Air Line Pilots Ass'n v. Tex. Intern. Airlines, Inc., 80 C 3009.

• Decision Date: 01 December 1980
• Docket Number: No. 80 C 3009.,80 C 3009.
• Parties: AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL, Plaintiff, v. TEXAS INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES, INC. and New York Air Lines, Inc. and Texas Air Corp. Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

502 F. Supp. 423

AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL, Plaintiff, v. TEXAS INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES, INC. and New York Air Lines, Inc. and Texas Air Corp. Defendants.

No. 80 C 3009.

United States District Court, E. D. New York.

December 1, 1980.

Cohen, Weiss & Simon, New York City (Robert S. Savelson, New York City, of counsel), for plaintiff.

Hughes, Hubbard & Reed, New York City (John S. Allee, New York City, of counsel), Akin, Gump, Hauer & Feld, Washington, D. C. (John J. Gallagher, Laurence J. Hoffman, Michael J. Cozzilio, Washington, D. C., of counsel), for defendant Texas Air Corp. Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn, New York City (Marvin E. Frankel, Edward Silver, Saul G. Kramer, Howard L. Ganz, New York City, of counsel), for defendant New York Air Lines, Inc.

Baker & Botts, Houston, Tex. (L. Chapman Smith, Joseph R. Weeks, Houston, Tex., of counsel), for defendant Texas International Airlines, Inc.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

NICKERSON, District Judge.

Plaintiff Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) brought this action under the Railway Labor Act (the Act), 45 U.S.C. §§ 151 et seq., seeking an injunction, a declaratory judgment, and damages. Defendants have moved to dismiss.

In substance, the complaint alleges the following. ALPA is the collective bargaining representative under the Act for more than 35,000 pilots of thirty United States air carriers, including defendant Texas International Airlines, Inc. (Texas International), which employs over 400 pilots and prior to some time in 1980 was directly controlled by Jet Capital Corp. During 1980 the principals of Jet Capital Corp., with a view to entering the New York market, organized defendant Texas Air Corp., of which defendants Texas International and a new corporation, New York Air Lines, Inc. (New York Air) became wholly owned subsidiaries. New York Air has applied to the Civil Aeronautics Board for a certificate to serve New York and Washington commencing December 14, 1980, and is employing pilots to fly that route.

ALPA contends that all this was done to deprive it of "its representative status and collective bargaining rights" and the Texas International pilots of their "employment rights" to fly the new routes pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement entered into between ALPA and Texas International. ALPA argues that defendants' acts constitute "interference, influence and coercion" directed against ALPA and the pilots it represents in violation of Section 2 of the Act, in particular of subsection Fourth, providing in pertinent part, that employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively "through representatives of their own choosing" and that "no carrier" shall deny or interfere with that right.

The complaint does not assert that the work of the Texas International pilots is to be terminated or curtailed. But ALPA urges that pilots it represents must fly the proposed New York Air routes and asks the court to order defendants immediately to "apply and implement the pilot collective bargaining agreement in effect between Texas International and ALPA to New York Air."

Defendants have moved pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter and for failure to state a claim.

While ALPA maintains that defendants comprise one "carrier" within the meaning of the Act and have violated a statutory duty to bargain with a designated representative, defendants say that the alleged facts, as distinguished from the conclusions and perjoratives, show simply a "representation dispute" exclusively in the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board (the Board), which alone is empowered to decide whether or not related corporations should be treated as a single "carrier" for purposes of representation.

Were there no real question as to whether ALPA is the legitimate representative of New York Air employees, this court would undertake to decide the extent of New York Air's duty to bargain. International Association of Machinists v. Northeast Airlines, Inc., 536 F.2d 975, 977 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 961, 97 S.Ct. 387, 50 L.Ed.2d 328 (1976). Section 2 subsection Fourth of the Act requires a carrier to bargain with the representative chosen by the majority of a craft or class of employees, and a federal court will require the carrier to comply. Virginian Ry. Co. v. System Federation No. 40, 300 U.S. 515, 57 S.Ct. 592, 81 L.Ed. 789 (1937).

But where there are doubts as to who is the authentic representative Section 2 subsection Ninth of the Act remits the "dispute" to the Board, which is charged with the duty of investigating and certifying the representative. General Committee v. Southern Pacific Co., 320 U.S. 338, 64 S.Ct. 142, 88 L.Ed. 85 (1943); General Committee v. Missouri-Kansas-Texas R.R. Co., 320 U.S. 323, 64 S.Ct. 146, 88 L.Ed. 76 (1943); Switchmen's Union v. National Mediation Board, 320 U.S. 297, 64 S.Ct. 95, 88 L.Ed. 61 (1943). The dispute need not arise between two rival representatives. It is enough that there is one claimant and employees who are or may be either hostile or merely indifferent. Summit Airlines, Inc. v. Teamsters Local 295, 628 F.2d 787, p. 795 n.4 (2d Cir. 1980).

The court must accept the facts alleged in the complaint as true. But the conclusory...