Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Independent Federation of Flight Attendants
| Decision Date | 14 January 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 86-1998,86-1998 |
| Citation | 809 F.2d 483 |
| Parties | 124 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2364, 105 Lab.Cas. P 12,149 TRANS WORLD AIRLINES, INC., Appellant, v. The INDEPENDENT FEDERATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
H. Kent Munson, St. Louis, Mo., for intervenor Glenda-Lopez-Bruner, et al.
Murray Gartner, New York City, for appellant, T.W.A.
Steven Fehr, Kansas City, Mo., for appellee.
Before LAY, Chief Judge, BRIGHT, Senior Circuit Judge, and WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.
The question presented in this case is whether the union security and dues check-off provisions contained in Article 24(A-L) of the 1983 collective bargaining agreement between TWA and The Independent Federation of Flight Attendants (Union) are now in effect and should be enforced.
On cross motions for summary judgment, the district court 1 granted summary judgment in favor of the Union and required TWA to implement the dues check-off and union security provisions of the collective bargaining agreement. 640 F.Supp. 1108 (1986). TWA on this appeal contends that the agreement has expired and that therefore it need not implement those provisions of the agreement. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the summary judgment in favor of the Union.
TWA and the Union entered into a collective bargaining agreement containing the following duration clause:
Except as otherwise specified in this Agreement, this entire Agreement shall be effective August 1, 1981 [and] shall remain in effect until July 31, 1984 and thereafter shall renew itself without change for yearly periods unless written notice of intended change is served in accordance with Section 6, Title 1 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, by either party hereto, at least 90 days prior to the renewal date in each year.
In 1984, notices of intended change were exchanged by the parties pursuant to section 6 of the Railway Labor Act (RLA), 45 U.S.C. Sec. 156, 2 and the parties proceeded, under the auspices of the National Mediation Board (NMB), through the Act's mandatory statutory negotiation and mediation procedures. In January of 1986, TWA refused the NMB's offer pursuant to section 5 of the RLA, 45 U.S.C. Sec. 155, of binding arbitration. The parties were released by the NMB and allowed to engage in self help as of March 7, 1986. On that date, the Union struck the airline and TWA implemented new working conditions, including abrogation of the union security and dues check-off provisions contained in Article 24(A-L) of the agreement. These provisions were not the subject of a section 6 notice in which TWA sought changes in the collective bargaining agreement.
On April 17, 1986, TWA filed this action in the district court seeking declaration that the collective bargaining agreement had expired and that TWA therefore was not obligated to observe the union security or related provisions, whether subject to negotiations or not. On May 17, 1986, the Union ended the strike and the flight attendants offered to return to work.
Thereafter, on August 1, 1986, the district court ruled on cross motions for summary judgment determining that TWA is required to implement the dues check-off and union membership provisions of Article 24 of the collective bargaining agreement. In its decision, the district court held that the collective bargaining agreement did not by its terms expire as to those provisions which had not been subject to reopening by the parties and that the provisions of the RLA prohibit a carrier from making a unilateral change in conditions which were not the subject of a section 6 notice. The district court rested its decision on both grounds.
In its analysis, the district court first assumed that the contract provisions terminated upon the parties reaching an impasse after attempting to resolve the disputes subsequent to the contract termination date of July 31, 1984. Assuming termination, the district court held that the provisions of the RLA require that those contract terms between the parties which are not subject to dispute continue to govern their relationship as to any terms not in dispute. Thus, because the union security clauses were never sought to be changed by TWA in its section 6 notice to the Union, those clauses not in issue, including the union security clause, continue to be effective in governing the rights of the employer and the Union.
As further ground for its judgment, the district court construed the durational language that "this entire agreement * * * shall renew itself without change for yearly periods" to mean that except for those contract terms subject to reopening, all other provisions of the contract remain in effect and control the rights and obligations of the parties.
TWA brings this appeal, arguing that the collective bargaining agreement has by its own terms expired and that the RLA does not prohibit the parties from fixing a term for expiration of the agreement after which time all provisions of the pre-existing collective bargaining contract, not expressly reviewed, are terminated.
