536 F.2d 975 | 1st Cir. | 1976
This appeal is from a summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs-appellants’ amended complaint on jurisdictional grounds. 400 F.Supp. 372. Plaintiffs were the bargaining representatives of certain Northeast Airline employees prior to the merger of Northeast into Delta Air Lines. The merger occurred pursuant to a Civil Aeronautics Board order which included a number of “Labor Protective Provisions”, one of which specifically provided for the integration of seniority lists.
Allowing the union, which had represented certain employees before the merger, to participate in discussing integration of seniority lists would seem not to involve an onerous burden, although the CAB, under whose Labor Protective Provisions the integration occurred, has held that such a union need not automatically be recognized as the employees’ representative for Labor Protective Provision purposes. Delta-Northeast Merger Case, CAB Order
On the other hand, plaintiffs also assert rights independent of, and in no way contrary to, the Labor Protective Provisions, such as arguably accrued severance and vacation benefits. The district court was incorrect in assuming that the only matters about which plaintiffs wanted to bargain directly involved the integration of the seniority lists. The CAB does not seek and need not have exclusive jurisdiction over all labor disputes caused by an airline merger. Trans International Airlines, Inc. —Acquisition Agreement, CAB Orders 76-3-126/-127 at 21-22; Air Line Employees Ass’n v. CAB, 134 U.S.App.D.C. 185, 413 F.2d 1092 (1969) (per curiam). Where there is no real question about whether a union is the legitimate representative of an airline’s employees, the function of deciding the extent of the duty to bargain rests properly with federal courts. International Ass’n of Machinists v. Northeast Airlines, Inc., 473 F.2d 549, at 555-56. Plaintiffs are not challenging the CAB Order, or saying it was incomplete. Thus, to the extent they complain that, apart from the Labor Protective Provisions, Delta had a duty to bargain with them, the district court erred in dismissing these claims for lack of jurisdiction.
However, the duty to bargain imposed by the Railway Labor Act is a duty to bargain with the chosen representative of the majority of a craft or class of employees. 45 U.S.C. § 152 Fourth; Virginia Ry. v. System Federation No. 40, Ry. Employees, 300 U.S. 515, 548, 57 S.Ct. 592, 81 L.Ed. 789 (1937). At the very least, the merger created real doubts about whether plaintiffs represent the majority of any Delta craft or class of employees, and where there is such doubt, federal courts leave resolution of the dispute to the National Mediation Board. General Comm. of Adjustment, Bhd. of Locomotive Engineers v. Missouri-K. -T. R. R., 320 U.S. 323, 64 S.Ct. 146, 88 L. Ed. 76 (1943); Ruby v. American Airlines, Inc., 323 F.2d 248 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 376 U.S. 913, 84 S.Ct. 658, 11 L.Ed.2d 611 (1963); cf. Brotherhood of Ry. & S. S. Clerks v. United Air Lines, Inc., 325 F.2d 576 (6th Cir.), cert. dismissed as improvidently granted, 379 U.S. 26, 85 S.Ct. 183, 13 L.Ed.2d 173 (1963). In the absence of National Mediation Board certification, 45 U.S.C. § 152 Ninth, there is no basis for finding a duty on the part of Delta to negotiate with plaintiffs. Their complaint was properly dismissed.
The Supreme Court decision in John Wiley & Sons, Inc. v. Livingston, 376 U.S. 543, 84 S.Ct. 909, 11 L.Ed.2d 898 (1964), does not mandate a different result, even apart from the fact that Railway Labor Act obligations are not identical to National Labor Relations Act obligations, cf. Ruby v. American Airlines, Inc., supra, 323 F.2d at 255-
The judgment is affirmed.
. “Section 3. Insofar as the merger affects the seniority rights of the carriers’ employees, provisions shall be made for the integration of seniority lists in a fair and equitable manner, including, where applicable, agreement through collective bargaining between the carriers and the representatives of the employees affected. In the event of failure to agree, the dispute may be submitted by either party for adjustment in accordance with section 13.”
. It would appear that such a determination would be within the jurisdiction of a federal court. 359 F.2d at 309. Should such a determination become necessary, the extent of the duty, if any, would be determined by whether the Northeast collective bargaining agreements have in fact expired. Id. at 309-11. In general, the terms of a Railway Labor Act collective bargaining agreement are not controlling after the collective bargaining agreement and any subsequent status quo period expire. International Ass’n v. Machinists v. Reeve Aleutian Airways, Inc., 469 F.2d 990 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 411 U.S. 982, 93 S.Ct. 2273, 36 L.Ed.2d 958 (1972).