Railway Labor Act Violation – Duty of Fair Representation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: David Bishop, et al., v. Air Line Pilots Association International,

Case No.: 21-1034

Officials: SYKES, Chief Judge, and RIPPLE and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Railway Labor Act Violation – Duty of Fair Representation

The plaintiffs, pilot instructors for United Airlines, brought this class action against the Air Line Pilots Association, International (“ALPA”), their recognized agent for the purpose of collective bargaining. In their complaint, they alleged that ALPA had violated its duty of fair representation under the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. § 151 et seq., by adopting a retroactive pay provision that discriminated against pilot instructors. The district court initially dismissed the complaint; however, on appeal, we reversed the district court’s judgment and allowed the action to go forward. See Bishop v. Air Line Pilots Ass’n, Int’l, 900 F.3d 388 (7th Cir. 2018).

Following discovery, ALPA moved for summary judgment. It maintained that the plaintiffs had not come forward with evidence that its sole motive in adopting the retroactive pay provision was to discriminate against the pilot instructors. The district court agreed and granted ALPA’s motion.

We now affirm. To establish a violation of the duty of fair representation under the circumstances presented here, the plaintiffs were required to come forward with evidence from which a jury could conclude that ALPA’s sole motive in adopting the retroactive pay provision was an illicit one. The plaintiffs did not meet that burden; consequently, the district court correctly entered summary judgment on behalf of ALPA.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.