AMERICAN TRAIN DISPATCHERS v. METRO-NORTH COMMUTER
| Decision Date | 11 October 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 88 Civ. 3839 (JMW).,88 Civ. 3839 (JMW). |
| Citation | 698 F. Supp. 1102 |
| Parties | AMERICAN TRAIN DISPATCHERS ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff, v. METRO-NORTH COMMUTER RAILROAD COMPANY, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Michael S. Wolly, Mulholland & Hickey, Washington, D.C., Paul G. Reilly, Jr., Reilly & Gatti, New York City, for plaintiff.
Mary Ann Mills, Associate Counsel, Metro-North Commuter R. Co., New York City, for defendant.
Plaintiff American Train Dispatchers Association ("ATDA") charges defendant Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company ("Metro-North") with violating the Railway Labor Act ("RLA"), 45 U.S.C. § 152, Seventh and § 156, by promulgating various changes in work rules and conditions without prior consultation or bargaining with the union. These changes concern sick leave, vacation days, training time, work attire, and drug and alcohol testing. In its motion for preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, plaintiff seeks to restore the status quo which existed prior to changes made unilaterally by the defendant. Oral argument on the motion was held on June 22, 1988. For the reasons stated below, ATDA's motion for a preliminary and permanent injunction is granted in part and denied in part.
Metro-North employs 29 train dispatchers and 4 assistant chief train dispatchers for whom ATDA is the exclusive collective bargaining representative. A collective bargaining agreement ("Agreement") which governs hours of service, working conditions and rates of pay was entered into by ATDA and Metro-North. The Agreement became effective September 26, 1986, and by its terms it cannot be changed before January 1, 1989.1
Plaintiff contends that Metro-North, without conferring with the union in advance, adopted policies that resulted in changes to the Agreement or to practices which had become established working conditions. Plaintiff points to five areas of change and maintains that viewed collectively they constitute a "major dispute" under the RLA. Thus, plaintiff argues that Metro-North should be enjoined from enforcing its new policies. In response, defendant contends the changes are consistent with the terms of the Agreement and an appropriate exercise of management prerogatives; therefore, they constitute "minor disputes" under the RLA and referral to the National Railroad Adjustment Board is required.
Rule 23(i) of the Agreement states:
Payment in cases of known bonafide disability should be made currently ... In cases of doubt, the train dispatcher will be required to prove in the form of a doctor's certificate that the sickness or injury is bonafide.
In the past Metro-North has rarely requested doctor's certificates from train dispatchers. On May 6, 1988, however, Metro-North adopted the policy that "anyone marking off sick will not be paid unless a Doctors sic note is presented."
Plaintiff contends that the requirement of a doctor's note in every instance is a radical departure from the Agreement and cannot be implemented without first exhausting certain procedures of the RLA. Defendant asserts that an internal review of sick time patterns conducted during the first half of 1988 uncovered a pattern of sick time being taken before and after rest days, holidays and vacation. This pattern, according to defendant, indicated that employees may be abusing their sick days. Consequently, management decided sick time should be more closely regulated by requiring a doctor's note prior to payment for sick time.
Rule 9(b) of the Agreement provides that each "successful applicant for a bulletined position will be given sufficient office and road time, with pay, to become familiar with the position ..." Plaintiff asserts that the carrier's announcement on May 6, 1988, that road time is suspended is a clear attempt to change the terms of the Agreement. Defendant, on the other hand, points to language in Rule 9(b) that states that road time is "to be determined by the Carrier." Defendant contends that its suspension of road time is based on "sound business judgment."
On May 6, 1988, defendant informed members of ATDA that Prior to the establishment of this policy, vacation time was taken by seniority without regard to the duration thereof.
Plaintiff objects to the prohibition against single vacation days asserting that members of the union have been able since at least 1981 to take single vacation days. Defendant counters by noting that the restriction adopted fits within the authority given to Metro-North by Rule 28(d) of the Agreement which states that "Carrier will schedule vacation periods consistent with the need of service."
The Agreement contains no dress code for train dispatchers. On April 26, 1988, management circulated a memo prohibiting the wearing of sneakers, jeans and t-shirts by train dispatchers. Plaintiff asserts that this action changed the status quo as reflected in existing working conditions. Defendant argues that this request was a proper exercise of management prerogative.
