Doug
Oh no! That was never my line of thinking.
What I was implying, is that when a company enters bankruptcy courts, the Unions no longer have any leverage on the company, so, the only way the Unions to retain their power, is to get out of the bankruptcy courts as quickly as possible.
Inaccurate statement.
Otherwise there'd be no need for an 1113(c) filing.
Personal experience. Been there, almost did that, bought the freeking t-shirt.
The only leverage a union
ever has is withholding service (aka "strike") when a contract has expired and the NLRB releases the parties for "self help" or the contract is no longer in place (if it was abrogated by an 1113(c) filing in the US Bankruptcy Court).
The judge is attempting to make precedent here, but it actually doesn't hold legal water and anyone who thinks the ramifications of the judge making up his own rules in this situation isn't going to send a shockwave
industry wide needs a sodium pentathol tab.
If Mesaba starts operating CRJ's for $X-Y per hour, in the next round of negotiations at even heathly carriers, that's going to be the company opener. I'll bet you a dinner at Ruth's Chris on that one. And crap rolls downhill and bounces
uphill in the airline industry. I learned that one first hand too.
The judge cannot stop a strike, well, without a contract, he doesn't retain the authoritiy to block a strike. Once the contract goes away, so do the joint protections of the NLRB. Can't have it both ways.
The fat lady hasn't gotten close to singing yet.