August 13, 2019
On August 12, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a Permanent Injunction applicable to the Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO, and the Airlines Mechanic and Related Employee Association, TWU/IAM, and to all employees represented by the Association, the IAM, or the TWU at American Airlines. A copy of the Permanent Injunction is attached.
As called for in the Permanent Injunction, this directive is to instruct all Association, IAM, and TWU represented employees of American Airlines to resume normal working schedules and practices. No union member should engage in any concerted refusal to perform normal operations. Union members must cease and desist all such activity and exhortations or communications encouraging same upon pain of fine, suspension, or other sanction by defendants.
The Permanent Injunction requires that the Association, IAM, and TWU, the members, agents, employees, including affiliated and associated entities and local unions are permanently enjoined and must not call, permit, instigate, authorize, encourage, participate in, approve, or continue any form of disruption to or interference with American’s airline operations, including, but not limited to, any slowdown, work to rule campaign, or any other concerted refusal to perform normal operations in violation of Section 2, First of the Railway Labor Act.
Union members must not:
- Engage in any concerted refusal to perform normal operations;
- Refuse to accept overtime and/or field trips as they would in the normal course;
- Fail to complete maintenance repairs as they would in the normal course;
- Slowdown in the performance of their job duties;
- Take any other action intended to cause aircraft to be out of service (and specifically to cause aircraft out of service at 7:00
a.m.) or otherwise result in flight delays or cancellations or interfere with American’s operations.
In addition, no one shall threaten or intimidate any employee for accepting overtime or field trips or otherwise performing his or her job duties as he or she would in the normal course.
All officials and members of the Association, IAM, and TWU, including local leadership, local executive board members, shop stewards, and grievance committee members, at all stations must refrain from taking any action in public or private communications that could be construed as a call for a continued slow down or non-compliance with the Permanent Injunction in any manner, including using “code words,” (e.g., “work safe,” “work to rule,” “work to contract”) and/or making any statements that undermine or contradict, directly or indirectly, the mandate to restore normal operations.