A bankruptcy judge for American Airlines has ruled that the company can impose unilateral contract changes on its nonunion employees. The ruling will mainly affect around 10,000 passenger-service agents, who trying to organize. The Communications Workers of America petitioned for an election December, and an election was set to begin this week. However, American sued, saying that rules have changed and the election is no longer valid. The company says that it is pleased by the judge's decision. The CWA says that the company should not be able to make such changes during an election, and they are asking the National Mediation Board to allow it to proceed.
See "Judge: American Airlines Parent Can Change Nonunion Workers' Contracts", Joseph Checkler, The Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2012