Air Transport Association and Chamber of Commerce v. National Mediation Board

Case Updates

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit affirmed the District Court's prior decision, finding that the rule does not violate the Railway Labor Act or Administrative Procedure Act. Since under APA and case law, courts are obligated to accord deference to agency decisions, the court found that the Board's final rule was not arbitrary or capricious.

NCLC is a party-plaintiff in the Air Transport Association’s lawsuit challenging a new rule by the National Mediation Board (NMB) that abandons 75 years of NMB precedent and makes it much easier for unions to organize in the airline and railroad industries. The new rule allows a union to be certified even if less than a majority of the eligible employees vote in favor of union representation. In its complaint, NCLC noted that the agency failed to provide an unbiased and rational basis for changing its union election procedure, and that the rule changes the decertification ballot to make it more difficult for employees to vote against union representation.