What started as an annoyance three years ago appears to have turned into a legitimate threat to the essence of the Air Line Pilots Association’s long-held strategy for protecting mainline pilot interests. The RJ Defense Coalition–the Crescent Springs, Ky.-based regional jet advocacy group led by Comair pilot Dan Ford–shows no sign of relenting on its crusade against ALPA’s attempts to, in Ford’s words, create “synthetic bargaining capital” to use against both airline management and elements within the union itself.
Now representing pilots from both Comair and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, the coalition sits at the center of a pair of class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of each group by noted New York labor attorney Michael Haber. Under persistent fire from Haber and Ford, the use of scope clauses as a means to restrict small jets at regional airlines faces its sternest test to date, as the sides battle over the plaintiffs’ rights to thousands of confidential documents as part of the discovery process.
