United Airlines on Wednesday asked a federal judge to stop four pilots and their union from abusing sick time and refusing to fly extra hours, saying illegal job actions have caused hundreds of cancellations.
The injunction request accuses the Air Line Pilots Association of encouraging a sick- out, which is not allowed under the Railway Labor Act, the labor law governing airlines. It also said pilots were refusing to pick up extra flying.
“ALPA’s communications are essentially a guide describing how to use sick leave inappropriately,” United’s injunction request said.
United said the first officers on its Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s called in sick the most. First officers on Boeing 737s called in sick more than twice as much over the past seven weeks than in the prior three years, and sick calls by Airbus 320 first officers rose 61 percent, the airline said.
United said it canceled 329 flights between July 19 and July 27, costing it about $8 million in lost revenue and $3.9 million in operating profit.
A court hearing could be held as early as today in Chicago, where United parent UAL Corp. is based, said spokeswoman Jean Medina.
United pilots have been pressing to reopen their contract, which is not scheduled to be negotiable until the end of next year.
Pilots took pay cuts when United reorganized under bankruptcy protection and have been hoping to win back some of what they lost.
United has resisted that, but it has negotiated some work-rule changes with pilots. It has also increased the number of pilots on reserve. Additional talks broke off late last week, United chief operating officer John Tague said in a message to employees.
