P.M. BRIEFING : High Court Rejects Pilots’ Suit
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court today refused to hear an appeal by 661 pilots who say their seniority rights were violated after Delta Air Lines acquired Western Airlines.
The court, without comment, let the pilots’ lawsuit against Delta and the Air Line Pilots Assn. die.
The pilots, most of whom had worked for Western and now are employed by Delta, said Delta reneged on a promise to arbitrate labor disputes arising from the 1986 merger of the two airlines.
The former Western pilots also accused the Air Line Pilots Assn. of failing to represent them adequately.
They said Delta used illegal coercion to enforce new seniority rankings, threatening to lay off more than 300 pilots if the rankings were rejected. As a result, the pilots said they occupy just 95 of the top 600 positions instead of the 189 they are entitled to by seniority.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last year upheld a California judge’s dismissal of their lawsuit.
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