL.
The National Transportation Safety Board recently cited poor maintenance practices by another independent maintenance provider as a factor in last year's Air Midwest crash of a Beech 1900D in Charlotte, NC. "Subcontracting maintenance work can be a very costly way to save money," said Roach.
From the Reuters:
February 3, 2004
A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned an injunction preventing US Airways from outsourcing heavy maintenance on some of its Airbus aircraft.
The 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said the disagreement between the International Association of Machinists and US Airways was a "minor" one, and therefore the district court that had issued the temporary injunction lacked the jurisdiction to do so.
The appeals court did not rule on whether outsourcing the maintenance work violated the IAM's labor agreement with the company. Instead, the court said the issue must be resolved through binding arbitration, under rules in the Railway Labor Act governing minor disputes.
IAM spokesman Joe Tiberi said the union's attorneys were reviewing its options.
The union could decide to seek arbitration on the matter or it could choose to appeal Tuesday's ruling.
In the meantime, the Arlington, Virginia-based airline will resume maintenance on the nine Airbus A319 aircraft that was scheduled to be completed by the end of last year, spokesman David Castelveter said.
The IAM claims its collective bargaining agreement requires US Airways to use IAM employees to perform the heavy maintenance work, while the company has sought to outsource the work as it tries to cut costs.
"We will not allow the airline's arrogance and disregard for the employees that rescued the company to go unchallenged," IAM General Vice President Robert Roach said in a statement.
In October, US District Judge Robert Cindrich permitted a private contractor, ST Mobile Aerospace Engineering, to finish work on one of the planes that had already been started. But he blocked the airline's plans to complete servicing up to nine other narrowbody planes.
US Airways issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was prepared to quickly arbitrate the matter.
"The court's decision validates the company's consistent legal opinion that this issue is a minor contract dispute under the Railway Labor Act that must be resolved through arbitration," the company said.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires heavy maintenance -- which involves checking planes for major structural weaknesses -- every five years.
US Airways emerged from bankruptcy 10 months ago and is still struggling to cut costs to survive. It is reportedly considering the sale of some of its assets, and four US airlines have bid on various pieces of the airline, according to banking sources.
(Reuters)