MollyGabel

Representative Airline Litigation/Preemption Litigation — Federal and State Court

• King County Superior Court: Defending unionized airline service provider in wage-hour class action asserting failure to pay and overtime claims, involving Airline Deregulation Act, Federal Aviation Act, and Railway Labor Act preemption defenses.
• Ninth Circuit/Western District of Washington: Oversaw unionized air carrier’s involvement in industry group’s declaratory judgment action asserting state paid sick leave law violated the Dormant Commerce Clause and Airline Deregulation Act as applied to flight crew.
• Ninth Circuit/Northern District of California: Managed defense and appeal of flight attendants’ class action lawsuit asserting fourteen counts of California wage-hour violations against non-union air carrier, including carrier’s Dormant Commerce Clause, Airline Deregulation Act, Federal Aviation Act, and Railway Labor Act defenses and class decertification efforts.
• United States Supreme Court/Ninth Circuit/Western District of Washington: Managed declaratory judgment action asserting Railway Labor Act preempted flight attendant’s and state’s family care act claims and related appellate panel and en banc proceedings and petition for certiorari.
• Seventh Circuit/Northern District of Illinois/Illinois State Court: Litigated flight attendant’s workers’ compensation retaliatory discharge claims, asserting minor dispute preemption defense and related procedural defenses under the Railway Labor Act.
• Northern District of Illinois: Motion to transfer venue and for summary judgment granted on disability discrimination and retaliatory discharge claims against airline.
• San Diego Superior Court: Oversaw unionized air carrier’s defense of flight attendant’s California Private Attorney General Action and related wage statement claims through a bench trial.

Representative Collective Bargaining Negotiations/Advice and Counseling Engagements

• Advised mainline and regional air carriers on all aspects of Section 6 negotiations and mediations for pilots (ALPA and IBT), flight attendants (AFA), dispatchers (TWU), mechanics (AMFA and IBT), passenger service (IAM), and fleet service employees (IAM).
• Led labor and employment legal strategy associated with merger of two mainline air carriers and advised on craft and class integration plans, including transition agreements, joint and single collective bargaining agreement negotiations (ALPA, AFA, TWU, AMFA, and IAM), and single carrier petitions (same).
• Advised mainline air carrier on work stoppage litigation strategy and strike contingency planning for pilots (ALPA), flight attendants (AFA), and mechanics (AMFA).
• Advised multiemployer hotel groups and hotels in collective bargaining negotiations with UNITE HERE.
• Negotiated initial collective bargaining agreement with local manufacturing union for manufacturer.
• Advised large hospital on collective bargaining with NNU and related strike planning matters.
• Negotiated initial collective bargaining agreement with IUOE for construction company.
• Negotiated successor collective bargaining agreement with AFM for symphony orchestra.
• Advised on legal and operating issues associated with a multi-week strike by AFSCME against drug and alcohol treatment center.

Representative Labor Relations Litigation — Federal Court

• Western District of Washington: Managed dismissal of pilot union’s lawsuit alleging major dispute against air carrier.
• Western District of Washington: Oversaw motion to dismiss granted by court and related discovery disputes over pilot union’s major dispute claim against air carrier.
• Eighth Circuit/Eastern District of Missouri: Litigated reversal of order requiring newspaper to arbitrate retiree medical dispute.

Representative Labor Relations Arbitration Matters

• Interest: Oversaw air carrier’s interest arbitration associated with pilots’ wages, retirement benefits, and scope provisions.

• Interest: Managed and oversaw multiple air carrier interest arbitrations associated with mechanics’ and dispatchers’ down-line wage increases.

• Interest: Represented newspaper in arbitration for a successor contract’s wage and benefits provisions.

• Contract interpretation: Handled arbitration involving air carrier’s reserve scheduling through late settlement.

• Contract Interpretation: Oversaw arbitration where union claimed air carrier was calculating block time incorrectly for purposes of pilot pay.

• Contract Interpretation: Handled arbitrations through late settlement of flight attendant union’s grievances associated with scheduling and pay practices.

• Contract Interpretation: Defended newspaper’s changes to collectively-bargained health insurance plan.

• Discharge/Discipline: Defended air carrier’s discharge of pilot for training failure.

• Discharge/Discipline: Defended air carrier’s discipline of pilot for sexual harassment.

• Discharge/Discipline: Defended air carrier’s suspension of flight attendant for deadheading-related rule violation.

• Discharge/Discipline: Defended healthcare employer’s discharge of nurse aide for workplace threats.

• Discharge/Discipline: Defended hotel’s discharge of room attendant for theft.

Representative Labor Relations Litigation — National Mediation Board and National Labor Relations Board

• NMB: Oversaw air carrier response to union petition to represent additional mechanics and related craft and class employees.
• NMB: Oversaw air carrier response to union petition to represent mechanics and related craft and class.
• NMB: Oversaw air carrier response several single-carrier petitions associated with two air carriers’ merger.
• NLRB: Defended grocer against unfair labor practice allegations involving claims of retaliatory discharges and unlawful solicitation of grievances through trial before NLRB administrative law judge, briefing before the NLRB, and arguing before the circuit court.
• NLRB: Defended hotel against union’s challenge to ballots and prevailed on employer’s contingent objection to conduct of election before the NLRB.
• NLRB: Defended construction employer before the NLRB against accretion of non-represented employees to an existing bargaining unit.

Representative ERISA/Employee Benefits Litigation

• Western District of Washington: Litigating delinquent contribution lawsuit for distributor in Taft-Hartley multiemployer pension plan dispute.
• Seventh Circuit/Northern District of Illinois/American Association of Arbitration: Litigated case where court found trucking company owed no withdrawal liability to fund.
• Seventh Circuit/Northern District of Illinois: Handled motion for judgment that court granted in favor of health care employer because denial of plaintiff’s long-term disability claim was not arbitrary and capricious.
• Western District of New York: Litigated motion for summary judgment that court granted in favor of health care employer because denial of plaintiff’s long-term disability claim was not arbitrary and capricious.