TWA, in appealing the adverse judgment, also sought a stay of enforcement of the union security provisions pending appeal. We granted a partial stay on August 26, 1986, but upon submission of the case to the panel, on October 15, 1986, the majority of the panel dissolved that stay. We turn to the merits of the appeal.
The district court stated the issues in the case as follows: (1) Did Article 28, the duration provision of the contract, cause parts of the contract that were not subject to bargaining to continue in effect, or did notice of certain intended changes trigger a total termination of the agreement? (2) Assuming the contract provided for total termination upon impasse over proposals for limited changes, is such a duration provision lawful under the Railway Labor Act?
As we have observed, the district court answered the first issue by holding that those parts of the contract not subject to bargaining did continue in effect. On the second issue, the court held that such a duration provision is unlawful under the RLA. Thus, TWA lost on both issues. In this opinion, we deem it appropriate to rest our decision on the first issue, that is, that the union security clause which was not the subject of reopening has not been terminated, and we need not address the second issue.
We construe the terms of the duration clause of this agreement in light of the national labor policy enunciated by the Railway Labor Act, which governs airlines as well as railroads, and, in light of pertinent decisions bearing on the issues.
The RLA was enacted with a number of purposes in mind:
(1) To avoid any interruption to commerce or to the operation of any carrier engaged therein; (2) to forbid any limitation upon freedom of association among employees or any denial, as a condition of employment or otherwise, of the right of employees to join a labor organization; (3) to provide for the complete independence of carriers and of employees in the matter of self-organization to carry out the purposes of this chapter; (4) to provide for the prompt and orderly settlement of all disputes concerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions; (5) to provide for the prompt and orderly settlement of all disputes growing out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of agreements covering rates of pay, rules, or working conditions.
45 U.S.C. Sec. 151a.
To enable the parties to a collective bargaining agreement to attain these goals, Congress has established mandatory, and "almost interminable," procedures which must be followed in settling disputes such as exist here. Detroit & Toledo Shore Line R.R. v. United Transp. Union, 396 U.S. 142, 149, 90 S.Ct. 294, 298-99, 24 L.Ed.2d 325 (1969). Any party seeking to make changes in rates of pay, rules or working conditions of employees must file a notice pursuant to section 6 of the RLA, 45 U.S.C. Sec. 156, and confer with the other party. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 152, Seventh. If the parties are unable to resolve their dispute, they may invoke the services of the NMB or the Board may, in an emergency situation, proffer its services. 45 U.S.C. Sec. 155, First. If the NMB is unsuccessful in helping to resolve the dispute, the Board must attempt to induce the parties to agree to arbitration. Said arbitration is not, however, mandatory. Id. If the dispute is not resolved under these provisions of the Act and the NMB finds the dispute should "threaten substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree such as to deprive any section of the country of essential transportation service," the NMB must contact the President of the United States who may set up an Emergency Board to evaluate the dispute and report to him. 45 U.S.C. Sec. 160. Throughout this period, the parties may not alter the status quo and no change may be made in those rates of pay, working conditions or rules which are the subject of the dispute. It is only after all statutory procedures have been exhausted that the parties may engage in self help.
Congress, in enacting these detailed procedures, sought "to encourage collective bargaining by railroads and their employees in order to prevent, if possible, wasteful strikes and interruptions of interstate commerce." Detroit & Toledo Shore Line R.R., 396 U.S. at 148, 90 S.Ct. at 298 (footnote omitted). This detailed statutory scheme has bargaining as its major thrust. At the same time, it seeks to avoid any interruption in commerce. Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Jacksonville Terminal Co., 394 U.S. 369, 377-78, 89 S.Ct. 1109, 1114-15, 22 L.Ed.2d 344 (1969). The Act attempts to provide the parties with every opportunity to resolve their labor disputes through bargaining and negotiation.
The Supreme Court recognized the central role of bargaining and the continuity of...
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