International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Republic Airways, Inc.

Plaintiffs. labor unions, filed a lawsuit against defendant airline carriers alleging that the defendants’ individual employment agreements with pilots, which provided incentives in exchange for commitments to specific carriers, violated the Railway Labor Act because they were not bargained for and fell outside the scope of the parties’ collective bargaining agreements. The district court found that the dispute was “minor” because its resolution centered on interpretation of the parties’ collective bargaining agreements and dismissed the complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, recognizing the Railway Labor Act’s “strong preference for arbitration.” (SCUDDER and KIRSCH, concurring)