After determining on or about May 6, 1988, that it allegedly lacked medical records for twelve train dispatchers, the defendant administered medical examinations that included testing for alcohol and drug use to those employees. The plaintiff contends that defendant's acts amounted to random drug testing. Although defendant disputes that the twelve employees tested were chosen with any malicious purpose and maintains that it has no program of random testing, defendant concedes that alcohol and drug testing is now part of the medical examinations it requires upon hiring, returning to work after a prolonged absence, and at established intervals over the term of employment.
Both in oral argument and in their papers, the parties informed this Court that Judge Carter of this district had before him precisely the same issue involving these parties in Railway Labor Executives' Ass'n v. Metro-North Commuter R.R. Co., 86 Civ. 6066. On August 16, 1988, 695 F.Supp. 124, Judge Carter held that the imposition of such tests created a major dispute, and he enjoined further testing.
This case concerns the categorization of the above disputes as either "major" or "minor" under the RLA. The significance of the classification is that its outcome largely determines the method by which the dispute is to be resolved under that act.
Although the RLA does not actually employ the terms "major" and "minor," the Supreme Court introduced and defined these concepts in Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Ry. Co. v. Burley, 325 U.S. 711, 723, 65 S.Ct. 1282, 1290, 89 L.Ed. 1886 (1945). "Major" disputes are those which "relate to disputes over the formation of collective agreements or efforts to secure them." "Minor" disputes "contemplate the existence of a collective bargaining agreement already concluded or, at any rate, a situation in which no effort is made to bring about a formal change in terms or to create a new one." In Local 553, Transport Workers Union v. Eastern Air Lines, 695 F.2d 668, 673 (2d Cir.1982) (citations omitted), the Second Circuit, while noting that the major/minor distinction is an imprecise and difficult one for courts to make, articulated the difference as follows:
Major disputes involved the formation or alteration of agreements ... Minor disputes in contrast ... turned on the application of an agreement's terms ... A dispute is major if the carrier's contractual justification for its actions is "obviously insubstantial." On the other hand, a dispute is minor if the contract is "reasonably susceptible" to the carrier's interpretation.
Accord, International Ass'n of Machinists and Aerospace Workers v. Eastern Air Lines, 847 F.2d 1014, 1017 (1988); Air Cargo, Inc. v. Local Union 851, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 733 F.2d 241, 245 (2d Cir.1984).
Notwithstanding these valiant efforts to formulate an approach to distinguish between the two types of disputes, courts still remain hard-pressed to resolve close cases. Indeed, there is a marked inclination to view disputes as minor, Railway Labor Executives Ass'n v. Norfolk and Western Ry. Co., 833 F.2d 700, 705 (7th Cir.1987), yet the Second Circuit has cautioned against a perfunctory preference to view disputes in that manner. Local 553, 695 F.2d at 673 n. 3. Thus, each case requires a careful analysis of the facts and the collective bargaining agreement before a court should place the dispute in one category or the other.
The method of resolving railway labor disputes under the RLA is dependent upon the determination of whether the dispute is "major" or "minor." The RLA provides detailed and intentionally protracted procedures to facilitate the voluntary settlement of major disputes. First, the party must serve a notice requesting bargaining under Section 6 of the RLA. 45 U.S.C. § 156. The parties then attempt to resolve the dispute on their own, followed, at the request of either, by mediation by the National Mediation Board. 45 U.S.C. § 155, First. If mediation fails, the parties may, but are not required to, submit the dispute to binding arbitration. 45 U.S.C. § 155, First, § 157. If the parties do not consent to arbitration the President may then create an Emergency Board to assist in the resolution of the dispute. During this period, strikes or lockouts are prohibited. Indeed, "while the dispute is working its way through these stages, neither party may unilaterally alter the status quo." Brotherhood of R.R. Trainmen v. Jacksonville Terminal Co., 394 U.S. 369, 378, 89 S.Ct. 1109, 1115, 22 L.Ed.2d 344 (1969). Detroit & Toledo Shore Line R.R. Co. v. United Transportation Union, 396 U.S. 142, 152-54, 90 S.Ct. 294, 300-01, 24 L.Ed.2d 325 (1969). Minor disputes, on the other hand,...
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American Train Dispatchers v. Burlington Northern, 4:94-CV-048-A.
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