Ford v. Air Line Pilots Ass'n Intern

• Decision Date: 23 June 2003
• Docket Number: No. 01-CV-2800 ILG.,01-CV-2800 ILG.
• Citation: 268 F.Supp.2d 271
• Parties: Daniel FORD, Jesse Ashcraft, and Kent Dobbins, Plaintiffs, v. AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL, and Duane E. Woerth, as President of Air Line Pilots Association, International, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

268 F.Supp.2d 271

Daniel FORD, Jesse Ashcraft, and Kent Dobbins, Plaintiffs, v. AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL, and Duane E. Woerth, as President of Air Line Pilots Association, International, Defendants.

No. 01-CV-2800 ILG.

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

June 23, 2003.

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Michael S. Haber, Esq, New York City, for Plaintiffs.

Michael E. Abram, Esq., Cohen, Weiss & Simon LLP, New York City, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

GLASSER, District Judge.

SUMMARY

This action results from a dispute between certain pilots for Comair, Inc. ("Comair"), an airline company that contracts with its parent company Delta Air Lines to fly part of Delta's routes, and their union, the Air Line Pilots Association ("ALPA") and its President, Duane E. Woerth (together, "Defendants"). Plaintiffs assert that Defendants, who represent the pilots for both Comair and Delta, breached their duties to Comair's pilots when they negotiated a collective bargaining agreement on behalf of Delta pilots that restricts the number and type of flights that Comair may fly. Plaintiffs also assert that Defendants breached their duties by fail process plaintiffs' grievances regarding these issues.

Defendants move to dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Defendants first assert that plaintiffs' claims, although clothed as tort and contract claims, are in fact representational disputes that lie wholly within the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board, and that this court therefore lacks subject matter jurisdiction. Defendants then claim that even if this court may assert jurisdiction, the complaint fails to state a cause of action because a union's duty of fair representation does not require ALPA to incorporate Comair pilot concerns when negotiating on behalf of Delta pilots, nor does that duty extend to plaintiffs' claims regarding ALPA's failure to process the pilots' internal grievances filed about this issue since ALPA's longstanding interpretation of its own Constitution and By-Laws limits the grievance process to disciplinary actions. Defendants then argue that plaintiffs' claims are moot, that the state law claims are preempted by federal law, and that the claims under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act ("LMRDA") also fail to state a claim.

Plaintiffs oppose the motion to dismiss and also move for leave to amend the complaint to include over three hundred other Comair pilots as named plaintiffs, pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 15 and 21. The proposed amended complaint does not seek to change any of the substantive allegations. Defendants oppose the motion on the grounds that if the original complaint fails to state a cause of action, it would be futile to add new plaintiffs For the reasons stated herein, Plaintiffs have sufficiently stated a claim that ALPA breached its duty of fair representation by allegedly negotiating contracts that arbitrarily favor the Delta pilots over the Comair pilots. Plaintiffs' other claims, however, are dismissed because they either are preempted by the federal duty of fair representation claim, involve a long-standing interpretation of ALPA's own Constitution and By-Laws that is not patently unreasonable, or do not involve similarly situated persons for purposes of the LMRDA. The motion to amend is treated separately at the end of this memorandum.

BACKGROUND¹

According to the Complaint, Plaintiffs Daniel Ford, Jesse Ashcraft, and Kent Dobbins are pilots employed by Comair. ALPA is a labor union that represents pilots at almost fifty carriers, including Delta and Comair, and therefore represents plaintiffs.²

Comair, Delta and the Use of Regional Jets in the Airline Industry

Delta acquired Comair in January 2000, and Comair is now part of Delta's wholly owned subsidiary Delta Connection, Inc. Marketing material refers to Comair as the "Delta Connection," providing connecting flights from certain cities within a few hundred miles of certain Delta hubs, such as the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Comair also provides direct service on some of Delta's routes at those times of the day for which there is insufficient demand to fill larger aircraft. Comair has approximately 1,400 pilots, while Delta has approximately 10,000 pilots.

