On September 30, 2015, a Federal Judge in Chicago granted class action status in a case brought by Attorney Jacie Zolna on behalf of United Airline Pilots against their union, Air Line Pilots Association, International (“ALPA”).
The suit alleges that ALPA breached its duty of fair representation to certain of its members in connection with the distribution of a $225 Million payment from United Airlines for retroactive pay that was supposed to compensate all United pilots for a nearly three year delay in reaching a new collective bargaining agreement in 2012. According to the lawsuit, ALPA created special rules and exceptions to its distribution methodology for a minority group of management pilots that artificially and arbitrarily reduced their share of retroactive pay or cut them out all together.
In certifying the case as a class action, the Court noted “each putative class member’s claim arises from a single decision, ALPA’s retro pay allocation, and the answer to the question whether ALPA violated its [duty of fair representation] will be the same for all putative class members.”
Coverage of the class certification decision can be viewed here.
