Ford-Cooksey Lawsuit Settled

On Monday, June 16, a federal district judge in New York approved the settlement in the Ford-Cooksey case. This is the lawsuit originally brought by pilots at Comair and ASA more than seven years ago challenging negotiation of the scope clause in the Delta collective bargaining agreement.

As you know, in October, the ALPA Executive Board approved the settlement. The main feature of the settlement is an addition to ALPA Policy that will require appointment of a Scope Subcommittee of the Collective Bargaining Committee. This subcommittee will have two main functions: One function is to review and analyze ALPA’s approach to scope issues and to make sure that our scope clauses are effective in protecting pilot jobs. The second is to work with Negotiating Committees during scope negotiations to make sure there is coordination between ALPA pilot groups within airline families with respect to scope negotiations.

The settlement will go into effect 30 days from last Monday. During the next few weeks the members of the new Scope Subcommittee will be designated, and will begin preparation for their important work.