Beginning in the early 1990's, Comair pioneered the use of regional jets in North America. Prior to tie introduction of regional jets, regional carriers like Comair typically used planes with turbine engines that powered propellers ("turbo-props"). Turbo-props are smaller, slower and less comfortable for passengers than regional jets. Regional jets, such as those used by Comair, reach speeds comparable to those attained by larger, conventional jet airplanes. Regional jets today can be configured to hold 70 or even 90 passengers and fulfill roles similar to those that smaller conventional jets traditionally filled.

In a January 2000 report entitled "Regional Jets and the Delta Network," Delta stated that regional jets "fuel" mainline Delta by providing more than $1 billion in revenue, and feed mainline Delta through increased passenger loads. According to the report, without its regional carriers (like Comair), Delta's annual revenue ranking as compared with other airlines would decrease from first to third. Without Comair, Delta's operations in Cincinnati would suffer so dramatically that the hub would become unprofitable.

Comair has the largest fleet of regional jets in the nation. Comair and other subsidiaries of Delta³ either have or until recently had orders or options to obtain approximately 500 additional regional jets, including 170 CL-700's, a new regional jet that can accommodate 70 passengers. Although the Complaint is not entirely clear on this point, it appears that Delta itself does not utilize regional jets, but instead uses only larger conventional or "mainline" jet planes. According to plaintiffs, because the regional carriers like Comair have contributed so significantly to the airline industry, tension has grown between the pilots of regional carriers and their mainline counterparts.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement Process

In addition to a national office, ALPA has established a "Master Executive Council" ("MEC") for each airline at which it represents employees. The MEC for each airline serves as the coordinating council for ALPA members at that airline. For example, the Comair MEC is empowered to take actions on the concerns of Comair pilots, including conducting collective bargaining activities with Comair management. The Delta MEC similarly is empowered to take actions on the concerns of Delta pilots, including conducting collective bargaining activities with Delta management. In the course of contract negotiations between ALPA and a carrier such as Comair or Delta, the respective MEC participates in the negotiation along with representatives from ALPA's national office. ALPA's national office provides an array of assistance, support and coordination to the pilot membership at each carrier.

A collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") between ALPA and a respective carrier usually has a "scope" clause. This scope clause defines and describes the application of the CBA in terms of the activity that is covered. The Delta CBA in effect when the Complaint was filed states that it applies to "all flying performed by or for the Company or any Affiliate," meaning Delta itself or any subsidiary (which, therefore, includes Comair). The Delta scope clause further provides that it applies to all flying of aircrafts with more than 70 seats, and thus purportedly prevents Comair pilots from flying aircraft of more than 70 seats.

ALPA's Purported Efforts to Harm Comair Pilots

In 2000, Delta and ALPA were negotiating a new CBA, toward which end they reached a tentative agreement. ALPA sought to broaden the scope clause in the Delta CBA to impose further restrictions on both the type of aircraft Comair may fly and other matters that directly affect the career potentials of Comair pilots. Plaintiffs allege that ALPA's efforts to broaden the Delta scope clause is "waging economic war" on the regional jet. Plaintiffs point to a number of statements that allegedly demonstrate ALPA's intent in this regard.

For example, in October 1999 Defendant Woerth testified before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that "the growth of the Regional Jet industry" was one of the new "challenges" contributing to flight delays and "among the newest threats" to airport capacity.⁴ Woerth is also alleged to have publicly stated that "circumstances require that 70-seat equipment be flown by mainline pilots at mainline rates." Plaintiffs allege that by these statements, Woerth indicated that ALPA will use its resources to see that opportunities for growth are redirected toward the mainline air carriers like Delta. Plaintiffs contend that ALPA will support Delta's efforts to place orders for the RJ-700 aircraft, for which orders already exist at Comair and Atlantic Southeast Air Lines, another carrier that is part of the Delta Connection.

The Winter 2000 issue of "The Widget," a Delta MEC publication, declared that regional jets "pose a threat to mainline pilots" and emphasized "our need to ensure that the RJ assets are used to complement mainline flying and not dismantle it[.]" The Widget article outlined a series of protective measures that could be taken to serve the interests of Delta pilots, including setting floors for the number of aircraft or hours of flying, limiting aircraft size and seat configurations, fixing ratios of the number of regional jets to mainline jets, and restricting the use of Delta Connection...